My wife Abby and I just returned from an overnight trip to Rolla, Missouri, where we got our first new puppy since we got Sierra the Chihuahua in 2005 (Max the Chihuahua  was a year and half old when we got him in 2006.)

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce Barron’s Hawken Rifle Trail. He is an eight week old registered Irish Wolfhound.

Abby had wolfhounds, Sugar and Lincoln, many years ago, and has wanted another since she retired two years ago. Those familiar with the breed know that it is the tallest, sometimes going to a 36-inch shoulder height and weighing up to 200 pounds.

Abby wanted to name him a “gun” name, preferably after a gun from the old West. Some of the names we considered were…

• Ruger
• Colt
• Desperado
• Sig Sauer
• Beretta
• Remington
• Winchester
• Spencer
• Sundance
• Scofield
• Henry (with additional reference to Longmire character Henry Standing Bear)
• Smith and Wesson (SW)
• Hawken
• Walther
• Ranger
• Derringer
• Bullet
• Pistol
• Dennis the Anarcho-syndicalist (from Monty Python)
• Wil Wheaton or his character Wesley Crusher because the dog’s coat is the wheaten.

Hawken had an unremarkable six-hour ride home, and seems to be settling into his new life in the clumsy, goofy, happy way that puppies do.