Kimbo has arrived!

We have been looking for the elusive white German Shepherd in India, and as described in an earlier post, we have been unsuccessful (and probably lied to…) at every turn. Amnon and Adam have continued the hunt, and Amnon came across yet another “breeder rep” that claimed to have shepherd puppies. But this one actually showed up and brought a couple of puppies to us this week - - one white, one black. We opted for the black puppy. Adorable beyond words, as you can see from the photos. Puppies require lots of care, but the whole process becomes easier when you have a full-time maid to assist in the inevitable clean-ups.

The naming process was our next challenge. We wanted a name that reflected his Indian origins (though actually, he was brought to us from Tibet.) The name had to not sound strange or unattractive in Hebrew or English. And we didn’t want it to sound like a derivative of Beebee, our dear departed white shepherd. One of the proposed names was “Gara Bara” - - which is the word for “bargaining and negotiating” at the market. A short name could be “GeeBee” - - but rejected as too close to “BeeBee.” What about “Garby” as a short name? Sounds like “garbage.” “Kala” means “black” in Hindi; but sounded too feminine for what will be a big black German Shepherd.

Amnon proposed the name “Nimbu” (sounds cute, and means “lemon” in Hindi.) The boys suggested Kojack - - sounded tough enough for a German Shepherd. They merged the two options and got “Kimbo” - - they liked the sound. Plus, Kimbo Slice is a tough black boxer. (Adam pointed out that “NIMBO Slice” would be like lemon soda.) So the puppy is now called “Kimbo Slice.” We are calling him “Kimbo” and all the derivatives of that….suffices for a little black puppy.

We brought him to a nearby vet to start the vaccination process (and to de-flea him; it looks like he may already have had some mini-traumas and insufficient care in his short 7 weeks of life…but the vet said he will be fine with the love and care that we will be showering on him….) She recommended special German Shepherd puppy food. This throws into sharp reality, once again, the difference between the “haves” (like our puppy) and the “have nots” (the thousands of street dogs in Delhi that forage through the garbage.) The boys remind me that dogs are bred to live in the wild too; that it isn’t necessarily a terrible life for them. Nonetheless, I have gotten more passionate about feeding the strays and bringing dog food and dog treats with me to work to lavish on the dogs that hang around IBM on a regular basis. (There are 3 of them, always there.) So I have found a mechanism to deal with some of my “white man’s guilt…”

We can add another checkmark onto our “to do” list of life.