Rescue dogs are the best, specially if they be mutts. The pup my friends recently adopted, Stella (right), is a cattle dog mix. We leave the indentification of the other breed in the mix as an excercise to the reader. Stella was also named after beer, like Schaefer (left). Hers was one of the names I would have considered if I'd adopted a girl dog. Check the fun table below for more.

Name	Best used for this kind of dog
tikka	As in, tikka masala. Adventurous dog.
bella	Dunno. Popular name though. Probably wouldn't have used it just because of that.
sapphire	Blue heeler, aussie blue merle. Gin drinker.
vespa	Fashionable. Urban. Can really scoot.
dakar	Long distance endurance dog.

When I address him, he is often called Buddy or Chico. Sometimes Schaef or Schaefy-boy. Also wigwam, ding dong, dude, wing wang, pup, Mr. Pups, or Mr. Sniffs. I even tried out "settle down, eyes of brown," but just once. Whatever seat you put him in in the car, he climbs into the front passenger seat, so Shotgun is a good nickname too.