The Plot Thickens

Yesterday I took my dog on her customary stroll around the block before heading out for the day. When we got back to my apartment complex, I saw new neighbor with his dog. The dog is a little scottie, and new neighbor was wearing a pink oxford shirt with a sweater tied around his neck. I thought, "Wow. Sweater." I nodded nicely, pretending I didn't hold a grudge about his nightly trance sessions, and was about to walk up the stairs, when his dog attacked mine. And, by "attack," I mean full on, teeth bared attack. The Scottie was barking furiously and chomping at Cassidy's neck. I wasn't incredibly concerned because Cassidy is bigger than the scottie, and, being a former stray, she can usually hold her own. What I was suprised by was how little control new neighbor had over his dog. He didn't even seem to try very hard to get his dog off of mine. Obviously this could mean that he passively aggressively resents the fact that I ask him to turn down his music and reacts by letting his dog try to eat mine, but I think it might be more likely he didn't want to get his outfit dirty by pulling his pup away. Then, I heard this: "Princeton, that is not a good dog! Princeton, don't do that!" Obviously everyone gets this, but I think it bears repeating just for the sake of my astonishment and attempts to accept the truth: His dog is named after an Ivy League institution. More importantly, I believe his dog is named after an Ivy League institution he never attended. (I base this on his age, his seeming habits, and the fact that my cousin is President of the Princeton Alumni chapter in Birmingham meaning that I usually know all of the current Princeton students and recent grads.) So this begs the question, why would anyone do that? Unless you are actively trying to embrace pretention with a capital P, why would you name your pet "Princeton"? When I paint my portrait of new neighbor with the elements of trance music, excessive candles, sweaters tied at the neck, and a dog named after a bastion of old money, I get something like a cross between Christian Bale in "American Psycho" and Alex P. Keaton from "Family Ties." Alex P. Keaton makes me smile; Christian Bale terrifies me. I don't have high hopes for me and new neighbor.