Happy Birthday, Riggs.

Riggs.

Named for Mel Gibson's character (Martin Riggs) in the Lethal Weapon series. The guy with the crazy, manic eyes. Incredibly high strung. Totally wired. A guy with a death wish who was loud, yet totally charming. Any movie buff familiar with the character will think oh yes after spending a few minutes in our boy Riggs' presence.

It took us some time to finally hit upon the name for our mini pomeranian. David and I are firm believers that a dog's name comes to you. It's not something you pull out of a hat or randomly assign, just because it sounds cool.

And so, as we welcomed the tiny (yes, less than a pound and fitting comfortably into my two cupped hands) adorable fellow into our lives exactly 3 years and 11 months ago, we watched him keenly for signs as to what we would name him.

When we first saw him, tiny thing that he was, we thought it would be fun to call him Samson (the name we officially had printed on his pedigree papers). But it didn't seem to fit. Neither did other numerous names that we tried out.

Then one day, he tried to jump off the kitchen sink. For a pup less than a pound, and barely 6 weeks old, such a fall could be dangerous. Nevertheless, the little guy did it again. And again.

And his yapping was incessant. The sound of the softest footsteps in the hallway could trigger a bout of barking. Clearly, this was one high strung puppy.

He also became very attached to David (to this day, he thinks David is his mommy). Separation anxiety translated into high pitched barks.

One day, I came home to the sight of David and Pepe looking shell shocked from too much barking. No amount of shouting could shut the little guy up. He was wired and manic.

But did he ever love being cuddled. He was very well behaved in public and was a natural people magnet. A total charmer.

Thus the name, Riggs.

Not much has changed in four years. I can't be sure if his barking has lessened or we've just become more immune. We try to keep him as calm as possible. Some doggie training aids have helped us calm him down a bit. We've learned to adjust our movements so as not to trigger an anxiety attack.

And the charm thing is still going strong. When we have him groomed, it never fails that people stop by to pet him. Numerous times, random people have even asked to have their picture taken with him. He now has 2 print ads under his belt.

And is he ever a ham in front of the cameras. In some ways, it's like living with a movie star. A diva.

Happy Birthday, Riggsy.

Crazy dog that you are, all of us - especially Charly - loves you to pieces.