Ortiz? Doggo? Bruin? Charlie?
Those are just a few of the ideas that were thrown out by MBTA riders on Tuesday after Transit Police asked the public to help them come up with a name for their newest K-9.
“This beautiful Belgian [Malinois] just joined our K-9 Unit. He will undergo training and we want our MBTA community to name him,” Transit Police said on Twitter to their more than 32,000 followers.
Within minutes, passengers started to weigh in.
“How about ‘Chew’? Short for ‘choo choo,’” like a train, one person said on Twitter.
Another person suggested naming the dog after Transit Police Officer Dic Donohue, who was shot during the pursuit of the Boston Marathon bombers in Watertown in 2013. Donohue announced in February that he was retiring.
Some suggestions for the dog’s name were a bit more tongue-in-cheek. For example, one playful rider thought that “moderate delays” would be a fitting moniker for the canine, a pot-shot at the T’s sometimes unreliable service.
Sticking to the theme of transit-bashing, another person suggested “Switch Problem.” A third said “Delay” would be appropriate.
And then, of course, there was the idea to name the pup “Doggie McBiteypants.”
Boston Police in August launched a similar public campaign when they welcomed a new shepherd to their force. Over 20,000 suggestions for the 9-week-old puppy poured in over e-mail. The department eventually chose the name “Viggo.”
Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan said there has already been a tremendous interest in naming the dog.
“We’re happy about that,” he said.
The public can leave suggestions on the department’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
Sullivan said the dog, which is around 1-year-old, still needs to undergo weeks of training, so they don’t know when they will announce the winning name. But when they do, it will be shared on Twitter.
Steve Annear can be reached at steve.annear@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @steveannear.