DENVER, CO - A hearty and animated debate has surfaced this week as Steve searches for the perfect name for his new pet cactus. The unnamed cactus, which is slightly larger than a golf ball, was given to Steve as a gift from Casey and Amanda Bishop as he visited Bakersfield last weekend.

While Steve showed his spiky cactus to fellow students on the campus of Denver Seminary, many offered their thoughts for a name.

According to Steve, all of his cacti in the past have been males, but his intution has told him this particular thorny cactus is a female.

"Yeah, I see that. The green and blue wrapping makes it look pretty…put a pink bow on her and she would look real pretty." said Amy Turner, a fellow counseling student.

"I like the name 'Prickles,' like tickles. It's a fun name." answered Maggie Cummings, a retired Christian missionary who often converses with Steve while working in the front lobby of the school, "That's what comes to mind when I look at it."

In the past, Steve has chosen oxymoronic names for his cacti for sheer humor. His last two thorny plants were named "Softee" and "Cuddly."

"I think you should name it 'Smoothy.' That would be like naming your dog, 'cat.' See that's funny." said Matt Hershey of Denver, who agreed with Steve's past theme of contradictory names, "(Naming it 'Prickles') is just too basic. It would be like 'Bozo the clown' or 'Fido the dog.'"

Julie Emerson offered the name "Snuggles," but Deb W., a fellow student in Garufi's Diagnosis and Assessment course, hotly disagreed and was condescending in her words. "'Snuggles' is ridiculous. Who wants to snuggle with a cactus?"

Other names have been given as ideas such as Saddam, Spike, Bristle, Thorny, Melvinny, Sophrony and Lucy.

"Lucy seems to be a good consensus name; a lot of people liked it." said Steve, "but it reminds me too much of Luci Davis at Rising Star, so I don't know."

Steve is expected to make a final decision on a name by Saturday, April 28.

The Evil Kidnapping of Cuddly, Steve's Last Cactus

This newest cactus ended a nine month period of no pet cactus in Garufi's Colorado Springs apartment.

His last cactus, named Cuddly, was stolen and kidnapped by April Vermillion, graduate student at Denver Seminary. After a traumatic 26 day hostage crisis for the cactus, where the succulent was held in isolation in a cold, dark room, it developed a disease that turned its skin brown and ultimately killed the cactus.

"I'll never forgive April for what she did. Here she is Ms. Friendly Christian Poster Girl and she goes and kidnaps Cuddly…I still can't believe she could have a heart to do that." Steve said, attempting to hold back tears unsuccessfully.