The Naming of Pets

Margaret Maron 

According to T.S. Eliot in Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, which formed the basis of the Broadway play Cats,

            “The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,

            It isn’t just one of your holiday games . . .”

Actually, it does become a sort of game, doesn’t it?  In Southern Discomfort, I have a running joke about Deborah’s Aunt Zell trying out different names for her new puppy.  After experimenting with Roman emperors (Caesar and Pompey) and TV news anchors (Cronkite and Brinkley), she winds up taking Dwight’s suggestion, Pork Chop, even though she doesn’t know the story behind that suggestion.

As a Southerner, I have known several pets with double names: Cubbie Lee was a dog and Gilbert Ann was a squirrel that turned out to be female.  As an adult, I have lived with a dog named Mackindoo and cats named Skimbleshanks, Katisha, and Bitsy Mott.  Giacomino Schwarzekatze was a trilingual Siamese that we acquired at a NATO base in Italy from a German couple.

But before that?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friends of mine are giving their grandson a cute little golden Labradoodle puppy for his sixth birthday.  While he waits for the puppy to reach ten weeks, the child has been trying out different names.  The current favorite is Sunshine, “but I’ll call her Sunny.”

Which has led another friend to observe:  “This is the tough part about letting little kids name their pets—why millions of moms, myself included, have ended up with goldfish named Goldy. (Probably only exceeded by moms with pet bunnies or kittens named Fluffy.)" 

                                                                

"I was nine," she says, "when I got my first all-yours pet, a parakeet. I named it Kennedy. He hadn't been elected yet. I think it must be a good sign for candidates if kids are naming pets after them. At least, I never met a pet named Nixon.”

At six, my first cat was white and came during winter, so of course I named her Snowflake.  Her son was a soft all-over gray and answered to Smokey.  (Not that he actually answered. No cat of ours ever deigned to respond to its name.)

Colors and markings trigger names for most children:  Blackie, Red, Blue, Patches, Spot, Stars. (But in all fairness, must add that I have since learned the child awaiting his puppy picked that name "because there's a song about you are my Sunshine, my only Sunshine.  You make me happy when skies are gray.") 

What about you?  Did you get to choose your pets' names when you were a kid?  Have you become more imaginative as an adult?

 

Comments

[Harley]

I cannot tell you the name of my first childhood pet, because that seems to be the security question of every website known to mankind, and I can't have you hacking into my accounts, Margaret.

But I can tell you the subsequent ones!

I had to wait my turn to name pets, being the youngest of 8, but my siblings did okay: Jabbernathy, Milkweed, Isaac, Peachfuzz, Blue Mountain Bushwacker, Gordon & Florence, Ebenezer . . . and later on, Miss Kitty and Dr. Jones (named after my sister's favorite therapist) and my own Alfalfa, Jinn, Fez and Cairo.

I came very, very close this weekend to adopting a 3rd large dog. The only thing that stopped me is that my car's too small for 3 big dogs and 3 big-ish children.

[Jewelry Making]

I am not an animal lover that I am shocked that you have to dig to find out for your cat's name. :)

[Reine]

I did get to name my dogs. I got my first puppy when I was eight, after I'd recovered from polio. She was a sweet little beagle I named Bugsy. She went everywhere with me. She even followed me to a room at church where the priest was hearing confessions. We walked in wearing my seaman's outfit: work boots, khaki pants, black wool sweater, and a black watch cap. I knelt on the old wooden kneeler. Bugsy sat up with her front paws in the air.

The priest said, "Get out."

As Bugsy and I skipped and hopped our way to the door I sang, "Thank you, God for the easy penance," to the tune of "What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor?"

The priest yelled after us, "There's a big black mark on your soul, Miss Harrington!"

Bugsy and I left.

[Doc In CA]

My first dog, when I was just at the crawling around stage, was a little mixed breed guy named Bear Dog, because he looked like a little bear. I have no memory of him.

Over the years, we had dogs named Tippy, Rosie and Orphan Annie. I had a donkey named Henrietta. She came to us with that name.

Most of my pets since then either came to us already named (Adopt From A Shelter/Rescue!) or I named them the easiest names I could think of.

Dwarf Rabbit: Mr. Bunny Rabbit
Guinea Pig: Pigpig
3 Hamsters: Larry, Moe & Curly
Golden Retriever: Goldie
Neighbor's Cat who loved me because all cats love you if you are allergic: Getawayfrommeyoulittlebastard!

Of our current two Canine American Princesses, Lucy came pre named Lucy, but Winker was originally called Serena. I thought that named sucked for a one eyed Basset hound, so I renamed her Winker. Well, actually Winker Sue. And Lucy is Lucy Louise. Gotta have a full name, ya know.

Oh, and Harley, regarding a 3rd big dog: Time to get a larger car:)

[Margaret Maron]

You all are cracking me up.So funny to think of the dog waiting to confess, Reine, and, Harley, I agree with Doc. You are clearly meant to have more dogs in your life.

[peach]

Judypup, a beagle mix, was our first family pet when I was growing up. She came into our lives when I was three years old. My parents tell me I named her after a babysitter.

I acquired Nutmeg when I was a semester away from graduating from college. The free weekly local paper in Slippery Rock had an ad for free puppies. We went out to look at them at dusk one day in early December. The mother was a beagle/cocker mix and we were told the father was a german shepherd/collie/basset mix. In the growing darkness I could see the puppy I wanted. She seemed to be a speckled brownish red. I asked if I could pick her up a week later when I was leaving for the semester and they agreed. When I picked her up she turned out to be grey speckled with patches of black and brown on her sides and head, but it was too late I'd already named her Nutmeg and even though she didn't turn out to be Nutmeg colored she was a very spicy dog. She lived 16 years, survived being hit 3 times on the road, was a frisbee dog, climbed ladders, and had a wonderful personality.

My daughter named our black lab when she was four years old. Not sure where she got the name Lydia from for certain, but either the cartoon Beetlejuice or a song on a Muppets cassette we owned at the time "Lydia the Tattooed Lady".

Our current dog was named by my husband. He wasn't allowed to have pets while growing up and he never had the opportunity to name a pet. We decided it was his time. Samantha, "Sammi" or "Sam" was named for the phrase in one of his favorite songs by Tommy James and the Shondelles, "My dog Sam eats purple flowers." Sammi is a black lab/golden retriever mix with long flowing black hair with all the attributes of a golden retriever. She's ten now and has always thought she is a lap dog.

[William]

Harley, Fate is merely telling you it's time for a bigger car, that's all.....:)

The naming of a new pet is an important thing. I can't give you a formula for it; I just kind of toss out names until it feels right. It's an instinctive thing. With one exception, that's how it's always worked.

The exception was my guy, Burke, the Malanois/Rott mix who was my first dog. We spent his first week alone, just the two of us, and I couldn't find the right name for him. One evening, we were talking (yes, he and I talked, so be it) and my eyes were wandering the bookshelves. I saw the shelf full of Andrew Vachss novels, and said aloud "Burke". He stared right into my eyes, both his ears twitched and he woofed.

And that, as they say, was that!

Everyone else, we just kind of play it as it comes until a decision is made. It works out....:)

[Kathy Reschini Sweeney]

Never had pets growing up. Our kids had a little corn snake named Marbles.

If I had a pet, I would name it "Fuckyou" and then any time I felt like yelling that, I could explain I was only calling the dog.

[Laura (in PA)]

The first pet I remember was a beagle names Freckles. He was always getting in fights, and my mother was always patching him up. Then we got a dog named Maggie-my parents gave her away with no warning; and next was a poodle named Bambi. I also had two gerbils I names Penelope and Geraldine, who liked to escape their cage and hide in my Mother's shoes.

As an adult, I had a dog named April (month she was born), and a cat named Patch, who was a tabby - not a patch in his whole body, just stripes. Then I got together with my husband, who had a cat named Stripe, because she was a pure white cat with one stripe on her head when she was a kitten. Of course, the stripe vanished, so for years we had a pure white cat named Stripe, and a striped cat named Patch.

Now we have 3 dogs named Max (supposedly the most common dog name), Riley, and Bailey (who is the color of Irish Cream). Our favorite name was the basset/beagle we adopted as a puppy, who had been named Bosworth by the children of the house - he had a dignified air, like an English butler. We kept the name, and he was Bozzy until we lost him two years ago, when he was 14. We still miss him.

Oh, and we have a turtle named Franklin, after the one in the children's book.

[Margaret Maron]

I like "Nutmeg", Peach, and I think Andrew Vachss would be pleased to know he inspired your dog's name, William; but, Kathy? Did someone get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?

[Judith Bandsma]

When I was a kid what few pets we had came already named.

But, in my life I've had cats named Madam Helena Blavatsky (blue farts for short), Pocahantas...who was male, Kitty (brain freeze on that one), Groucho, Chico and Harpo and dogs Ramblin' Rose (Grateful Dead fan), Jake and Elwood (the Bouv Brothers), Gabriel...who was anything but an angel, Dot (short for the first Morse code part of the letter 'V'...dot, dot, dot, dash...which she did) and now we have Odile (also known as Odiferous) and Willie, who has the personality of the Wonka kid.

[Undine]

We've had a succession of cats since I was two years old (and, by the way, we didn't go looking for them, they found us--every last one of them.) I've named them all, simply because no one else could decide on names.

I'm pretty superstitious about names--I believe that with pets and racehorses, as with people, the names tend to have a certain mystic influence, so you'd better get it right. (My pet peeve is seeing racehorses with really, really stupid names. It's like cursing them at birth, as I've yet to see a badly-named horse that has ever amounted to anything.) Basically, I just get to know the cats, and when I do, they more or less name themselves.

We've got five right now: Lucretia Borgia ("Lucy")--and yes, she did indeed name herself--Mac (because he has a passion for canned mackerel,) Ernie (because he irresistibly reminds me of Tennessee Ernie Ford when he was on "I Love Lucy,") Catterina (every Poe fan needs a Catterina,) and Potter. Potter is an exception--he was originally our ex-neighbor's cat, and she named him. It fits him, though. He's certainly shaped like a pot, or rather barrel.

[Sheila Connolly]

First pets: we moved into a new house, and the previous owners had left a pregnant Siamese behind (which my mother kept forgetting to have spayed in a timely fashion). We called her Mama Kitty (highly original). The first litter was Smokey and Shadow, and they were grey. The next (all gray) litter was Bitsy, Blockbuster (my father's choice), and Sooty.

The first cat I acquired as an adult was a Siamese which I named Victoria, but usually called Dum-Dum. My daughter has named most of our recent cats, which has led to Tommy, Felix, Dexter and Lila--you'll have to ask her why.

[DebbraSue]

The beagle puppy we got as a family Christmas gift my senior year was named Rockette Marie and we called her Rockie -- it was the height of Rocky Balboa madness and I think it was the only name that all four of us -- three being boys -- could agree on.

Our first pet as a married couple was the runt of an oops litter of an English Springer Spaniel/black lab mom and a German shorthair dad (who could jump 8 ft fences). Her coloring was that of a dalmation on her whole body, but a totally black head. We both agreed that naming a dog a child's name was out of the question, and somehow decided on the name of Crickette. She wasn't small, but it suited her and she was the best watch dog, baby sitter, 50 lb lap dog ever.

Fast forward a few years after we had to say goodbye and we now have a 70 lb black lab mix, we think with pitbull terrier, who is a rescue dog and was severely neglected and abused. The people that fostered her called her Amelia, after the Amelia Bedelia books, but then changed her name to Zena, which is what it is today. She is all black and has a solid back end and a tail that can knock over children and small adults if you aren't careful when she's happy to see you.

She is an awesome protector and thinks she's a lap dog and will also climb up on top of your head or around your neck (or at least try to) when there is a thunderstorm.

[Karen in Ohio]

Laura, only you would have such a Stripe and Patch! Love that story.

We also never had many pets growing up; my mother had all she could handle with four kids already. We had two dogs, but I barely remember them, since they came and went before my little sister was big enough to walk, and the boxer was tied up outside.

When I met Steve, the wildlife photographer (with a permit to keep wild animals), my life changed 180 degrees on the animal front. At the time they had a pair of mated grey foxes named Tom and Jenny, who had litters of kits every spring (that later always died of distemper, which killed me, can I tell you?). He also had a rabbit-hunting beagle named Parker for his favorite gun.

Over the years we've had Haas and Pfeffer, twin bunnies; Wyla, the female coyote (I named her); Peaches Tiger Lily Maslowski, a stray orange and white cat who adopted us and had to live outside; Frisky, the flying squirrel; Vixey and Vixey II, red foxes, (Vixey had to be the sweetest wild animal on the planet, next to Frisky); and my one and only dog, Knife.

Knife was a puppy when I dragged him home. Steve wanted to call him Taco, but I said he needed a scarier name, since he was supposed to be my protector. We happened to be sitting at the dinner table. Yep. And it stuck.

[Mo]

I didn't have pets when I was a child but my son had hamsters. He named his first pair Bugsy and Wheels and the second pair Fido and Rover. The lad is now all grown up and has two australian shepards named Loki and Eisa and the names are ever so appropriate.

[Ramona]

My friend Paul allowed his young son to name their new puppy, which is how the poor dog ended up being called Blanket Engine.

[Karen in Ohio]

Ramona, your friend Paul's son was better at naming a puppy than Michael Jackson was at naming a son.

Mo, my daughter's little bitty box turtle was named Bugs. And the other daughter's angelfish was named Angel, natch. When Angel died Holly flushed her down the toilet before I even knew what had happened. Why waste energy on a burial, right? Sheesh.

[Sandi]

My first pet arrived a few weeks before I did - a tiny ball of fuzz lifted from my father's pocket and sent running toward my very pregnant mother. The dog's name was Skippy. I named her puppy Muffy, and Muffy's pups Tippy and Cutey, so no, I was not particularly original in my childhood pet names. As an adult, my names are better. I had a cat named Dempsey, after the actor Patrick Dempsey long before he became McDreamy, back when he was just a Loverboy. Then there was Amalthea, Malthy for short, named after a character in the book The Last Unicorn. Today I have two cats, brother and sister, named Buttercup and Rugen. They're polydactyl cats, meaning they have extra toes, so Rugen is named after Count Rugen, the six fingered man from The Princess Bride. I chose Buttercup to stay with the book theme.

[Joshilyn Jackson]

Sam has named every SMALL pet he was ever allowed to name "Spotty." We kept an aquarium for a time and things we caught in the yard woudl live there briefly and be studied and read about, then released. He named ALL his favorites spotty, Whether they had spots or not.

Then he was told he could name the DOG, and when I categorically REJECTED his foirst choice---Spotty--- based on the fact that we had had turtles and newts and frogs and cocoons and pond minnows and EVEN A STILL UNIDENTIFIED LARVA THAT DIED named Spotty.

The dog is half beagle, half bassett -- the breed is CALLED a Bagel, and my little literalist names the dog...BAGEL. Kinda like naming a Poodle "Poodle," but it was not spotty, so YAY!

Maisy named the small auxiliary dog Ansley which is the DUMBEST name I have ever heard for a dog---no plosives or hard consonants so HOW CAN SHE HEAR IT?

But LORD that girly silly name--- it suits her. And the kids and I learned to say her name in this high pitched squealy shriek that she hears JUST fine and does not irritate y husband TOO much. HEE!

That man is a saint.

[Sandi]

Actually, there were some pretty good names when I was a kid - Scamper Camper, the cat who accidentally went camping with us when he was trapped in the camper; Little Shaver, named after the family we adopted her from; Dingbat, the stupidest dog ever; Shithead, the bunny rabbit named by a neighbor girl. My best names went to stuffed animals, though. I traded my cousin a Pound Puppy for a well-loved stuffed cat that had a stuffing-less leg and a lopsided face, which I named Kittywhumpus. I also searched long and hard to find a stuffed bunny with an expression suitable for naming it Dagnabit the Rabbit.

[Judi]

When my daughter was 5 a friend gave her a black kitten she named Ziggy. Years later I got a black kitten and my son said he should be Gizzy.
One of the best names I ever heard was a friend with a black bunny. She called him Ebunny. Not e-bunny, ebony!

[Tina]

Had a mutt named Sasha growing up. Don't remember much about her, except she died in a house fire after saving all of us!

Since I've been married with children, we tend to name the animals mob sounding names. We had Louie, the best behaved sheltie in the world. Now we have Mickey (daughters cat), Jimmy, the 5 lb yorkie and Manny, the sweetest havanese ever.

I never was an animal lover until Jimmy and Manny came along a few months ago. Don't know what happened, but now I finally get it.

[Laura (in PA)]

My brother has a black lab named Genius, which he decidedly is not (the dog, not my brother).

My friend's son has a yorkie named Chuck.

[Paulina]

The name of my favorite, the most adorable cat in the world was James after a former Secretary of State James Baker whom I met once.
We named our last cat Troll (my husband’s genius idea) and he turned out to be a real devil. After him, I don’t think I’ll ever have other pets.

In Russia in the early-90s the most common name for the cats was Mason after the main character of the soap Santa-Barbara.

[Debby]

Ahhhh, pet names....

From my childhood, I had two dacshunds Penny (her common name, her official was David's Copper Penny) and Gidget (her daughter, but my mom named her). A cat named Tigger, who behaved like a dog and followed me everywhere. Another cat named Missy (Thomasina really, after the Thomas family from whom I got her). Guinea pigs galore...Snowball, Snowflake, Peanut Butter, Jelly, Salt, Pepper, George & Martha (who were given to my kindergarten teacher....their offspring still live!).

A horse named Lady 'Be Good', as she was a dumb horse but loved to jump. Mom got her for $600.

Later cats were Melissa (a little princess Calico), Andy Panda (black & white), Melinda (rescued from the road), Miranda (mom heard her pitiful cries while out riding Lady...she died, but was clean, warm and loved), Squiggy (from my church camp...her head was on crooked...she was even on tv with me and Santa!).

In college, I rescued Tasha (Anastasia = new life) on her last day at the spca. She was a protective little runt who ended up with my mom as technically, pets werent permitted in college. And then my dad (they were divorced) wanted a dog, so I found him Lacey from a different spca.

Back in 2000, after a year of no pets since Squiggy died at 18, I decided it was time. I wanted a chihuahua mix.... mom called and said her vet had a little chi-mix that needed a no-children home with an experienced owner. Me! And so Bonnie (I have since added Bonita to her name) came to me at 5 years. She is now 16 and in ill health. But she has had a good life...

Back to cats...the other year, I was found by a tiny little tabby/calico on New Year's Day. So friendly, that we became friends from day one, but dad said no to her coming in. But what to name her? I tried Maggie, and Moira, and Mere, but she ignored all until Bella. Sigh. So I had a Bonnie (dog) and a Bella (cat) now. Then Bella had babies...and I started the Kitten Chronicles in order to get them adopted! It worked. Bo and Peep (calico/tabby like mommy) went to one home (Laura in Pa helped with that adoption), now named Cali and Halo. Teddy and Bear (black with white bow ties and bellies) went to another home and became BeBe and Bamm.

[Mary Stella]

My father let me name our English Setter puppy when I was 10. I was big into Greek Mythology and wanted to name her Artemis as goddess of the hunt. (She was a hunting dog, after all.) My brother was dating a girl named Diane at the time and pointed out that Diana was the Roman name for Artemis. So, we compromised. A couple of years later, Dad got an English Pointer. I remembered that Hephaestus symbol/bird was the quail. Dad said no way, so we went for the Roman equivalent Vulcan. (Nothing to do with Spock and Star Trek.)

Back in those days when you registered a dog for papers you had to submit three names. We figured nobody else had Vulcan so my brother and I spent an evening thinking up smart ass choices. One was Lou D. Barker. That's the one selected by the kennel club. Poor Dad.

Dad obviously loved me because he let me name Vulcan's son Zephyr.

As an adult, I took in an abandoned, starving Irish Setter. Since I acquired him outside a bar (The legendary Stone Pony), I named him Bailey. My next dog had parents also named for alcoholic beverages (Brandy and Brew) so I called him Moet White Star on his papers after the champagne and the fact that my last name means Star in Italian. Called him Moe his entire life.

I went in completely different directions for my current sweet dogs. (English Cocker Spaniels.) Nat is short for Natura which comes from the Jimmy Buffet song One Particular Harbour. My home is on a harbor in the Florida Keys, so it fits. He also answers to Natty Boy and Natser.

Nat's sister Pyxi gets her name from the Pyxis constellation. I like to work that star connection in whenever possible. When she chooses to answer me, she'll also respond to Pyxacious

[Kerry]

When I began riding in my mid-40's, I fell head over heels in love with a young grey thoroughbred mare named Jordan. She was a "project" horse - one that had been bought young and was being trained for sale. I was ecstatic when I was allowed to ride her, and cried myself to sleep the night the trainer told me she was being shown for sale the next day.

Nothing came of the sale, then or any of the other times people came to look at her. I continued to train on her and love her for a year when a miracle occurred and circumstances conspired to allow me to buy her. Her "barn" name remained Jordan, but I got to select her show name. She became "My Girl", a name that came to me while I was riding her one day - after the song, and because she was.

Of course, being a young thoroughbred mare, Jordan did occasionally become "Her Evil Twin, Skippy."

She has a lovely new owner now and is living fat and happy!

[Gayle Carline]

My first official dog, I named "Yo Yo" - he was a plain yellow dog of indeterminate origin. My grandmother said all his parents were traveling salesmen. My grandmother had a chihuahua named Sugar, but when I pretended to be Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (someone had to act out all the parts), I re-christened her Bullet.

Over the years, I've had dogs named Duchess, Hogan, Brutus (a pekingese), Tyler, Harry, and Mikey. The latest is a Corgi named Duffy. He just looked like a Duffy when I met him.

I didn't have any cats when I was growing up, except for a stray tabby who hung around. My brother and I named her Purr Cat Richards (our last name). Our son named our cat Katy, except he insisted it was spelled "Kady". He was 6 - now at 18, he asks, "Why did you think that was okay?" He wanted to name her White Cat With Dark Legs and Mittens, but I convinced him it would be a mouthful when we were trying to call her.

I also had a succession of white rabbits, all named Powder Puff.

My Quarter horses are Frostie and her son, Snoopy. Frostie is a chestnut who is "frosted" with white hairs (no, she's not a roan - she's rabicano). Snoopy was named before he was born. It was Frostie's last show and she was 5 months along (they gestate for 11 months). The growth chart showed the baby as being the size of a beagle. So my trainer, Niki, kept referring to him as Baby Snoopy. Not only did the name stick when he was born, it describes him perfectly. He is endlessly curious, picks up everything in his mouth to see what it is. Drives me nuts, but he's wonderful to ride. He has his own blog, "That's My Snoopy."

[Karen in Ohio]

When we first moved to our farm the previous owners left their horses in the pasture for several months until their new fences were put in. Four mares, named Delilah, Beauty, Fanny, and Sparkle. The lady's daughter-in-law said it sounded as though they were all part of a brothel.

[Storyteller Mary]

Somehow we five children negotiated names for pets -- Matilda was the cat that regularly produced five kittens (for which the Humane Society always found homes, according to my dad), and Tony, the very friendly beagle mix who learned to dance for treats. My father did not approve, "He's not a darned poodle."
The cat that moved in with me in '78 (the one who prompted the allergist's edict, "That is a 4+ reaction, you must get rid of the cat!" I originally named Max for clumsiness like that of Maxwell Smart. She became Maxi, though with her first visit to the vet, "too young to spay" but not too young to be already carrying kittens. The only live birth from that was the one delivered by Caesarian, who kept the name Baby Kitten until I found them both homes. I consoled myself that at least they were better off than they would have been without me.
I tried calling my tree frog houseguest Duke, for Ellington Place, but his regal highness preferred Prince . . . I still call "good night, Prince" to the frogs singing outside my door, and I swear he answers . . .

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

OH,I had Lola, my kittie who I got from the humane society when she was so small she couldn't even make it up the stairs. Lola--because whatever she wanted, she got. It worked--she lived til she was 20.

Like all pet names, it morphed. Lola became Lolita, then Lolita Burrito, then just--The Burrito. Where's the burrito? we'd ask. And we meant the cat.

We once had Chet and David, gerbils. (Only those of a certain age will understand this.)

They were fine until our cat F.Scott ate them both.

F. Scott (and his sibling--guess her name?) were kittens from our white cat Rosemary. They were destined to be evil, I guess, because they were...well, you finish the sentence.

[Reine]

Kathy, your style is so very cool . . . you can name all my pets from now on.

[Donna]

I think naming pets is a very important part of ownership. Growing up my cats were - first cat Tabby (was very impressed by the fact that striped cats were called tabby cats, therefore, called him Tabby), Sooty (all black with a tiny white spot on his forehead),and Puff (loved the song Puff the Magic Dragon). When my husband and I got our first adorable orange striped kitten he took over and named him Beaupy - after a famous racehorse. We called him Beau and he was the love of our life for 18 years. When we were ready to adopt again a little girl and boy we could not agree on names and were arguing. We had two weeks before we could bring them home as they were so little. One day my husband handed me a list he had made the night before with girls names on one side and boys on the other and said pick whatever ones you want as these are all great. My little girl is Jasmine (Jazzy for short) and our boy is Chipper (or Chip or Chippie). My cats absolutely come when their names are called and they both know each other's name. In fact, you can ask them if they know where the other one is and they will help look! A home without a pet just isn't the same! And cats and books just go together. Nothing nicer than reading a good book with a purring cat asleep on your lap. I recommend everyone try it!
Donna from CT

[Margaret Maron]

Tina, you just had to find YOUR pet. My friend Dorothy Cannell had dogs, but none was THE dog till Bertie came along. She's had other King Charles Spaniels since then, but she says sadly, "They're perfectly nice dogs, but they're not Bertie."
I'm really enjoying all these stories of how the pets acquired their names.

[Laura (in PA)]

Oh, and how and I forget the two yorkies down the street named Rocky and Adrian. (Philly is Rocky country - the Stallone movie, not the squirrel.)

[Nancy Pickard]

My comment disappeared. Poof.

Buzzy, Buttons, and Bows. Parakeet, mama cat and her single kitten that she gave birth to in an arm chair, in the middle of an episode of "Gunslinger." Lately, I'm partial to giving pets human names. Andy. Jimmy. It seems to please them.

Margaret, are you going to reveal today's coincidence, or maybe save it for another blog?

[Undine]

"In Russia in the early-90s the most common name for the cats was Mason after the main character of the soap Santa-Barbara."

Really? Back in the day, I was wildly in love with the actor who played Mason, the divine Lane Davies. Unfortunately, after they gave Harley's character the Big C and virtually gave Mason a lobotomy, I gave up on the show in disgust. I'll have to keep that name in mind for the future, though...

[Harley]

I must tell Lane that he has inspired Russian cat-lovers. I'm sure it will come as no surprise.

I might add that I've lost count of the number of people who've shared with me the delightful news that they have a dog named Harley. It is very popular among the canine crowd. I claim no credit, however: we are all named after the motorcycle.

[Deb]

When I was in high school we got a teeny puppy that was half dachsund and half cocker spaniel. He grew up to look exactly like a dachsund but was the size of a cocker spaniel. He sort of looked like a dachsund balloon that got blown out way too much! When my parents came home with him, the TV program Green Acres was playing in the background, and I suggested naming him Oliver, after the husband on the program. Our Oliver was a tough guy who was overly protective of family but expected petting (he'd slap visitors with his paw if they ignored him!) from any outsiders that he came to like - once you could persuade them to ignore his growling as they attempted to walk through the door! He was especially devoted to my dad and had a stroke two weeks after my dad's sudden death. Oliver survived - he lived to be almost fifteen years old - but it seemed as though he spent the remaining two years of his life in mourning.

I don't currently have any pets, but I'm dying to either get a cat and name it Dawg, or get a dog and name it Katt. My friends and family think I'm nuts...

[Becky Hutchison]

When I was growing up, my first cat that I named (we had several throughout the years) was Fluffy. So original, and named after Dick and Jane's cat. Later we had Ginger and her daughter Gingerbread, and siblings Algae and Chat, our last cats. We had a few beagles named Snoopy, a medium-sized hairy mutt named Tutti Frutti, and his adopted friend (from the family next door) Mini, short for Minerva.

My little poodle, Mikey's, name was the final result of input from four family members. My husband wanted Spot, Spike, or Fido, our 5-year-old son wanted Mikey or Petey, and our 14-year-old daughter reluctantly agreed on Mikey. I can't remember what I suggested, but since we could all agree on one name, that was the winner.

[Jenni Wiltz]

Guilty as charged....I had three goldfish as a child and one was named Goldie! I have gotten more imaginative as I've gotten older, though. I had two guppies named Titus and Andronicus. When they died, I replaced them with Titania and Oberon.

[Pam aka SisterZip]

As a kid we had a white kitten named Snowball. She jumped into a box of my brothers metal trucks (salesmen samples of Ford trucks, tractors, etc) and broke her neck. She had the prettiest blue eyes.

Grey cat named Smokey. We gave her away to friends on a farm because my baby sister came along. My dad believed the old wives tale that cats sucked the breath out of babies.

Had a beagle named Mister. To this day no one admits to how this dog got his name. He was bred too close and was just an idiot. He would be outside for hours then come in and take a dump on the heat vent in the winter. Yuck. Chewed up a brand new vinyl coat. Just dumb.

Dear Hubby & I have had 3 dogs. A cocker spaniel/Syberian husky mix named Tasha. Pure white Samoyed named Shelby (she came to us with that name) and a purebred cocker spaniel we named Bogie. He had such big, sad, droopy eyes he reminded me of Humphrey Bogart.

My grandmother had a tomcat who weighed about 35lbs. He was HUGE and gray and named Smokey. Grandma lived above a storefront on Main Street in a very small town. She didn't have any air conditioning and in the summer she would leave the back door open to get a good cross ventilation. Smokey would use his claws and open the screen door to come in. When he hopped up on her bed, she latched the screen door and went to bed. He would prowl the downtown area and got so huge because everyone would feed him, especially the cafe, lol. He didn't like kids and would bite us if we tried to pet him. Once we got older he would let us pet him. He died when he was about 15 years old.

[Karen in Ohio]

Paulina and I were just oohing and ahing over Lane Davies via email earlier today. He's virtually the only actor I've ever had a crush on, except for Tony Curtis when I was a kid. And when I found out he was a Shakespearean thespian, that sealed the deal. That man was made for the Bard, baby.

[Margaret Maron]

Smokey, Goldy, Snowball? Me, too! An adorable little ball of fur wandered up to our house today. I don't know if someone dumped it out or if it strayed over from a neighbor on the other side of the woods. We don't really want a puppy, Especially one with such big feet and sturdy legs -- all signs of becoming a very big adult. But it's a fuzzy brown and black with four white feet and white on the very tip of its tail and I once had a dog named Tippy and . . . Hey, Harley! You sure you don't want another dog?

[Reine]

People often ask why I named my service dog, Kendall. I actually did not name him. Power Paws in Scottsdale trains their service dogs for two years before they meet their potential humans, so they really can't go unnamed all that time.

Power Paws has different ways of naming their service dogs. Primarily each litter of golden retrievers, yellow labs, golden doodles, and the occasional black lab (not sure if they are raised or acquired) is given a letter of the alphabet. Kendall is from the K litter. Kendall was named after a friend of the trainer. The other naming option is given to people who donate a certain amount of money to Power Paws, and they may choose a name for a dog. People often do this to honor a "loved one."

I don't know how I got along without Kendall whom I often call Ken Doll, a nickname that doesn't break the rule. He came to me knowing 96 commands and now knows over 100. He stays in training by running through these commands with me every day. It might sound like a lot to do, but actually they are easily incorporated into our daily activities. Just going outside for a walk can easily involve 25+ commands: 1) Get leash; 2) Bring; 3) Here; 4) Lap; 5) Left; 6) Go through; 7) Sit; 8) Stay; 9) Let's go; 10) Wait; 11) Release; 12) Right; 13) Alert; 14) Better hurry; 15) No; 16) Leave it; 17) Give; 18) Get it (when I drop the mail or keys for example); 19) Carry (such as the mail or his poop bag); 20) Play; 21) Shake; 22) Get Steve; 23) Tug; 25) Catch 26) Go in (under the table or bench) . . . .

[Rocky Mountain Woman]

My least favorite part of horse breeding is trying to come up with a name. Arabian Breeders have some pretty kooky ideas about naming horses, but I always try to come up with a fancy name for the papers that includes something simple we can call the little critter around the barn...

It's really funny what some breeders come up with!

[Ramona]

I'm just remembering horse names. My Uncle Johnny had horses named Cisco and Lunch Meat. My dad's horse was called Lemon.

[gaylin in vancouver]

When I was 10 we got a collie, we named her Josie. My parents gave her away a year later and the guy renamed her Lassie . . .

My parents had a great old cat for awhile named Ben.

We had a rabbit that my brother named Food (because we were going to eat him anyways). My aunt grew rabbits for food and the rabbit was a joke present for Easter. And yes, he did get eaten.

I haven't had any pets as an adult, my brother has a beautiful dog named Grissom, can't tell you the breed, I am not all that dog breed smart.

My sister has an amazingly annoying barely trained dachshund named Molly. Okay, there is one breed I can name.

[Paulina]

Karen, what a coincidence that we talked about it right before today's blog! Isn't it funny ?

Undine, I stopped watching after this too damning the producers or whoever was responsible for Mary's death and Mason's abnormality as a result.

[[email protected]]

We had a Springer Spaniel that I named Skybo.
Who knows why? I was three.

Our 16 year old Golden Retriever is named Byzantium after the Yeats' poem "Sailing to Byzantium." But we can't yell "Here Byzantium," out the back door because our neighbors would tease us, so his nickname is Byzy.

[Reine]

We had neighbors in Kelso Valley who would buy an old milk cow every year. They always named her Hamburger Patty. One day I asked them why they always called their cows that. They just looked at me. I was the stupidest person in the valley.

[Debora]

Fifty years ago, I had a beagle/terrier mix named Yogi Berra, named for my mom's favorite baseball player...had him for 14 years...then as an adult, I've had Terry the toy fox terrier, Tati(ana) the English Springer Spaniel, Zoe, the yellow Lab pit bull mix, Xander, the shepherd chow mix, and right now, Mika the white Boxer pit bull mix and Chase Utley, a pureblood Boxer named for _my_ favorite baseball player.

The cats have had more fancy names: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson I, Dr. Watson II, Lady Molly of Scotland Yard, Mickie Mouser, His Grace, the Duke of Wellington known as Welly...and last but not least, Blair-Buffy named so because dh wanted Blair and I wanted Buffy!

[peach]

My s-i-l always seems to have three cats even though she keeps saying they will be the last. When I first met her when I began dating my husband Dude, acquired in the early 70's and one very cool dude, Snookie (got me) and Marie. Then came a Cappuccino, and Merci. The only countries in Europe they visit and consider civilized are Italy and France. Their most recent three are Bambino, the bad boy who is so big, when he jumped on my b-i-l he gave him a hernia; Cosette, the trans-sexual cat; and one I can't even remember because I'm having one of those CRS moments.

[Reine]

Ha! So Funny! Love those names. Have a piece of my Calvados cheesecake, Peach - you'll be okay.

[Holly Gault]

Chiming in very late. Goats: Shebaa, MeToo, Echo, and Ditto.
Cats: Fitch and Chips

[Margaret Maron]

A transsexual cat? Really, Peach? Liked the Hamburger Patty. We once had a pig named Shalimar because she smelled so....shall we say, NOT sweet. But she had such a sunny nature.

[Reine]

Margaret, I met some very nice people one Christmas dinner with relatives, where there was a huge mix of friends we'd all invited. Somewhere around the time the sausage dressing was being discussed and handed around, I mentioned that I liked the "other white meat," how I thought that was a clever advertising gimmick, and that I'd always wanted to visit a hog farm in Iowa. The couple across from me looked startled and jerked their heads toward me. In unison the husband and wife said, "We're hog farmers from Iowa. Come visit us!" Steve and I went out the following summer and had a great time learning all about their hogs and how to neutralize the odor before going out to dinner. I think half the neutralizing effect had to do with all the other folks at the hog farmers club were . . . well . . . you know . . . hog farmers. That is some odor. Shalimar wouldn'ta touched it!

[Mary Stella]

OT: Does anyone else have a problem with your comments disappearing from the blog hours after you post them? I swear I had a comment here yesterday but now it's gone.

Potential for irony if this comment appears and then disappears before anyone answers. :-)

[Mary Stella]

Harley said:
I might add that I've lost count of the number of people who've shared with me the delightful news that they have a dog named Harley. It is very popular among the canine crowd. I claim no credit, however: we are all named after the motorcycle.

You're in good company, Harley, or even better, they're in good company with you. A friend has one of the top Belgian Melanois in the country. (Won Best of Breed at Westminster.) His name is Harley!

[Karen in Ohio]

Mary Stella, if you look back here, your previous comment is still there; it's just on Page One of comments!