78 Comments on “What Not to Name Your Dog”

1. Zoe, pronounced with a long o and a long e, came with her name and it always seemed to suit her–She’s very pretty, graceful and rather exotic mix of black and tan with white accents, high chest and attractive feet. Boda was also a great name for Zoe’s predecessor, a ridgeback rescue mix who had been called Botta Bag–BAG? puh-leeze! She loved the Boda part and it stuck because she was self-contained, rather reflective and aloof. I like two syllable names–good for calling.

2. My bulldog’s name is Boo-Yah. It fits his theory on life and shortens to Boo, which is a wonderful endearment when he’s being adorable.

3. I agree that the name of an animal is very important. As a dog trainer, I also try to steer people away from names that contain the long “O” sound. Most dogs understand the human language by the vowels in the words. All training commands have a different vowel sound so that they can be easily understand by the canine student. Save that long “O” sound for the command “NO”. This is such an important command that will help your dog be a much better canine citizen that it is worth avoiding those long “O” names.

4. We always like to live with our animals for a while before we choose a name. We need to get a sense of their true personality, which doesn’t really come to the fore until they’ve adjusted and become comfortable in their new home.

   When we brought home our beautiful 5.5 month old Caucasian Ovcharka (Georgian type), we struggled to find a name that fit. Her ears had been docked – part of the breed standard and done by shepherds for thousands of years – and since her breed was Georgian, we found ourselves looking for Russian names. We discovered ushy was Russian for ear, and since she had no ears, we stuck an
   in front of it and tried it out –
   ushy (totally grammatically incorrect of course, so apologies to Russian speakers!). A bit more research turned up the Georgian word
   usi (pronounced with an sh), which means almond or nut, and further research discovered that Nushi was actually a Hungarian female name diminutive: Anna = Annush =Nushi. Since our girl was actually born in Budapest, we felt the name Nushi (we preferred the i to the y) fit her perfectly.

   Our most recent dog, a Bernese Mountain Dog, came home at 8 weeks, and we began the process all over again. At first I called her Polliwog, because she had lots of black and wiggled just like one (also Polly, which we considered but dropped). We tried out Bonnie and a few other female names, and finally one day as we went through or ever shortening list again, we came across Sophia. We rather liked that, and it fit her because she’s has such beautiful face and is so sweet. We also remembered that our oldest grandchild’s middle name was Sophia. Since we have 4 grandkids, we decided to name her after all of their middle names, so she is: Sophia Rebecca Laurel Danielle Rose – aka Sophie (and I confess I still us Polliwog occasionally!). Since we chose the breed mostly for them (a good family and kid temperament), it was fitting, and they of course were thrilled.

5. Thank you so much for spreading the news! I’m a dog trainer and behavior counselor and have felt for years that naming a dog Monster, Satan, or any other derogatory term is going to lead to trouble. I have gone so far as to recommend changing the pups’ names to a couple of clients who had severe aggression issues with their young dogs. Consciously or not, one is not likely to have the warm-and-fuzzies for a dog named Terror.

   My dog’s name was Autumn. She was a gray terrier mix who I adopted in the month of September. I feel the name fit her and never have regretted it. I have a list of about 6 names to choose from for my next dog and I would only regret it if the name I pick doesn’t seem to be her.

6. I currently have four dogs: Hershey (a shepherd mix that thankfully I refused when my ex-husband wanted to name her Patches); Skye, Eagle (Two Under Par) and Duncan (King of Scots). I apparently have a kick for naming my dogs after other animals as I’ve had a Tiger and an Eagle.

7. I have 3 French Bulldogs.

   Pierre, 7 years old………..LOVE his name.

   Sammi, 6 years old was named by his breeder and his full name is Samurai because he was born dead and was a fighter. He fits being a Sammi.

   Marley, 4 years old and named BEFORE the movie Marley came out. I love his name because he was named for Bob Marley. He did not turn out mellow and easy going as his namesake but he is Marley, through and through.

8. I’ve always named my dogs after characters in mythology. Currently my Doberman mix is named Isis (she has huge ears and looks like the hieroglyphic of Anubis so I had to give her an Egyptian name. My Papillon/Spaniel mix is Hermes because his ears look like Hermes’ helmet and he’s a little speed demon. Past dogs have been Loki, Balthazar, Calliope and Kismet. I brought home a little black stray one time and my husband said he was going to name her. “She’s black – Midnight.”

9. Your words ring true for me. Volunteering at the shelter, I cringe when I see a new arrival with fear/behavior issues tagged as Devil, Barky, Killer, etc.

   My dog, Lola, has been blessed with one of the more “regular” names compared to my previous furry friends. She’s a Geman Shepherd rescue & it really fits her. She’s actually a girlie/girl & seems to favor pink toys! Of couse, the song, “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets”, is very appropriate. I actually named her over the phone, when a friend called to see if I would foster her. The shelter called her Rebecca, but Lola popped into my head and it stuck. I think she likes her melodic name.

   Now – what my others thought of their names: Trouve, Cest-Ci-Bone, Ananda, Afaar, Beau (called Prasad initially), Panda (named by former pet parent) and Lady (named by people in her former neighborhood), I don’t know. But they all seemed to capture their essence.

10. One of my dogs came from a litter of two, that the breeder had homorously nicknamed Ben and Jerry after the ice cream guys. We brought Jerry home, and kept the name. His registered name is Austlyn’s Cherry Garcia, call name Jerry. When we had our new refrigerator delivered, Jerry barked and barked until I yelled “JERRY! SHUT UP!” The delivery man had this horrified look on his face, and said “What?” Seems his name was Jerry, too.

11. Koa, the world’s friendliest Golden Retriever, came to us with her name firmly in place. She was originally adopted by a couple who lived in Hawai’i: and the name comes from the Acacia Koa tree, which is native to the islands. It has a reddish wood (appropriate!) and the word itself means “brave, bold, fearless, warrior” (not as appropriate). People love her name and never forget it.

12. I had a flame point cat once: he was surreally beautiful. I named him Lucifer because it seemed to fit; and boy, did he live up to that name! He did more damage to my house than all my huskies combined have ever done! Moral: be careful what name you give because they probably will live up to it!
    My first white Siberian was Denali. I hit on her name but thought it was perhaps too many syllables. So I asked 3 people what they thought I should name her, and all 3 came up with Denali! Apparently, that was her true name! I do believe that dogs have a true name, and it’s a matter of waiting for them to tell you.
    My second white Siberian came from an excellent breeder; his mom’s name was Polar Jewel, PJ for short. I named him Polar Moon, Pomo for short, which is also the name of the original inhabitants of where we live. I had him at a pow-wow once and was talking to a child. When I told him my dog’s name was Pomo, he said very excitedly “I’m Pomo!” I said, yes, he was named in honor of your people. He really liked that.

13. i have two toy poodles , bernie and bellarina who are brother and sister..i have to admit i did name bernie after another toy poodle that had passed away several months before at age 16 yrs…he weighed 5 lbs and was the most loving boy in the 8 yrs that i had him to love and care for..he was rescued from a puppy mill at age 8..he was the breeder dog, so had not been neutered until i adopted him..he also had never been house trained either..so you can see ,his pathetic existence was unbelievable! he must have thought he had died and gone to heaven when he became our family member..i still miss him so much..he let me know every day with his kisses and suggleling just how much he loved my husband and i..i named my next dog after him , but my new bernie also gives us so much joy and love..my teo dogs keep each other company when i am gone, and they play together and sleep together..we take them to the vet together and also grooming every 8 weeks…they are now 7 yrs old and in good health..i try to educate myself more every day on how to better care for my “kids” ,for they truly are our family members…

14. I had a white miniature poodle named Arthur He was such a good companion to me through his first year (the breeder gave him a bath after I had him for a month and, as he was, it turned out, drunk, he brike my dear Arthur’s front left leg straight across!) when he had to be kenneled so much and had 3 surgeries and many vet visits that the breeder paid for (over $2000). Then, I became ill and he stayed with me after I got out of being in the hospital for 10 months 24/7. He was such a devoted fellow. He died at 10 from kidney failure (had to put him down – I still cry about him to this day). Then, 3 months later, Dante, another miniature poodle came into my life and is with me today. He is so different from Arthur! He is more timid. Arthur chased skunks many times (got skunked too! LOL!) while Dante is afraid of bugs and anything bigger! One thing though. After 2 years with him, I tried something. I just moved out in the beginning of a horrible divorce into an apartment. Well, I feed him at the same time every day, 2 pm. I used to call food “Roo-Roo” with Arthur. So, I started to use this same word with Dante and, the first time I said it, he “knew” what it was, Any time I said that word, he would head to the kitchen right away from the first time! I don’t know why he knew this as I did not do this because I would remember Arthur. Now, it is an honor to call Dante’s food “Roo-roo”!

15. I adopted a beautiful sweet border collie named Slugo. The name had to go, he didn’t seem to know it anyway. He almost became Hobo since he had traveled quite a bit in his four years, and was inclined to hightail it down the road if given the chance. But he became Myles, learned that name in minutes, and has become an fabulous pet who no longer wants to run away.

16. Hi: I have a 3 year old Shih Tzu whom I named Sarah from the Bible. WHen she was 6 months old she was paralized for 2 months from being over vacinated while on an antibiotic. She is now the strongest little girl, so sweet and loving and very connected to me and Sarah was a strong beautiful person from the bible. I think her name helped her to get well. She is my 2nd Shih Tzu and they are very lovable, and her name was Krystal and she was the light of my life and came to teach me unconditinal love.

17. Our dogs’ names are Jasmine and J.D. aka Jasmine’s Dog.

    Just curious, any health implications related to the name Jasmine you’d know of?

18. I have two dogs at the moment. The elder one is Dakota, and came with the name, as it’s part of her registered name. I usually call her Kota, or any number of nicknames. The dog I got from the pound (a black Lab) I named Irish. Why? He’s black! If I ever get around to getting him ILP’d, I’ll call him Black Irish Lad. I didn’t like Lad as a call name, and Black just doesn’t work for me, so Irish it was. Most people like it once they get used to it, and I like to think it’s fairly original. I’ve seen two horses named Irish (both after I named him), but never a dog. I’ve also had a Kraus (registered name CCI’s Kraus CD, and I tack on the CGC usually, as he had both). He was a golden, and a great dog. And I’ve had a Trudy, who I named after a guide dog in a book I’d read. Cats have been everything from Trouble (he wasn’t), to Buddy (he came with it, but it suited.). The cat I’m adopting is currently being fostered by one of my Physical Therapists, and I’ve named her Zoe. I also liked the name Bug, but my fiance hates it, so… I may just hyphenate. Or call her Bug anyway, but I do also like Zoe. I suspect she’ll end up being Zoe-Bug. Which is a cute nickname in itself She’s a lovely longhaired cat with Lynx markings. I don’t know why I want to call her Bug, I just sort of do. If anyone wants to comment on the Zoe/Bug issue, I’d welcome it!

19. Thank you for an posting on an interesting topic. I agree a name can be important. It it my feeling that dogs come to us with their names. It is up to us to discover them. That said, since the early 80’s our dogs have had musical theme names, like A Cappella Anja for a singleton, Diva for a girl who seemed to very much enjoy her voice, not overly vocal, she seemed to enjoy her range, depth and quality of voice, as a pup discovering her voice she rolled the sounds around in her mouth before letting them go, Jukebov FullofHits for our show boy, and yes, he did very very well in the ring and out, Jellyrolls Jazzemup, names after Jelly Roll Morton, the famous jazz musician. All had and have many names, Buzzle, BoBoLinkie, etc, and answer to all.

    Agreed, Killer, etc set the dog up for an immediate negative reaction from people. Silly to apply a name like that to someone you will spend (hopefully) many years of quality time with. Such a name denotes a complete lack of respect. Again, thanks for bringing it up.

20. On behalf of “Lucky,” my former foster, I object! He survived xylitol poisoning, liver damage from something else he got into, and a broken back. His doting owner nursed him through all of these maladies and doesn’t resent a penny of the thousands of dollars she’s spent on him and she loves him to pieces despite his mischievousness. I’d say he’s lucky, indeed!

21. Kujo is another one I don’t care for– why name your dog anything with a negative connotation? Other terrible ones: Felony and Convict. I have trained all 3.

    Try to keep names clear sounding and limited to 2 syllables. A popular dog name “Bella” it is easy to say, and clear to the dog.

    I personally like names that are original without being weird, and without being TOO human-like. Names like Emily, Missy, Sarah, Chloe– those are too “human-like” to me. But Braxton, Briggs, Otis, Ralphie, Boscoe, those seem more appropriate to a dog. My newest puppy was from an “A” litter, so I named her “Allegra”- meaning joyful and jaunty, fits her perfect.

    Joellen- for your Rott pup, if you want German names, I have a few. Hans, Griswald, Otto, Claus, Baldwin, Axel

22. My Schipperke, named Sugar, will be 14 in two weeks. No diabetes! AND she’s lived up to her name every day of her life. Deaf, blind in one eye, many senior moments, and you can do anything to her with never a cross word.

    Now, my Elphaba, is a little wicked witch!

    Esther

23. I believe the names we choose influence the lives of our pets, too. Lola, Geppetto, Frieda, Gaijin, Phoenix, Crosby, Graffiti – these are my pets.

    I wrote a story on their names and how they influenced my pets’ lives: http://www.thedailytail.com/nonfiction/a-pet%E2%80%99s-name-a-pet%E2%80%99s-fate/

24. I like “people” names for dogs and like to pick ones that I think match their personalities. I show my dogs and breed occasionally, so every litter needs names, I mostly use characters from my dear departed soap opera Another World, knowing that most will change when they leave home. I currently have two AN names at home, Ada, the matriarch of the current brood, mom to Anna Nicole, who was born around the time the late Anna Nicole Smith’s show launched and I watched WAY too much of that show while I was home with the puppies. Of course, I thought I would sell her and the name would change, but I became completely infatuated with her and kept her and the name. She is quite the character so it fits. Anna’s daughter, Marley was one a of a set of red girl “twins” that I named after Marley & Vickie Hudson on AN. The other girl is now Ruby although my husband and I call her Ruby 2 as Anna also had a sister named Ruby.

25. Hi Dr. Kay,

    Thank you for this entry on a very interesting topic. We have four dogs. Buddy, an Animal Care patient, is our golden who acquired his name by default. George just kept saying to the little pup, come here little buddy. Our veterinarians whose pup he was did not approve of my plan to name him Simeon after the beach we love; they thought it was too close to “sit.” Hrmph. The next three dogs all have the names they had at Marin Humane Society when we fostered and then adopted them. Our young grandson baulked at the idea of renaming them, insisting that they had had a hard enough time already and would be sad to lose their names. Hence: Pepper, Rodney, and Tucker.

26. There are only three names for a dog. Achilles, so you can say, “Achilles, Heel!”

    Beethoven, so you can say, “Roll over, Beethoven!”

    And Johann Sebastian Barque!

    Having said that, my next black lab will be Whitey, my next yellow lab will be Blackie and my next golden will be Spot.

27. I have three pugs – Diesel, Makayla and Gracie Lou Freebush. Diesel came to us at 8 weeks old and is named after Vin Diesel – my hubby’s favorite actor at the time. The name suits him to a “t” – he fully believes he’s 100 pound rottie and likes to show all the big dogs how tough he is! Makayla was adopted from the pound and we had no idea her name (if she had one) since she was dumped there when she was obviously used up from breeding. We couldn’t agree on a single girls name other than Makayla so we went with it. Though she’s more often known as Sister! Gracie Lou Freebush was named Jasmine in rescue. I liked it and want to shorten it to Jazzy. Hubby hated it; we reeled off girls’ names and he liked Grace, so Grace it was. Right away I said “Gracie” and it came out as Gracie Lou Freebush (Sandra Bullock’s character in “Miss Congeniality”) and it stuck. It fits her like you wouldn’t believe – she is personality plus and definitely needs a big bold name like Gracie Lou Freebush!

28. I like the registered name and the call name to connect. My 9 year old PWD is named CoZe’s Lord of the Dance and his call name is Rudy after the Russian ballet dancer. My 3 year old girl is Marshview Harmony and her call name is Trio. Love my dogs’ names!

29. I have the best-named dog ever! He is a pug and his name is…. Pug.

    He came to me as a foster and I figured someone else would give him a “real” name. He was a 6 month old little pug at the time, so I just called him Puglet. He ended up staying and by that point, the name had stuck.

    Puglet’s kinda outgrown the -let part of his name, so most of the time we just call him Pug. People either think it’s funny or stupid. Pug likes it because when people say “Aww, look at the pug!” he thinks the whole world knows his name.

30. I have a Gordon named Niamh (pronounced Neeve) which is Irish for sheen or luster. My puppy’s name is Ambrose, usually shortened to Brose. I think their names suit them.

31. I adopted A Bonnie and Clyde duo and they were the light of my life. When Bonnie passed before Clyde, it hurt terribly, but not because of their names. Had I been there to name them, I would have called them Nick and Nora Charles. In fact, I frequently did call them Nicky and Nora. In recent years, all of my dogs and cats have come pre-named, so I add in a middle name or two and tons of nicknames. My black dog, Venus, did not seem like a Roman sex goddess, so she now is called Gladys Venus Iris, a suitably zesty name! One thing I would recommend is naming your dog/cat something adoptable-sounding, lest you get sick or foreclosed on or predecease your animal. Recently I helped rehome two dogs and Brutus and Loopi were not the easiest names to “sell” to people. Finally, I think there is no way to change (or open) the minds of those who have one Coco dog after another. They are like George Foreman, naming two or more of his sons George. Limited imagination!

32. We were adopted by a 6 month old Chow Chow Sher-pei mix and his name was Charlie but it did not fit him. He had short yellow hair and a black tongue and was full of energy. His new name just came to us and fit perfectly – Taz. He provided many years of love and protection to our family.
    Our daughter bought a tri colored Pomeranian who, when jumping from the couch appeared to be flying. While trying to name him we were watching a Star Wars movie and there he was Ewok. We have always felt these names fit our companions looks and personalities.
    TopDogTom

33. For some reason, I can not name a pet with a human name. It’s just a “thing”. My dogs are Kiva (a Native American meeting or religious house) because I liked the sound and I had just been on vacation in New Mexico before he came to live with me. Jester, who came from rescue with the name “Jagger” but I wanted to connect with his kinder, gentler nature (didn’t work!) and he can be quite a clown when he is not channeling Cujo. Sometimes I think he should go back to his original name of “Bounce” which is also quite fitting. Lastly, there’s Rowan, again because I like the sound and because the Rowan tree has quite a mythology behind it.

    Aspen, the cat, is named for his light green eyes. I’ve also lived with cats Bear (who named herself), Taz (came with the name & I didn’t change it), Yankee (after a rock band) and Tucson (after another vacation!).

34. I adopted Daisy after she was rescued from 8.5 yrs breeding in a puppy mill. Needless to say, she had problems. I went through all kinds of names, consulted with friends, lists, etc., but nothing seemed to “fit”. Then one day I decided that we both needed some help relaxing and adjusting, so I named her for a lovely black lab I lived with who died a number of years ago. I think “Saint Daisy the Lab” used some positive energy to help little Daisy, now ruling the house.

35. We have Nilla (the cookie), Nitro (Aussie, who came with that name, gee, why do you think his first home rejected him! 😉 and Myrtle, the pit/bulldog mix. I named Myrtle in the litter, which was a whole crew of little, wrinkly faced grumpy whiners, born in the MO 500 emergency shelter. We decided to give all of the pups little “old people” names, Myrtle, Edna, Agnes, Earl, etc. Myrtle has been a great name for her, she’s a clown, and it just suits her pudgy, square self. Of course, her AKC mixed-breed registry name is “She’s Myrtle-icious!” because she is!
    The worst pairing names I ever encountered were a pair of cats I used to pet-sit. Their names were Meat and Potatoes. Of course, Potatoes passed away, and they were left with Meat. The same thing happened to me in college when I named my black and white cats, “Yin” and “Yang”. There is nothing worse than a cat-energy imbalance! 😉

36. I have an Australian Cattle Dog named Kylie, and I really like her name. It has a couple of meanings in Australian aboriginal terms, one is ‘boomerang’ and the other is ‘little girl.’ She is on the smaller side for the breed, is very loyal, has the best recall of any dog I have ever owned: Kylie is basically a very good little girl!

37. We currently have three dogs: Hannah, Neisha and Kate. I think that the naming of a puppy is very interesting: for example, Hannah was a sweet gentle puppy and Hannah seemed the perfect name for her. She also had to travel 2000 miles with us to get to our home, and Hannah seemed to fit since so many Hannahs immigrated to America in colonial times. Hannah has truly been the settling tone for every dog we have had during her time with us; she is the wise mother, now granny, and she exerts a calming effect on all the other Airedales we have and have had in our home. Neisha means five-pointed star in Armenian. I knew she was going to be a star in my life, but I didn’t know that she would get just five points (5 pointed star!) in conformation before I decided I really didn’t want to show dogs any more. She is the best trained and most responsive dog I have ever had (and I have always had very responsive dogs). Kate, our youngest, is named for Hepburn, and she is a star, no doubt about it: she is outgoing, funny, determined, and everything else that I think of Hepburn as being. Both Neisha and Kate work with me teaching children safety around dogs and responsible pet ownership.

38. Clare Ann and Britney Ann says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation.

    August 14, 2010 at 1:42 pm
    Hi Dr. Kay,
    When Britney Ann adopted me at 5 years old she came from San Francisco where she was born to Best Friends in Kanab, Utah, where we met. Being born in SF in 2001 I assumed she was named after a famous “Britney”(with one “t” instead of the usual 2–Brittney). I liked her name and, seeing as though she was called that for 5 years, I could not change it….so I modified it —giving her part of my name, “Ann”–thus she goes by “Britney Ann”. She is so much a part of me—and I of her—that it was a natural thing to do!
    (P.S. As you know, she signs our e-mails as “Brit” and I call her “Britsie” for short, but the melody of “Britney Ann” is music to my heart!

39. Hi Dr. Kay,
    When Britney Ann adopted me at 5 years old she came from San Francisco where she was born to Best Friends in Kanab, Utah, where we met. Being born in SF in 2001 I assumed she was named after a famous “Britney”(with one “t” instead of the usual 2–Brittney). I liked her name and, seeing as though she was called that for 5 years, I could not change it….so I modified it —giving her part of my name, “Ann”–thus she goes by “Britney Ann”. She is so much a part of me—and I of her—that it was a natural thing to do!
    (P.S. As you know, she signs our e-mails as “Brit” and I call her “Britsie” for short, but the melody of “Britney Ann” is music to my heart!

40. I’ve two wonderful dogs, the oldest is Little Lord Montagu, Montagu for short, and our sweet adopted from the shelter girl, Chloe. Their names fit their personalities!

41. My dog is named Tesla, and she has not yet developed a coil, an earthquake machine, or starred in her own big-haired rock band. Though she is a Great Pyrenees, so I’m certain she’s developing some sort of doomsday machine under the bed and has a secret desire to dye all that white hair an electric green

42. We have a chihuahua named George Busta Move Jones (commonly called George) and a pug named Buddha San. We like both names and have always gotten positive comments on our choices. We hate when people do the obvious and name chi’s Paco or Peppe or name pugs pugsly … please have a little originality.

43. Ah, and coming from the behavior and training point of view, name your dog Angel, and she will be anything but. Name your dog Damien and he may well fulfill the name to the fullest! So, be careful what you ask for when you name your dog, because you may well get quite the opposite, or, heaven forbid, have a prophecy fulfilled!

    I am in the process of renaming a newly ‘acquired’ 6 mo. Rottweiler pup. There are MILLIONS of names out there. I have narrowed it down by sex, by country of origin (Germany), and by meaning……….and I’m still looking.

    Joellen

44. I’ve heard when you give a middle name to you pet that you consider them your child. This is true for me… my first born is a dog named Avatar Schnickle-Fritz. You should have seen the rolling eyes the name Avatar generated 12 years ago! Now everyone assumes I named him for the movie.

    My second is Oscar Mayer – the reason being so I could call him ‘balogna-boy!’ He is a real handful.

    My third is Rozaida Chiquita, a not so little Chihuahua who came to me with the name Rosie. Zaida means lucky or fortunate on in Spanish and Chiquita is little girl. I added ‘Ro’ to Zaida for familiarity in her transition to adopted life.

    My only cat is Shonali Sophetta; being ha;f Bengal cat Shonali means ‘golden one’ in India and Sophetta is in deference to the name her foster mom gave her of Sophie.

45. Great post. Dog names are important. For me it’s having something meaningful and that carries a punch when you say it in recalls.

    I had two Polish Lowland Sheepdogs. The oldest named Sona – which is “happy” in gaelic, “gold” in Hindi, and “prayer” in Persian. I only knew about the gaelic when I named her, but the others were equally true.

    My second Polish Lowland Sheepdog was Zoe, Greek for Life. I guess during the time that the lives of Sona and Zoe intersected I could say that I had a “Happy Life” with them.

    My current Australian Labradoodle is Shiloh – “shai” is ancient Hebrew for gift , and Shiloh translates loosely into “gift that is given”

46. My dogs name is Freedom. His full name is Sweet Freedom Burks. I have never regretted the name.

47. My Gordon Setter’s name is Ronan which is Gaelic for seal. He looked like a baby seal when I got him. I also had a Gavin, Gemma, and Daphne.

48. My dog’s name is Bobby-his registered name is Fine Creek’s Simple Twist of Fate, after my favorite Bob Dylan song. Bobby came into my life after a very cruel instance of “wrong place, wrong time”. A few months before Bobby was born, my dog Barney and I were attacked in our driveway by a pitbull that had been trained for dogfighting. Barney was killed and I suffered some pretty extensive wounds to my hands. It was a horrific experience.

    When I decided to get another dog, I pondered the registered name/call name and made the decision. I think that it was a good decision-it honors both Barney and Bobby.

49. I named my dogs Scooterbug and Cranberry– both Pekingese, brought into our family at different times. I still love the names. I’ve also had: Coffeecake, Sweetpea, Mocha, Coach, Max, Ty-Ty, Starlight.. (I still have the last three, plus Scooter and Cranberry). I still love all the names.

50. My Tibetan terrier’s name is Tashi, and he and I are very satisied with that name. It fits him perfectly.