It’s Naming Cats and Dogs
I don’t have any pets. I haven’t had any since I was a teenager. But, I really want a dog. Pretty badly. I want a big labrador type dog. Something big and cuddly that I can wrestle around with. But with work and taking care of Granny, trying to handle a big dog would be a struggle. Being an animal lover (cats aside) a pet is really like another person in the family, to me.
Like a lot of people, I tend to humanize pets. If I had a dog, I would talk to him like a human; let him ride in the front seat of the truck; set the TV on channels that would capture his attention; stuff like that. But I have to draw the line at giving my dog a people name.
I have a friend who just got a cat. He gave the cat a woman’s name. A human woman’s name. Tonya. Tonya???? Who names a cat Tonya?? Cats have names like Snowball or Mitten or Socks. Cats are name after things you lose. (If only we could lose cats as easily. But that’s another entry on another day.) Cat’s are not named Tonya. Cat lovers are already pushing the envelope a bit when they give their animals titles (like “Mr. Whiskers,” for example, instead of plain old “Whiskers.”) But cat people are their own special breed, themselves. (That’s a whole blog entry all on its own).
To me, you name pets based on something descriptive (Spot, Fluffy, Midnight); or an attitude (Sparky, Turbo, Droopy); even something royal (Rex, Duke, Queenie). I’ll even go so far as to say that people names are okay for pets if they are famous characters like Scarlett or Heidi, or nicknames like Woody or Butch. Afterall nicknames are “pet names” you have for people.
Ultimately, this is all just my opinion. People can name their pets what they want. Just let me offer this advice. Think twice before you give your pet a random people name. Imagine what it’s going to sound like scolding your pet, “Bad girl, Joanne, bad girl!” or visiting the vet, “I need to make an appointment. Jason needs his shots for worms.” or even worse, “It’s time to get Jennifer spayed.”
Off topic for a moment: If you live in the south, you are well aware of the tens of thousands of people who live here that don’t understand that the word “spayed” is not “spade” and that “spayed” is the past tense of “spay.” So you always hear people talk about getting their cats and dogs “spaded.” Makes me think of vets all over the place cruelly altering animals by hitting them with shovels. “Think you’re gonna have babies? Well, think again!” WHAM!
If you must give your pet a people name, at least try and stay away from current popular names. Avoid things like Joshua, Cameron, Staci, Britney, Travis, and Shemeequa. If you don’t, when it comes to discipline time, you’re just asking for a visit from child services.
Or give your pet what ever name you think it should have for whatever reason. Just be prepared to make a fool of yourself. Afterall, who better to make a fool of yourself over than you pet? They love you just the same.
Except cats.
March 21st, 2005 at 12:45 pm
My inspiraion for pet names come from a variety of areas. Previous pet’s names were; Saki (a drink), Lola (Kinks song), Twisted (doglike cat), Muad Dib & Alia (Dune characters), and Gary (as in Indiana).
March 21st, 2005 at 12:54 pm
You know, it’s amazing you writing about this, because every other day I get into a conversation/arguement with my friend Richard about my dog Rico. “‘Rico’ is a dumb name for a dog!” he’ll exclaim, “Why’d you name him Rico, anyway?”
Well, he’s a dachshund/chihuahua mix, so I wanted to give him either a German or Hispanic type name. My original choice was “Fritz” but the husband rejected that outright. “No dog of mine will be named Fritz!” he declared emphatically. OK, so no Fritz.
My next choices were Otto, Chico (means “boy” in Spanish), Axel, and Sanchez. All rejected!
He chose Bubba, Shorty, Boobah, and Li’l Weiner. All horrible, in my opinion. Can you say “VETO”?
Also shitcanned were Fido, Buddy, Rufus, and Spike.
We were quickly running out of names. Would we never agree on something?
Then I said, “How ’bout Rico?” and he was like, “Hey! I like the sound of that!”
So, yeah, he has a “human” name, but not a common one. I mean, how many Ricos do you know?
March 21st, 2005 at 9:59 pm
My favorite potential dog name would be Stupid. I just want to go to the park, yell out, “Hey Stupid” and see how many people look around.
Seriously, my favorite dog name is Scout.
March 22nd, 2005 at 12:00 am
My three cats are so much fun. When I come home from work Puff is waiting at the door. At night Mama Cat carries her toys around happily. Joey is neurotic. Cats can be just as loveable as dogs, sometimes they are even better! Now I look like a total goof.
March 22nd, 2005 at 7:26 am
I have no cats or dogs. I’ve had pussy though. But, that is a whole other species with less legs and another topic. I was wanting a Dog. Nothing to big though. I’ve always wanted a Pembroke Corgie. I have planned on naming him “Monty” is that to common? =P
March 22nd, 2005 at 11:47 am
My cats love me just the same!! Whitman, Kiko, Mambo and Nesta are wonderful creatures who are full of love. And they’re less needy than dogs. Well, Whitman has been very starved for attention as of late but it’s still not as bad as a dog. Heheheh.
March 22nd, 2005 at 12:07 pm
An “X” and I once named a cat… ” Beep” We never gave it a thought until one day the cat did not come home…
So we found ourselves outside in front of the house at the intersection of 13th and San Carlos… calling out…
” Beep” ” Beep “… we look at each other realized what we were doing and started rolling in the street laughing…
March 22nd, 2005 at 8:26 pm
Hey man, if a big dog would be too much work foryou, then what about a smaller dog like a beagle or a jack russell terrier? They are very active dogs that you could go running in the park with and they’re also very cuddly and not all that much maitenance.. and they’re good indoor dogs as well.
March 22nd, 2005 at 10:01 pm
After our beloved rat terrier passed away last year my partner and I took several months before deciding to get another dog. We’d had her for 11 years and we didn’t want to blur the wonderful memories she gave us with another pet. Besides, it was nice to have some time to just grieve the loss.
Eventually we went looking and this time, for the first time, we decided to adopt. Our new jack russell terrier came with a name his previous owner gave him,”Ace.” Apparently it’s because he has this little mark on the top of his head like “ace” in a deck of cards. He’s already 6 years old and his bio from the rescue center read “Hi, my name is Ace; I’m a 6 year old Jack Russell Terrier and my family moved away and I couldn’t go too.”
We made the right choice as he’s fitting in great with our family and, if you adopt, most often you get a dog that’s already housebroken. That’s a plus.
We ‘Aced’ it!
March 28th, 2005 at 12:22 am
I have went both ways when it comes to naming my animals:
My dogs were: Spot, Bolt, Ringo and Wolf.
My cats were (are): Felix, Fortune, Clyde and Treasure.
I really have no idea why these names were picked other than sometimes they fit. (Bolt obviously because he bolted for the door everytime it opened and Felix, who looked just like the cartoon character)
Friends have been most baffled by the name I picked for my horse, River.
I guess to each his own, for whatever reason…
March 28th, 2005 at 8:10 am
WORD ON THE CAT HATE!!!!! That’s why Egypt fell!