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I'm a children's author. Animals are a constant source of writing material for me. They are also my heart!

Names!

>> Wednesday, November 18, 2009

I was just emailing back and forth with Georgie (Tweedles mom) talking about some of our pets. I was telling her about Bud my Newfoundland. We were talking about Maddie and Annabelle. And of course we were talking about Tweedles.

It occurred to me, that I named all my dogs and cats people names. I think it's because as hard as I try, I can't think of my animals as animals. They're my family. I think of them as people.

Except for Annabelle, all of my animals have two syllable names. Annabelle is the exception because as a rescue, she came with a name. With all the abuse she'd already been through I figured she should at least have the comfort of her own name.

Tango is the only animal I have that doesn't have a people name. He got the name Tango because he was the movingest horse I'd ever seen. I had to dance with him just to get him groomed. Tango's name still suits him.

So, I'm just wondering...with all the cute dogs and cats I've met in the past few months....how'd you name your animal? Just curious about how their names came to be. From the photos I've seen, the names you've given your guys seem to be just right!

Oh! Before I forget it again...if you haven't already left your pet's photo in the guestbook at the very bottom of this page, please do! I'd love to see pets represented from sea to shining sea...we're getting there. Go look for yourself!

23 comments:

Cocorue November 18, 2009 at 2:16 AM  

i'm so thrilled i'm first to comment ....i know,silly me

i was named after Coco Chanel and mumster's friend, the breeder had named me after Coco Lee, the singer and the name stuck!

chikisses and you have a great week

Ziggy Stardust November 18, 2009 at 3:13 AM  

Sasha was also a rescue and we liked the name and didn't want to confuse her as she came so well to her name. Our first shih tzu was named Holly. We got her in December when my daughter was 6 and she named her. I thought it was a good choice. I was afraid she was going to pick something like Santa or Merry or a very Christmas like name. Holly was a cute name and it fit her. I would love to know how Tweedles got her name. I love me my Tweedles. On the doggy blogs a little while back there was a go around post on how all the doggies were named and what their nicknames were, it was fun.

Anne and Sasha

CATachresis November 18, 2009 at 5:07 AM  

Austin was a rescue cat. He was named that by the centre where he was taken because he was discovered badly injured inside a car engine trying to keep warm. Why they chose "Austin" I do not know; it could just as easily have been "Ford" or "Volkswagon" or "BMW". lol.

Not been paying attention lately as have been laid low with a virus :(

Parsley November 18, 2009 at 7:53 AM  

Rosie--named for the color of her red fur
Henry--Named for Henry Ford so we could keep him (daddy/husband likes Fords)
Molly--just a sweet girl
Cookie--for the cookie shaped spot on her back
Snuffy--for the snuffing/snorting noises she makes
Mariposa--because she is Papillon (French name for butterfly) and Chihuahua. Mariposa is the Spanish name for butterfly.

Kat November 18, 2009 at 8:54 AM  

Annie was already named when we got her.
Petey we named because for some reason he just looked like a Petey. (something about the little rascals?)
Buddy a.k.a. Peanut Butter (which was his given name, but sounded too close to Petey so we renamed him Buddy) Why Buddy, well he just seemed like a good buddy!

Honeygo Beasley November 18, 2009 at 9:35 AM  

I wrote a little post about it, which you can read here.

: )))

Happy Thanksgiving!

Unknown November 18, 2009 at 9:50 AM  

My Billy's paper name is Shufelt's Sweet William, because he is so sweet and I love flowers! I know, I'm a kook!

Mary Beth November 18, 2009 at 10:48 AM  

Maggie May- credit to the great Rod Stewart. Maggie is a career change dog from Pilot Dogs. When she joined the family, her name was Farrah. I just couldn't leave her burdened with the name Farrah. She figured out and adjusted to her new name very quickly.

Jan Mader November 18, 2009 at 11:40 AM  

Hey Honeygo Beasley...I just read your post about Chloe's name...."She loves to smell the grass, chase bugs and butterflies, sniff the air, and ask all who pass her by for pats and attention." And on top of all that...she's adorable!

Gail Wilson November 18, 2009 at 3:24 PM  
This comment has been removed by the author.
Gail Wilson November 18, 2009 at 3:26 PM  

My name is Mistaya and my M.O.M. and M.O.D. named me after a very sweet young lady they know and felt that I was just as sweet when they rescued me when I was very young. hugs and wags, Mistaya

Sandy November 18, 2009 at 7:09 PM  

My cat (whom you and rescued years ago), was named socks...not a people name. The name suited her though. She was black and hat white feet...looked like she was wearing socks. Socks, came from your eldest...he pointed I think and said it looked she was wearing socks.

One of her litter we kept, because we ran out of places for homes was called Little One. Not a people's name. She wasn't little either, she was bigger than Socks.

Living at home we had 2 dogs, neither had people names. One was Toy. She was small, had been a birthday gift to my younger brother. She was sorta his toy, I guess. Dog before that was named Pudgy. I don't know who named her; and I don't know if she was over weight. Must ask Daddy about that some time. I was too young probably to remember how that came to be.

Dog next door is named Heisman, because the people are huge football fans. One cat was named Woody after Woody Hays, and one cat was named Lombardi, after another great football coach.

Butch and Sundance are on the other side. Named from the movie Butch Cassidy, because they are such a twosome.

Sandy

Sandy November 18, 2009 at 7:12 PM  

Just spotted this one in the comments...Snuffy. That's a great dog's name. I love it. I get a picture without seeing a picture of what that dog must look like. As Jan says, paint pictures with your words.

Sandy

BRUTUS November 18, 2009 at 8:24 PM  

I don't have to tell you who Brutus is named after ;) Luckily it suits him well too. The runner-up choice was "Divot" (we live on a golf course0; cute, but not as appropriate!! All my other dogs, and some horses have had people names too:
Duncan, Darby (JR terriers)
Mason (our choc. lab)
Phillip (a Dutch Warmblood, his registered name was "Ground Zero")
Josh (a thorobred, registered name "Just Josh")


Michelle

2cats November 18, 2009 at 8:25 PM  

I have cats. Two cats in the house and a whole bunch of ferals outside. The ferals have names also.
Inside:

Tubby...because as a kitten he really was.
Ozzy...I really don't know.My husband named HER
We had a cat named Heloise. She was named that be cause that was the closest name to hellion that we could come up with. She was a lovable monster. Another cat we had had a real name of Hester. We thought we would keep the H thing going. But at home she was called Little Kitty. She was much smaller than Heloise. But they were grat pals.
The feral:
Sammy
Wheres that Baby AKA Randy
Sweet Face
Huck
Finn
Grace
PJ
Sister
We have had many,many other ferals but these are the current ones.

Jan Mader November 18, 2009 at 8:41 PM  

Maggie is much better and a great tribute to a great song! I'll never look at her the same again Mary Beth. A career change dog from Pilot Dogs....wow!

And 2 cats, I'm impressed. Giving them names makes them real and....loved. I'm featuring a terrific cat story this weekend. You remind me of the young woman who's writing the story.

Tweedles -- that's me November 18, 2009 at 8:47 PM  

My brothers and sisters names , used to come from the earth
Pine Cone, Sunshine, Lobo, Nutmeg, Squash Blossom.
Then came the day for my name- Tweedles to be chosen.
Once upon a time there was a little elf that on Christmas eve- the elf would bring jammies to all the little girls in mamas family,
That little elf- who was full of magic and hope- its name was Tweedles.
Moms picked this name for me- because the name brings joy , and love warms the heart.
And the little elf Tweedles still comes on Christmas eve, to this very day
xoxo

Two French Bulldogs November 18, 2009 at 9:25 PM  

cute...I was already named Benson. Momma liked the name Lily forever so she named Lily ..Lily
Benny & Lily

Sman November 18, 2009 at 10:38 PM  

Here are just a few of my favoritely named pets out of many!

As a puppy, Georgia was enthralled with seeing her own footprints on the patio. She would intentionally go walk around in mud, come back, and paint pictures for us on the concrete. So we named her after Georgia O'Keefe, since we clearly had an artist on our hands!

I got my first kitten, Teddy, when I was in first grade. I chose his name by going through all the boy's names I knew, which just so happened to be all the boys in my class, and "Teddy" was the only one I found suitable for my cat. I wonder where Teddy the boy, or man I should say, is today! If only he knew the honor...

Koala. The obvious is his large black nose in contrast to his otherwise light brown face. But Koala is also massive, and the name Koala sounds like a hulking warrior's name to me. Try saying it with a husky voice and drag out the -la. Hear it?

My most recent pet, Puck the fish, (I don't have many options living in a college dorm!) got his name by his whimsical way of swimming and his dreamy purple, pink, and blue coloring. So he is named after the sprite in "A Midsummer's Night Dream", and he is exceptionally large, so the one-syllable name seems to suit him!

Jan Mader November 18, 2009 at 11:00 PM  

And I do love Puck little Sman...I really do. That fish has heart.

I think we should check to see where the real Teddy is right now...somehow I think he would be honored to know that his name left a legacy of joy.

Anonymous November 18, 2009 at 11:38 PM  

Hi, my name is Scooter. I'm Lori, Lilly and Griffin's cat. I was named that because I was born with a broken pelvis and I walked funny. Later in life I was attacked by two dogs and received major nerve damage to my back leg. Now i'm really living up to my name. Who needs to run and jump when you can just scoot your way through life.

I have a sister cat by the name of Juno. She was named after the movie Juno, which is one of my mom's favorite movies.

My sister dog is named Lexi. She came with her name, she was a rescue. We mostly call her Fat Girl(because she is). It's only terms of endearment. We truly love her, no matter how she looks.

Lillian Robinson November 19, 2009 at 12:56 AM  

Most of their names were spontaneous choices, based on how they looked or acted... Squeaky Bear was the meowiest kitten in the litter, Teddy Bear loves to cuddle, Benji looks like a Tiger, Chubbers eats too much, Little Bear is black with claws that don't retract, what looked like a mouse crawled into the little is Mickey, Derby has white markings that looked similar to a saddle, Oreo is black with a white 'O' on his belly, Paint had tips of white in a couple of spots - looked like she had walked under a paint brush... Well, you get the picture.

The hardest was Nekoda. I was torn between a western Indian-pony kinda name and something Biblical. Nekoda is a Biblical name that is Hebrew for marked or distinguished.

There! Now, aren't you sorry you asked?

Joanie November 19, 2009 at 6:04 AM  

My cat Sylvie's name came to me in a waking dream before I even got her. I had heard there were kittens and wanted to get one, but wasn't sure. Then I woke up one morning with thinking "I'm going to get a gray kitten and I'm going to name her Sylvie." Sure enough, when I went to look at the kittens, the only one left was gray. As to why Sylvie, probably that was part of my subconscious because as a child we always listened to Harry Belefonte and one of my favorite songs on his album is called Sylvie.

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