Naming Your Pet
Acquiring a new puppy or a new kitten may be one of the most wonderful events that can happen to a family. Bringing home that cuddly, quirky and needy ball of fluff is sure to get some “oohs” and “aahs” from grown-ups and kids alike. Even before that pooch wets the newspaper in the corner or that kitten slinks past your calves purring a poll on what to call this new family member ensues.
Having grown up in an animal loving family, rules of naming may differ. But the most basic will be: a name that has 1-2 syllables, cross from list “puppy” and “kitty”. Most of the time, if the decision is family made, there is a consensus if the name fits the pet. It takes a day to a week to be able to see what name fits the pet perfectly. It would be a waste if a black cat or dog were called black/ blacky, there must be something distinct about the pet aside from its color. It’s just like naming a boy child “Boy”? I remember my cousin’s black cat named “Black”, this cat chose another owner and now answers (literally) to the name “Blake”. My uncle who is a vet named his favorite mongrel “Brock” because he was brown and had a muscular build hard as a rock.
For those intent of making a big fuss about naming their pet, the internet can help you a lot. It would take patience and diligence to search for the right name though. The kinds of names that are available can be American Indian names, names from the top 100-name list of the year or there are names based on countries or capitals. It takes patience to get to the right site that understands the ritual of pet name finding.
If your search turns up nil, how about naming a pet after a significant incident? My mom named her dog “Tiny” since he was able to fit in her pocket when she got him. Ironically, “Tiny” became lithe and medium built like a gray hound. My Collie was given to me on Ash Wednesday, the toss was between “Wednesday” and “Ash” we ended up with “Hush”…he was a calm dog, what can I say.
I advise against naming pets after people though. This is to avoid awkwardness on your side and the person whose name coincides with your pets. We had a dog-named “Bea”, it was okay for a while. Until my mom’s student would have her tutorials at home…her name: Bea.
All told, finding a pets proper name takes up half the effort of naming a person. The good thing though is that your pet is not susceptible to embarrassment if you name it funny. The embarrassment is usually the owner’s if the dog doesn’t live up to its moniker. I used to have a black and white male cat, he was very formal, a skilled bird-catcher and wall climber…mistakenly I got used to calling him “Cutie”. Some names are rather misleading…