I don’t have a knack for pet names and frequently find myself embarrassed in retrospect by the names I choose. My first dog came ready-named in the days when I didn’t understand that you can change a dog’s name. Jody. Then I named the puppy I adopted when Jody died for a mawkish reason related to Jody. Then we adopted Josie and kept her name because I thought, mawkishly, that her name uncannily combined both of my previous dogs’ names. I don’t remember how we came up with Lucy, but considering that at least 100,000 people in our neighborhood alone would also have dogs named Lucy, I’m assuming the name was just somehow in the air.
Kosmo is a dog who could have many different names. In fact, at least once a week, we say something like, “You know, we should have named him Bongo,” or recently, I wish we’d named him Mouse. We waited to find an essence, but when so many appeared, we named him Kosmo. The SPCA called him Jeffrey, which seems kind of inappropriate for a dog, but Kosmo being Kosmo, it would have been workable. In fact, he looks a little like a Jeffrey.
Nancy (behaviorist) said we might want to consider renaming Pearl since “Pearl” for her now has a mix of associations, only some of which are good. And thus began the
Name-That-Dog conversation that thus far has come up empty.
The second time Pearl tried to bite Nancy, Nancy said “Why you little snapper!” And I thought, “Hmm. Snapper. That’s pretty good.” An essence, maybe. Patrick liked it, too, and it remains his favorite among about 1,000 names I’ve offered. The name can’t be serious, so try as I might to find, say, a Native American word that would catch her essence, everything possible is too somber. Lately I like Sparky because I think of the word “sparky” not as a name, but as a comment one of my favorite people in the world wrote in the margins of a student's essay. The idea was, she wrote, “really sparky!” a sentiment otherwise hard to express and one I agreed with completely. And lest “Sparky” seem like a boy’s name, I’m prepared to make it short for “Sparkle,” which I think is kind of a funny name—in a sparky sort of way. But Patrick isn’t going for it.
12 years of waiting
11 years ago
Thinking about names for Pearl is difficult since she is such a charming and happy girl. Vivace is the Italian version of Sparky but it does seem a bit much for yelling around the neighborhood when she goes running about looking for someone to herd. Pepper is the Anglicized version from Cambodian Hot Pepper and the shelter's name of Mitzi was not even worth considering. Coco and Binny came with names from their original parents; who had to give them up and we somehow were a better alternative then the shelter, so we just kept their names. They don't really reflect who they are but they've answered to other various names like Doe-Doe Brain and other endearments. So I'll continue to think about Pearl and what other names could suit her.
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