When I adopted my first dog, I wanted to name her Ham.  Not because I’m a big pork fan, but because I felt animals took after their names.  I thought a dog named Ham would end up being a big clown.  But my mother decided she was not going to yell “Ham come” out the back door, so I settled for Whitney, after Whitney Houston.  Fortunately, she didn’t take after her namesake and was the best first dog a person could have.

Charm

I love deciding what to name my pets.  Sometimes I come up with a name right away other times it takes a few days to decide just the right one.  I like names so much I even keep a list of potential ones to use.  You never know when one might fit or a friend is looking for suggestions.

Names can tell a lot about the pet and their people.  Often there’s a  story behind  why a name was chosen.  Here are some of the stories behind how some of my zoo crew got their names.

Ricochet

His original name was Toby, but a friend’s dog had that same name and it didn’t seem like a good fit. I like to rename my adopted pets giving them a new start with a new life and a name that has no negative connotations. I had chosen the name Chaos off my name list, but when I picked him up after he was neutered at the shelter, it didn’t seem right. There was a country music band named Ricochet and that seemed like a perfect name for an on-the-go Jack Russell.

Charm

I had no intention of adopting another cat when the head vet tech came back in the the treatment area with a 4 week old kitten someone had found and brought to the Emergency Vet Hospital I worked at. She held her out and showed us the cutest kitten.  I knew I was in trouble when the name Charm popped into my head, but I didn’t need another cat. I spent the rest of my shift hoping the other tech would take her home, but that didn’t happen.  She ended up coming home with me after all with her new name.

Amblin

I found him on Petfinder.  His post was pretty much like all the other ferrets until I got to the end where they had added “he might have something wrong with his legs”.  That didn’t seem right so I went to the shelter the next day to check him out and ended up adopting him.  I’m not sure what they thought might be wrong with his legs, I couldn’t find anything wrong and he moved like a normal ferret walking around the getting acquainted room at the shelter. As I was watching him in the room, I decided to name him Amblin since he seemed to be having fun ambling around.

Eco

Eco

Eco’s name was easy. He joined my household on Earthday and he was green(part green anyway) so something to do with the environment seemed right.

Glee

Yes, I’m a kind of a Gleek.  In the pilot episode they show a sign that said “By its very definition, Glee is about opening yourself up to joy.”  I loved that quote and felt it was a perfect description of what it felt like when pets shared your life. When I adopted a bunny a few months after seeing the quote, it just seemed right to name her Glee, especially after watching her do bunny binkies.

What’s the story behind your pet’s name?

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