A Dog By Any Other Name

Over at Blogher they're talking about why and how we name our dogs. I did a quick share of Ed's naming story but thought I'd do a larger explanation here. Whereas Emily's naming was quite spiritual, Ed's was much more practical.

When Emily arrived it was a dark and stormy night, I lived in a drafty brownstone and Pony Express came straggling home in the rain with this animal. I'd been deputized to put the house's other dog, Oscar, out in the back yard so we could handle the new dog on her own. After I did that I sat on the staircase that faced the front door to greet the hairy, rainy rescue contingent. Pony Express and our friend, Cate, came in with a clearly terrified dog. We cordoned off the entryway to keep her contained and the three of us just tried to stay as still as possible while we waited to see what this dog would do. She tried to get out and run away, standing on her hind legs and using both front paws to try and manipulate the door handle unsuccessfully. Her entire being was consumed with the message, "RUN!"

Within 15 seconds of her being in the house a voice in my head spoke very gently. It said, "Her name is Emily." That kind of thing has never in a million, zillion years happened to me. It was clear as a bell then, though. So Emily she was. Also, Em, Emmie, Emolina, Radar, Zie Kleine Hund, Baby Girl, Our Little Gazelle, The Dog, and so much more.

I heard about Ed for an entire work day before I met him. I knew more about dogs so I actually got into organization mode when I decided I'd be taking him. I had to get someone to lend me a leash and a crate and I had to do some inventory on my cupboards to see if there was anything I could feed this guy. The first thing I did, almost involuntarily, was plan his name.

He was found in the parking lot of an outlet of the local electric company, Con Edison. Having listened, third hand, to the description of the dog - a brown and black boy puppy - I felt well-informed but still wasn't absolutely certain that I was getting the full and correct story. I decided to call him Eddie while crossing my fingers that he didn't turn out to be a girl because then, by my logic, I'd have to call him Connie and I hated that idea. He turned out not to be a puppy but he was a boy and the name has turned out to suit him very well. He is Ed, Eddie, Edison, Edward, Monsieur, Jerk, Quit It, Buddy, Big Guy, Little Dog, Crazy Eddie, Fast Eddie, Lord Edison of Upper Barkington, Mami Boy, and many more.

What about you, did your pets get named in a special way?

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The New York City Listen To Your Mother Show is happening on May 12, 2013 at 5pm at Symphony Space. Ticket and venue information can be found here. I hope to see you there! If you aren't close to this show please check this site to see if there is a LTYM show near you.