What's in a Name?

 
Have you ever wondered how we come up with names for our animals? I would love to be able to tell you there is a well thought out process to ensure all of our residents are matched with the best possible name for them but I can't. We totally make it up as we go along.  Last year we cared for over 1700 animals, so that's a lot of names. Names that will follow them throughout their journey with us and in some cases for the rest of their lives. No pressure there.

The majority of animals arrive at our door without names and it is up to us to give them one. That awesome responsibility often falls to the staff member who does their intake or the volunteer who transports them to the shelter or the foster home who first cares for them. Litters and groups tend to have themes or start with the same letter, which makes it easier for us to know who came together as a group; the F pups, the Beatrix Potter bunnies, the flower kittens. We have called on Greek Gods, cities, trees, colours, deserts and desserts. You name it and we've probably used it. Names sometimes reflect popular culture and we have had our share of Disney, Harry Potter and Game of Thrones characters. We utilize baby name books, personal experience and Google. Lively discussions over names are not uncommon, everyone has an opinion and sometimes in an attempt to be unique we can go a bit too far. We had a pretty little cat and her adorable kittens called the Mother Ship, HMS Acosta, The Santa Maria, CSS Hunley & SS Minnow, in hindsight probably not the best choices. Though well intentioned, spelling is not always our strong suit so we end up with Sza Sza rather than Zsa Zsa, and Vegabond not Vagabond. A name may need to be adjusted once the gender is confirmed; Gilbert becomes Gilberta, Jake becomes Jakelyn. Lloyd, Floyd and Boyd all turned out to be girls but we kept their names anyway and so did one of their new families.

Whether it's Kitty Purry, Pawdry Hepburn or just plain Doug, we strive for every animal to have a personal connection with people, be it just a few or many. The longer their stay with us the more likely that their name becomes an integral part of who they are. At the end of the day the majority of animals will get new names to go along with their new lives and that's okay. We realize that Susan and Not Susan isn’t as funny when they are no longer together, what's a Bibbidy without Bobbidy & Boo and what the heck is an Eehmoo? 

Some names will be forever tied to an animal that touched your heart. For me, there will only ever be one Feather, one Shivers, one Oliver (all pictured), and one Norman. What's in a name? Sometimes, everything.