What's in a Name?
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. We care for many animals in
any given year…. that is 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. Our names can also
reflect popular culture and we have had our share of Disney, Harry Potter and
Game of Thrones characters. We utilize baby name books, personal experiences
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 once
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. What's in a name? Sometimes, everything.
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