When Sampson was born to a litter of ten puppies, we seriously considered taking two, a male and a female.
Can you just imagine this cuteness times 2?
We talked about all the cute names we could choose, “Jack and Jill,” “Bonnie and Clyde” and of course “Sampson and Delilah.”
As it turns out we only took Sampson, but it was a name we both loved and so it stuck. And truthfully, I can’t imagine him with any other name.
When Sampson was almost three I broached the subject of getting him a companion, to help keep him company when we were at work. Hubby agreed as long as we named her Delilah.
She came to us as “Ginny” (a Harry Potter name I was perfectly content to keep, but a deal is a deal) since she didn’t seem to answer to Ginny anymore than she answered to Delilah, we changed her name.
Whenever people ask us the dog’s names inevitably we get the knowing nod or the “Awe” moment when they hear both dogs names. This is Sampson (they smile) and this is Delilah.
Everybody say it with me, “AWE!”
All that being said, I can’t tell you how many times I thought…I should have named her:
Padfoot – This is due to the way she pads along behind me or in front of me anytime she thinks she might be getting food. You’d think a dog intent on stealing food would be stealth. Not this dog.
Alice – as in, “One of these days Alice, Pow, right to the moon!” This is usually after I’ve told her countless times to GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN! Typically it’s accompanied by a bunch of swear words. Oh who am I kidding, it’s usually the “F” word. GET OUT OF THE FUCKING KITCHEN. SIRIUSLY!
It’s skillz Mama, this girl has skillz.
Hoover – This is due to the fact she is like a vacuum. She inhales her food, even when we invert her bowl to make it more challenging and she sucks food off the floor faster and cleaner than any vacuum I’ve ever had.
Lucy – as in, “Luuuuuuucyyyyy, you got some ‘splainin to do!” This is usually when I find something shredded that wasn’t meant to be shredded. Like the napkin I left on the couch table when I zipped into the kitchen to get some salt. I swear I was only gone 10 seconds.
Sirius – (one of my favorite Harry Potter characters) used like, “Are you sirius?” This is after I’ve tripped on her five times and am trying to get somewhere but she keeps walking in front of me. And it doesn’t matter if you change directions, no. This dog has cat like skills. The kind that can trip someone and send them tumbling down the stairs or into a wall.
Harm – as in, “Let me move these brownies to the top of the refrigerator and out of Harm’s way.” Because if you leave them anywhere within her tongue’s reach, she’s going for it. And she’s quick, like a vacuum.
What kind of thoughts did you put into naming your pets? Do you ever think you may have chosen the wrong name?
Pippin was after Great Expectations and Molly after Moll Flanders so those were easy. They just felt right. Have a terrific Tuesday.
Best wishes Molly
I’ve always thought of changing Mo’s name to: “One of these days you’re going to kill me.” Mo insists on constantly walking or running in front of me in an attempt to trip me and kill me! Lol! He also does this spinning thing which one day soon I need to video. Perhaps his new middle name could be “Tornado!” Arf!
When we were discussing names for Mity my dad said “I think we should call him…(and then he dropped something hot, or stubbed his toe I can’t remember exactly and so the next words out of his mouth were)..bugger, sweet Jesus” Strangely enough we didn’t go with it, but it did have us all in hysterics for months!!
I named my 15 month old yellow lab after the wizard Merlin. I named him before we got him and this was due to a dog I knew that was named that and I always wanted a dog called Merlin. Incidentally my mum has a blue heeler called Arthur lol.
I don’t regret calling him that though because he seems to cast a spell on everyone he meets 🙂
I named our black lab mix Kenobi because I loved Star Wars as a child. We soon shortened it to OBI because it fit him better. It delights all children who meet him. You can see the wheels turning and then they say, like “Obi-Wan?”
LOL – love those alternate names. When we got Rudy we seriously considered also taking 2 of his siblings. Wow, that would have been totally crazy :-0
Mommy just liked my name(period)
Lily (& Edward)
We are all happy with our names, but the fun thing is all those “other names” you come up with get used at our house as nicknames. It works perfectly!
Don’t tell Blueberry, but the only reason I adopted her was because of her name. It was perfect and I didn’t have to worry about renaming her. Just kidding…but her name did jump out at me when I was perusing the Petfinder site. I used to call my previous (heart) dog, Shadow – “boo-berry”. So when I saw the dog named Blueberry – I knew she would be mine (the name plus the description of her personality won me over before we even met). I can usually come up with really great (imho) names for dogs – until I actually have a new dog, then I freeze up. It feels like test time and suddenly I can’t think beyond a 3 year old’s level. Although I do have nicknames for Blueberry, I wouldn’t ever dream of changing her name. In case I ever get another dog in the future, I actually have a saved list of possible dog names that are awesome. I’ve always wanted a yellow lab for the sole purpose of naming her Buttercup or a red coated dog so I could name her Nutmeg. Okay, maybe I am still a three year old that likes to name her dogs after food or flowers…don’t judge me… 😉
Blueberry has offered to help Delilah work on her stealth moves so D can be more like a ninja. Dogs have to stick together, ya know?
You may know this already, but Fozzie was named Bullet in the shelter and when I first got him, I was determined that he would be a foster and would get adopted quickly…so I gave him a very family-friendly name. You know how that whole fostering thing worked out…but I think Fozzie was a good choice for him 🙂
Our names were Carefully picked out… NO, mom and dad have NEVER regretted the choices… they say our names FIT us to a T…
We employ lots of nicknames to meet the needs of our exclamations…I may have to start using Sirius because Jack does that too…so frustrating! It’s like, I”m going in the kitchen to get you a treat, but if you stand in front of me in the doorway of my office , I can’t get out…Siriously??
Laugh out loud funny! Especially continuing to walk just enough in front to keep me falling. I also love putting up any food. Gus has pulled a cast iron pan off of the stove twice and eaten almost a full pan of cornbread. We have locks on all of our rooms that he could possibly get in trouble when we leave. I could go on and on, but I do identify.
Gus’ Mom
haha! I love you alternate names!
It took us a few days to come up with Daisy’s name – hard to believe, since it’s not unusual in any way! But we wanted a name to fit the delicate little flower we brought home, and we’ve always remembered a line Meg Ryan said in You’ve Got Mail – “Don’t you think daisies are the friendliest flower?” And Daisy officially had her name. 🙂
I never have – the names sort of stick and become part of their personalities. However, when we introduce Monty and Harlow, people hear “Monty and Carlo”, as in Monte Carlo… It’s tempting.
Monty and Harlow (who really is a blonde bombshell…)
Haha, some of your alternative names would fit my Poppy – Hoover being the most apt, as she is better than any vacuum!
Seriously, we had a few names picked out when we went to choose a companion for the one we had (Penny), but they all flew out the window as soon as we saw her…..and a completely different name came to me – Poppy. She had the biggest eyes I’ve ever seen, they seemed to ‘pop’ out of her head! She grew into them and the name still fits her to a T.
LOL I think her name suits her. I do know an Alice (with registered name “To The Moon”) and a Lucy (who had a companion Ricky and now has companion Freddie).
I love all D-Dog’s nicknames and I can so relate to all of them! I could have named Callie “Mom” cuz she reads me like a book, she’s independent, and she’s as patient as saint. But Hoover would fit her too. Still, Callie has fit her right from the start. But mostly I call her my sweetheart, and Shadow is sweetie. (Ducky is little sweetie.) Shadow is definitely a shadow – mine and Callie’s. Ducky is my little hoover — and faster than any vacuum I’ve ever seen, including Callie.
Both our dogs have the names their foster mom’s gave them.
We were considering Lea (as we had Gemini, my sign and Leo is hubby’s sign) or Lucifur (aka Lucy) for Hailey. I have days that I think she should have been names after the devil (in a good way).
Zaphod we considered changing to Thor (we had a Loki before), Elliott (after Elliott Stabler in Law and Order SVU) or Victor (after a character in Wolverine). I can’t imagine him being anything other than Zaphod or Phod now!
Harm! Ha! I didn’t see that coming. That’s my favorite. Those names are better than some names Mom calls me. Naughty. Sneaky. Stubborn…..
Love and licks,
Miserable (Cupcake)
Harm! That’s too funny. Rita came to us as Peaches. She was found on Rosarito Beach so we thought of Rosa or Rita. Since the hubs was into making peach margaritas at the time we got her, we went with Rita. 🙂
hahaha love all those names you should of chosen and they are just perfect, love the reason behind Alice!
I don’t think it matters what you name them, it’s inevitable that you will come to call them many other names! We’ve also used “Hoover” for Cricket, and close to Padfoot, I call Sheba “Floppyfoot” when she’s following around behind me. For some reason her feet are very loud hitting the floor!
Hi Y’all!
You know what my Human said to me? See, that’s why you were always crated when I wasn’t watchin’ you, playin’ with you or trainin’ you.
You know what I answered her? I said your blog would be no fun to read at all if you decided to crate Delilah! What would you have to write about? What would my Human have to make her smile and laugh when she reads it?
Y’all come on by,
Hawk aka BrownDog
Hi Jodi, You may or may not be aware that we’ve been having a heck of a time naming the new guy. His name when we got him was Sundubu (White Tofu Stew in Korean). That didn’t seem quite right. We’ve gone through MANY names since then, but have finally settled – 8 months in – on Loki (Son of Cokie). His full name though, which my nephew can rattle off faster than I, is Loki WynnaCokie Sundubu Balzac Banksy Toothless Enzo Furrari Baggins.
Kristin – and Loki, etc. =^..^=
After reading about your adventures, I cannot fathom any other name for the D-Dog. She’s totally a femme fatale and it absolutely fits her and is completely in context with the handsome Sampson. Sam was his name when I got him (Yosemite Sam actually) and I was not a fan. But early on I realized this dimwit might not ever come to a new name so I just kept it and now realize it’s the perfect name for him and I love it. Everyone else seems to agree. Now if only they’d stop thinking he was a girl. Bwah-ha-ha. No clue why, but 9 times out of 10 at the hospital they always refer to ‘her.’ 🙂