“What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other
name would smell as sweet.” –Romeo and
Juliet, II.ii
As many of you know, I have two beloved greyhounds (a
retired racer and an Italian Greyhound). I belong to several online greyhound
forums, and the other day someone asked the question—what was your greyhound’s
racing name and what did you rename them (if you did)? This question prompted
responses not only about people’s dog’s actual names, but also a list of names
they call their dog and how those names evolved. One person said only their vet
called their dog by its real name. At home it was called FiFi, FooFoo, Booger,
and other terms of endearment.
Since I know a lot of people who have many names for
their dogs, I thought this was a good place to address this all-too-common
phenomenon.
My retired racer’s racing name was Starz Megabucks. His
first family called him Megabucks (then, luckily for us, he was returned). His
first foster dad called him Zee (for the Z in Starz). We renamed him
Chase. We do call him Chase, but he also
answers to Chaser, Chaser-racer, Chasey, Chaserini, Chaseroo, Chaserooni,
Chase-Man, Mr. Man, Chester, Moose, Moose-Man, Horse, Hamster, and Big Hamster.
Trinity came with her name and we kept it. She also
answers to Trin-Trin, Trinner, Trinster, Trinister, Trinitor, Trinitarian,
Trin-Spin, Trin-a-Min, Boo Boo, Boolicious, Miss Thing, and Woogie-Woogie.
Your turn.
Do you have nicknames for your dog or cat? Do they answer
to them?
