Blogger: Etta Wilson
Location: Books and Such Nashville office
Weather: Hotter by the day
What a lot of dog names and memories we’ve stirred this week! Some fictional and some real. We’ve recalled the great stories about Lassie, Old Yeller, Poky Little Puppy, Sounder, and Harry to name a few. And nobody mentioned Charles Schulz’s Snoopy or Scooby-Doo, that great Hanna Barbera creation, which is appearing in recent reincarnations. Then there are the real ones–did I mention the long-hair Hilda across the street? Some dogs you just don’t want to live with!
For me, the interesting question is the names we select for our dogs, either in writing or in real life. Do the names we give animals suggest their personalities? Has anybody ever heard of a dog named Bossy? That’s a cow’s name, for pete’s sake, but how did we learn that?
And have you thought about a dog’s having more than a one-word given name? I was taken aback when I saw our vet was labeling any medication for our dog with “Andy Wilson.” Is this another sign of our growing interdependence with the dog species?
I’ve only scratched the surface in these brief dog blogs. One of the best collections of heartwarming dog stories is A Prince Among Dogs and Other Stories of the Dogs We Love (Revell, 2007). In addition to the true stories from some 27 authors, it contains trivia such as “The Top 10 Dog Movies of All Time” and quotes about this special animal. Here’s one from an unknown source: “My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am” (p.160). That’s loyalty!
Our beloved parrots have also been given our last names at the vet’s office. I think it’s a nice practice! Especially when pets are sick or injured, it’s lovely to have an outsider remind us how much a part of our families they are…
I’ve been told I must read The Art of Racing in the Wind. Have you heard about it?
I also remember the surprise seeing my dog’s last name on her prescriptions!
Debra, is TAORWTW for adults or kids? Is it about greyhounds? Sounds interesting. Etta
Dad is a veterinarian.
Clients seemed to be SO pleased when, in the mall or grocery store, Dad would say, “Well, there’s FiFi’s Mom.” And typically the prescriptions and other papers would have the owner’s last name because there are so many duplicates in “first” names. Ha!
Still on the 4 footer topic – a friend of a friend in CO wrote this series. I found it to be such an interesting viewpoint!
http://horselegend.com/The-Lost-Legend-of-the-First-Christmas/index.html I have the 2nd book in the series here on my desk right now. It’s just a good one!