Should pets be given "people" names?

Yes

3 of 6

by Troy Gardner

• 

Write now Print Invite a writer™ Add to Favorites RSS Feed Contact this writer

I'm sitting here watching a dog ply his trade amongst company. He's wandering from person to person, stopping occasionally while staring at them with sad brown eyes and pretending to be hungry in order to wrangle a treat from the girls, who squeal over how cute he is. His name? Louie, named either after a king of France, a trumpet player, or a comedian. Depends on who you ask. I'm the one who says that he's named after a king. In part because it amuses me but more because he acts like a king, lounging around and getting fat while people wait on him hand and foot. The name fits him. Really it does. I didn't come up with it myself, and it isn't what I would have named him, but it fits. He's not a Sparky, or a Flash, or a Poochy, he's Louie.

Names are names. We live in a time when we are naming our children after cities, the line between last and first name is breaking down, and some parents refuse to spell their children's names in a sensible manner. Really, it's hard to say just what is a 'people' name. I believe that when you name your pet, you should name him or her the name that fits the best. If your dog is a Spot, then name him Spot. I've seen dogs with names that are better then the children in the family. I felt sorry for the kids.

I don't believe that pets are people too. I also don't believe it shows any disrespect to real people to be have a pet named after them. My favorite dog was actually named after me. Before we had him, I was known to my family as the little goober. Goober was an awesome dog. I'm actually really happy that he kept the Goober name going.

Another dog of mine was named Eddy. He was a small, nervous dog who'd run away from an abusive situation. When we found him, he was scared of everything. Even raising your voice to call to him would cause him to flinch away and cower. It took months before we got him to where he wasn't scared of us. Calling him a name that was patently for pets wouldn't have worked. We needed the more human name in order to give Eddy the respect he deserved. Could we have brought him around with a different name, of course. The human name was just a shortcut for us.

Take care when you name your pet. They are your companion, your friend, part of your family and the care you take with them does reflect upon you as a person. It is alright to give them a 'people' name, not because they are people, but because they are part of us. Treat them as you would wish to be treated.

Learn more about this author, Troy Gardner.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.