by Dana Michalski

Created on: May 02, 2008

You bring a new pet home. Now it's time for the name. Most people wait a few days before choosing this life-long name. At times, animals do funny things that sparks a few ideas for their name. Others, right from the beginning, have unusual quirks or traits that will help develop a name. Looking back at the animals that have been in my life, they have either acquired their name from the previous owner or have done something utterly silly to earn their name.

GERONIMO: He was a barn kitten that was the only survivor of a horrendous Tom Cat attack on the litter. Mother brought him into the house to care for him and he took a leap from the very top stair down into the dining room. As he was falling, she yelled out "Geronimo!" The name stuck.

PATRUSHKA: Such a sweet dog. She was a miniature Schnauzer and being a German breed, had to have an ethnic fitting name.

PHIL: Phil was actually a filly horse. I don't know how she actually felt having a male's name, but Phil was short for filly.

ORNERY: He is still a barn cat. Born April of 2007, he is just as ornery now as he was a year ago. The name definitely fits. It's always on his terms whether or not he's going to like you on a particular day.

JAKE: I like to call him Jake the Snake. Jake is a gelding horse, very high energy, very low tolerance for ignorant riders, loaded with personality. His best trait is being an escape artist. His stall in the barn has to be away from the other stalls because, being the funny guy he is, he entertains himself during the night by reaching over and unlocking the horses on either side of him. I know that he's hoping the now free horses will unlatch his stall and let him out to roam around. Little does he know, when I do have to stall him next to the others, I always put the horse with no brain in the next stall. I'm not as dumb as Jake thinks I am.

MON: She was my cat during my early 20's. All black, sleek and shiny. Mon got her name because I was constantly telling her to "come on" as in, come over here, hurry up, get inside, etc. Eventually, her name just got to be Mon.

LUCKY: Also a black cat. Lucky made the family move with us from California to Wisconsin. She got her name when my older brother brought her home as a young kitten and began reciting how he had seen a car turn the corner and throw this helpless kitten out the window. Lucky was very lucky that day.

These are just some examples of how my pets were granted their names. Really it's an open book when a new pet is brought home. Have fun with it, but remember that at some time or another during the animal's life, you are going to have to yell this name out. Make sure you are not going to be embarrassed to do so.

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