[Dailydrool] Unusual names

[Pamela McQuade]

Somehow, because we adopt older dogs most of the time, we have pretty much
not been able to name our hounds. But I  have a few names that in my dreams
I have always wanted to use but probably never will because they are not
the most practical ones.

If Horton had come to us unnamed, I might have called him Bayla Barktalk
for his noisiness around Drew. It's a takeoff on the classical music
composer Bela Bartok, which somehow, makes it seem all the more appropriate
for a chatty hound. However, I must admit I'm not a real Bartok fan. AndI
loved Horton's name, since I love books, and Horton was perfect for this
nervous dog whom I say always hears a Who as an explanation of why he get
nervous and barky,

As a great mystery fan, I have also thought I should name a pair of boys
Maigret and Lucas, after the detective and his sidekick in the Maigret
mysteries. The fact that the names are French is just gravy. But I suppose
that I would be constantly explaining how to pronounce the names to
everyone. That was the problem I had when I wanted to name our cat, Duncan,
after an old Italian coin, the ducat. I picked him up from the rescue on
the same night I watched a Shakespearean play on TV, and I remembered this
coin from "The Merchant of Venice." Since Dunc has round gold spots on his
side, it seemed appropriate. But Drew objected that people would call him
DU-Cat instead of DUC-at. When Drew started calling him Duncan, I gave in.

Mostly, the names our hounds have gotten are much more practical (Drew's
influence, rescue's, or the choice of previous owners, not mine, though I
think Drew might go for Maigret, since he too likes the mysteries). When a
dog knows its name, it's hard to make a change. I did not like Alexis's
name, it did not seem to fit a basset. But she refused to be called Grace,
which suited her to the ground. A dog always has a say in what the name is,
of course. I just called her Alexis Grace, so we both got what we wanted.

Ultimately, I think naming a dog is a hard thing, since you have to get the
dog's personality in it. I usually say a dog will tell you its name if you
wait. Once you know the dog, you can accurately name it. But I recognize
that rescues need a name up front, to keep records well. Since I am a
terrible namer, I hesitate to tell anyone how to name a basset.
Pam, food slave and never namer of the Dashing Bassets
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