Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Dog Names

When I named my dog Bean Sidhe, I thought of banshees as a well-known myth. Turns out I was wrong. People would ask me her name, and even after I repeated it twice, they didn't know what I was saying. They thought she was Benji or Bouncy or Bandit.

And the spelling... well, people didn't know what to make of that at all. (Can't blame them; Gaelic rarely makes an appearance in the U.S.) I'd fill out paperwork, and her name would get typed in as "Bean Sidle" or "Bean Sigh". I quickly switched to using "Banshee" on any kind of paperwork.

So... lesson learned! I decided that any future dogs would be given simpler names.

I'd been contemplating names for a while, particularly paired names because I thought I'd eventually get two dogs. One pair that stayed in my mind was Indigo and Violet (the places on a rainbow where my favorite colors are found).

As it turns out, even though I did adopt two dogs, they are so different that paired names didn't seem to fit. I needed to choose their names individually.

Little brown dog was difficult to name. She's timid and horribly thin, and she doesn't display much personality beyond wanting to be in my lap at all times. I think that will change as she gets healthier and more secure, but of course she needed a name sooner rather than later. I decided to go with one of the names that had been rolling around in my head for a while and call her Indigo.

As for little black dog... she loves cozy, den-like spaces. She was following me around the house, and every time I opened a closet door, she immediately ran in to explore all the dark corners. In my big walk-in closet, she liked the comfy spot behind my dresses. In my tiny linen closet, she happily curled up on a stack of towels. She's always looking for a cozy little nook... so I named her Nook.

I took both dogs to the vet today for a check-up. Their names were immediately understood and spelled correctly. Success!  :D

Nook got a clean bill of health. The vet agreed with the shelter's assessment that she's about three years old.

Indigo has a few missing teeth, and the vet thinks she is older than the shelter's estimate - probably six or seven years old. She is obviously underweight, and she doesn't show much interest in food. It's imperative we find out why. I have been tasked with collecting urine and stool samples (ah, the joys of pet ownership!), and I'll be taking her back in for bloodwork tomorrow.

I'm afraid getting her to a healthy weight will be challenging. I have to coax her to eat... so far, I've managed to get her to eat sliced turkey and scrambled eggs. The vet suggested baby food, and I did coax her into eating some this evening. Hopefully I can do the same tomorrow.

15 comments:

  1. Just catching up on your posts. What beautiful little beings, and they suit their names. They are very lucky to have found their forever home with you; I remember when you lost little Bean and how heart broken you were.

    We lost our beautiful old girl Sally 12 days ago. She was 15 and passed very peacefully in our arms after a gentle decline over 6 months. I think it will take an awful long time to get over losing her gentle soul.

    Hope you manage to sort out the weight issue for Indigo soon. They are both poppets.

    Jane (Breaking the Angel)

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    1. I'm so sorry to hear about your Sally. Losing a beloved pet is painful... agonizing sometimes... and it does take a long time to get past it. Sending you strength and my best wishes.

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    2. Thank you. We miss her every moment of every day. We couldn't bring ourselves to put a Christmas tree up this year or really celebrate, everything just seems wrong without her. I know it will get better, but part of me doesn't want it too, as I don't want to let her go :(

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  2. I love their names! I hope you and your vet can get Indigo all healthy :) Nook reminds me of another little dog I know who loves cozy hiding places (she's a tiny soot-fluff-ball of a mini-Pom named Ele [short for the Hawaiian word for black - ele'ele]) :)

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    1. Thank you. Ele sounds cute, and what a perfect name!

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  3. I am so excited to hear all about your little girls! I have my fingers crossed for poor Indigo! I am glad she finds your lap comforting!

    Nook sounds so funny, hiding in all the nooks! My Sarah loves exploring everywhere! But she also loves laps! She will sometimes jump on you too enthusiastically and dig her tiny little paws into you rather painfully!

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    1. Thanks! Nook is super cute. :) Indigo likes to give "kisses" which sometimes are more nips than licks. She has nibbled my nose a couple of times. We're going to have to work on that. ;)

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  4. Lovely names! I especially like Nook, which phonetically is really soft and warm. :) And Indigo is a beautiful name too, and I sincerely hope you will get her to eat more!

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    1. Thank you! I liked "Nook" the moment it popped into my head. It's perfect for her. :)

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  5. Nook and Indigo are great names, both short but easily distiguishable! I think you'd rather prefer that your dogs understand who you are angry with... ;)

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    1. Ha ha! Or at the moment, understand which one I am praising for going potty outside. XD

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  6. Those names are adorable and the dogs are gorgeous! Hopefully the vet will be able to sort Indigo out soon.

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  7. I'm very happy, you got more doggie ^^. Even though, I've never met you, I've been reading your blog for years, and was worrying about you being all alone lately. Their names really suit them and I hope that the little brown one, gets better soon :3

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    1. That is so sweet! :) Thank you.

      Indigo is doing much better, I'm happy to say.

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