Do your pets have “human” names? Check out here to find out who’s do and who’s don’t. I can tell you for sure that if I ever get a new pet, which it’s highly likely that I won’t, but if I did, they would have a human name. I may add to the cat family if for some reason I lose the ones I have now because I need cats for the mice but chances are very high I will never have another dog. I’m tired of dogs. I’ve had them my whole life and they are nothing to me now but work. But if I do, they will have a human name.
When I was growing up, I had a pet poodle named Sherry. Of course, a french name for a “french” dog. But then we had a cat named “Fluffy.” How original?? When my boys were young, I let them name most of the pets, mostly cats, they named them things like Pepper, a black cat and Cringer, for He-Man’s cat. We had Little Boy, Charcoal, Cinder and on and on. All named by them. We had a dog named Shamus. We got her from a friend who named her after a bar in CA. She was a great dog. I said the next dog, I get to name. I was sick of the names I didn’t really care for but I did want my kids to be able to do that. After all, they were theirs.
We got a black lab when we knew Shamus wouldn’t be around for maybe another year. She had arthritis very bad and we “knew.” Shamus had been professionally trained and I knew if we got a puppy, we wouldn’t have to do much of the work training her since she would do what the other dog did. That pup loved Shamus and I was right. I literally did nothing to train her and she was, the best dog we ever had. She followed Shamus around everywhere and I wanted to name her something like Shadow, something to indicate “the same.” A mirror so to speak. Our friends had a “Shadow” so I named her Echo.
Then the next dog we got was a yellow lab and Jason and Toby were almost grown but yet again, I let them name her but I said it wasn’t going to to an “object” name. A real name. So Jason picked Angel after an Aerosmith song. She didn’t live long. She had hip dysplasia and didn’t live 5 years. She was a sweet little thing but was never “right.”
The next round of dogs. We got lab sisters, Ashley and Jessica. One black, one yellow. Man, they were so cute. Jessica got hit by a car 4 years ago and we now only have Ashley left. We also have Ella who was Toby and Sue’s. Lucky for me, whoever named her gave her a real name. Then we have the cats. Willy, Malcolm, Emma, Toto (Trinity named her) and Maddie.
I feel I’ve had all the dogs I was meant to have. Other than alerting me of “visitors,” they are a pain to me now. I did want my boys to be raised with pets and I accomplished that goal but at the point at my life that I’m at, they are just work.
I came across this subject the other day “surfing” and I wondered about other people. I know many of you have human names for your pets but do you have a reason for it? What were you childhood pets names and did your parents let you name them?
Us Girls..Our Views 
I don’t have any pets in my own house now. I am too busy to be a good pet-owner. We do have lots of wild animals just outside, and that suits me fine. I also think that raccoon has moved back into my basement. I should probably name him at some point, like I named Odie the Skunk before he met his demise . . . .
My extended family, however, has lots of dogs.
My parents’ old English Setter was the first dog they actually “bought.” My dad was so excited to have a real “hunting dog.” He named him “Pip” because he had “great expectations” for him. Well, it soon became clear that Pip was the dumbest dog in the world, but Pip was still appropriate in that it was so easy to remember and sounded the same both frontwards and backwards. Pip is on his last leg now, and he really is a terrific dog. One hardly remembers that it took years to housetrain him . . . .
My mom’s German shepherd was originally named “Monty” by my sister, whose husband-to-be then refused to allow her to keep the dog. My mom fell in love with him but could not stand the wussy name “Monty,” so she changed it to “Cujo.” He’s quite big for a GSD and has a nice loud bark, so the name fits him, even though he’s a wimp at heart. (Sis still insisted on calling him Monty for years.) My sister also had a cat years ago, when she lived with my parents, and the cat ended up being my parents’ too. Her original owner named her El Capitan before realizing she was a girl, then expanded it to something like Emma El Capitan Moisio. Everyone just called her “Kitty.”
My other sister is a breeder of GSDs. She named her first dog Frodo, second Arwen, after Lord of the Rings characters. The next was Dubya (purchased during GWB’s first election campaign). Not surprisingly, Dubya and Arwen’s first litter included Jenna and Babs, whom my sister kept for breeding. The males’ temporary names (before she sold them) included Newt, Cheney, Brit, and a few other like names. Her next litter included one female that she decided to keep, and she was named Heidi. (The other girls were named after singers, and the boys after football players.) She bought another dog, “MahaRushie,” to breed with the offspring of Dubya. His first litter was named after colors – Ruby, Skye, etc.
As kids, we had mutts. The first ones were smuggled home from “free puppies” handouts without our parents’ permission. They were Perky and Droopy – we kids voted on those names. Next was a rescued mutt that looked like “Tramp” in “Lady and the Tramp,” so that was his name. Next dog was Princess, a stray shepherd/hound that my mom’s aunt had taken in and pawned off on my mom. My kid brother named her.
I have a dog “that’s more like a cat”LOL named Buddy. Not a human name but we named him that because he’s such a friendly dog, he’s everyone’s Buddy. And a cat we named Lucky but never use that name, we just call him by kitty or tubby. We named him lucky because someone at my dad’s work found him and they tried to keep him but it didn’t work out so he became a shop cat at my dad’s work for a while. We took him in and he’s got a good life now,”he’s Lucky” I agree with you Joy dog’s are a pain in the ass compared to cats, plus they get rid of mice, bugs, and you’re all gonna think I’m crazy but I heard cats ward off evil spirits.
I heard a funny name on the radio for a cat Snoop kitty cat. If you dont know who Snoop doggy dog is well never mind LOL.
I think animals should have human names, just like you. It’s so sad how many “Spot” and “Buddy” and “Princess”s there are. I named my first pet fish Iago, after the parrot in Disney’s Aladin [god knows why…] but then the cat we had was named Milton, and the cats I have now are named human names too, albeit weird ones: Shraga [a Hebrew name, and wasn’t our choice, he was already named that] and Spartacus [because he’s a warrior kitty!].
MOST of the dogs have human names. (my Inlaws dogs should I say..) Several are named Joe Joe which is just ridiculous. Why give several dogs the same name?
My horse has a horse sounding name.. Its buck..
The cats i’ve had in my adult life have had human names.. My cat as a kid had a cat name..lol..
The fish all have human names.. We have 3 fish.. I only remember ones name Sally.. The kids named them..
We had a (rust colored) female Doberman. I had to take her and have her put down when she was sixteen and a half years old.
We all loved that dog.
Four years later we took in a dog from a friend. It was about eight weeks old. The father was a Jack Russle and the mother was a Cocker Spaniel. So we call Bailey our “Jacker-Spaniel”. She loves to chase squirls. If I could bottle that energy I would never have to pay for energy again!
My first dog was Sherlock, so named because he was soooo inquisitive. I still think I should have trained him as a tracking dog. He died young, of cancer, at around 8 1/2. But he was an awesome dog.
Then, along came our “rescue cat” – found in the rain on the side of the Bohrman Expressway, where someone dumped him at the tender age of 6 weeks. His first several months of life were lived mostly in a large dog crate so Sherlock wouldn’t hurt him too badly – Sher was nearly 80 lbs at that point, still a pup (Golden Retriever), and would have maimed or killed that poor kitten just by playing too rough. Every time we opened the door to the dog crate, the cat was clinging to the door as it swung open, which earned him the name “Indiana” – “Indy” – after my favorite adventure hero.
Before Sherlock and Indy, we bought a cockatiel, which Sparky named “Hamlet”. “A dignified name for a dignified bird”… well, that bird is about the LEAST dignified creature on the planet. He’s scared of his own shadow, and refuses.. REFUSES .. to come out of the cage. He’s even terrified of fruits and plants that he’s supposed to be eating!! But he whistles and enjoys our company, and we, his, so he’s part of the family.
Our most recent acquisition is Cruiser, adopted from a Service Dog organization in Alaska after he failed his entry exam by chasing a squirrel during the test. “Cruiser” was his ‘call-name’ – the temporary name given to the members of a puppy litter. But it fit him so well that it stuck. He’s very exuberant, and just sort of cruises through life. His registered name, when we got him, was “CPAK’s Inside Passage”… a pretty name, for a pretty place (CPAK is the name of the organization that bred him). But not suitable at ALL for him. It’s now been changed to “CPAK’s Cruisin’ for a Bruisin'” MUCH more appropriate for a silly Golden Retriever Puppy (3 years old now) who just LOVES to play.
I always name my animals human names. I’m weird that way.
For the most part our animals did not have human names. When I was growing up, we had Fritzy, then Tippy and Bandit. Tippy b/c his tail had a white tip and Bandit b/c he was a Keeshound and looked like he had a mask on his face! The cats were outside and Bootsie was the main one forever, but after she passed we had Peanut, Butter, and Jelly!!! Us kids laughed about that! The only horse that had a human name was Rex. Now a days we have cats and if they stay around long enough they get a name, but it’s not human. I think it’s fun to be able to give your pet whatever name you want.
I introduce to you my birds, Scooter, Bug, and Pilot…..My mule, Pickles……My cat, Snowball…..My dog,Fritsee……..and My pig, Arnold. So, I guess you can say I have both human names and other ones! Cute post. Too bad you do not like dogs around anymore. They are fun! They love unconditionally! They ARE a lot of work, you are right! I had my dog, Ginger for 15 years! She was a part of the family! My baby!
We almost always had a dog, never a cat. We needed an outside dog to protect us and keep robbers away! My first OWN dog was a Miniature Rott-pitt mix. She was so sweet and I loved her so much!! I named her Liberty. Not sure why. Then we got Tess my mom’s Rottweiler , she was a big teddy bear, anyone who says Rotts are mean didn’t see one that was raised right! Then Duke came along, then Brittany. All Rotts, my mom bread them. I will have one one day!
Since I’ve been with Jason we’ve had only 2 dogs, both black labs. Lanie, named after the girl from “Dream a Little Dream” was our first and to this day the most cherished dog in this family. We have Sari now, Jason named her, she’s more of a baby then Lanie ever was and she’s very stubborn but I love her like my child. Our cats have been, Princess (Joy kept calling her little princess when we got her so it just stuck), Boo (black & white), Sadie (mean calico), and now all we have are Abbi and her baby Felix, our first boy and so far are the most spoiled babies ever!!
We always give them human names because they are our family, they become like our children. I prefer that and so does Jason so it works out. For the most part we all pick names and decide on one. It’s a mutual thing most times. Sari, I didn’t really like and he wanted to name Lanie that but she was very special and Sari didn’t fit her as Lanie did. Plus that is one of our favorite movies from the 80’s. I’m glad we decided to save that name because our Sari now fits her very well.
there are some loooooooooooong responses here.
I feel bad for leaving such a short one.
that’s why I’m using a lot of spaces.
And mostly saying nothing of substance.
Anyways, my dog is named Jackie. Yes, a person’s name!
But the reasoning behind that is, she’s a Jack Russell Terrier.
Jackie the Jack Russell Terrier!
It’s too late to change her name, but if I could, it would be Scraps.
Doraz, I do like dogs. Don’t get me wrong but I guess now, I’d like to travel and visit people and our dog(s) are neurotic and I have nowhere to leave them. I probably love them to much to be honest. Our lab Ashley is so attached to “daddy” that she literally cries, I’m not kidding, when he leaves the house. She will go from window to window watching him crying. She will run and jump on his bed and if she sees Paul pull into Toby and Sue’s driveway, she cries and messes up his bed and crawls in it!! I am NOT joking. She was with her sister when she got hit by that car and I think it changed something in her. A cat you can leave for a few days but with a dog you just can’t do that.
She’s not joking about Ashley, she literally CRIES!! Paces back and forth…it’s pitiful!
A&E’s version of Pride & Prejudice (the lovely 6-hour version with Colin Firth) had just come out, so my mom and her best friend named their puppies Darcy and Lizzy, respectively.
My future mother-in-law’s dog is named Max.
My grandmother’s neighbor has a standard poodle named Opal, and another neighbor had a rottweiler named Shelly. My parents’ neighbor has a black lab named Tony.
My cat’s name is Bonnie. My hamster’s name is Tiny Bob, and the hamster before him was Kevin. My fishes’ names are Jim Furdue, Michael Buble, Michael Jordon and Michael Bolton.
I think human names for pets are much more fun.
I grew up with all kinds of animals.Our black dog,we called “Blackie”.We then had a brown dog and called him “Brownie”And so on and so on.Now i have 2 dogs.”Comet is old and white.The last dog,Jim and I got 2gether.Our first dog and called him “Cupid”,you can quess why we called him that.They are just like humans,sometimes too much.By the way Joy,i like yours and Daryls pictures.Very cute.I found a old one of(you were 2 years old),and i am gona mail it to you.
Thanks Pam, I would appreciate that. Isn’t it funny that you can remember when Darryl and I looked like that??? LOL!!!
We had a toy poodle named Pierre that my dad named. We got to name all the rest of our animals as kids. We had: Boots the cat, Snoopy the dog, he was part beagle part german shepard, Queenie the cat, Nermal the cat, from Garfield, Didley-Squat the cat, Bandit the dog, and Mutley the dog.
My kids name our animals now. Right now we have Scrunchy the gerbil and Bruce the turtle. We used to have Fuzzy and Marshmallow the hamsters until they went up to the big Hamster Wheel in the sky.
Our dog is named Maxwell (Max for short) after Neal A. Maxwell. My son had a guinea pig that died a few months ago. He named him S’mores because his coloring was similar to the coloring you would see on a S’more. We have several fish, but none of them have names. What a fun topic!
you decide 🙂
Cats:
Zoe
Tabbi
Haley
Ace aka as Lowrider aka Sparks (she’s a black rughugger)
Lucifer
Dog = buddy
birds:
Elvis (ok that’s one)
Roo
Casper
Indy
Kiwi
Cricket
snake= draven
I give my pets names that seem to fit them, without regard to whether they are human names or not. My current pets are two budgies–Oliver and Atticus. Oliver is a darker green (although not quite olive), and I thought the name sounded cute. Atticus is short for Atticus Finch, after the lawyer in To Kill a Mockingbird. Although Atticus is a budgie, he’s yellow and black like a goldfinch, and I always thought it would be funny to name a finch Atticus Finch.
Atticus is clever for a “finch” Amy. I’ve read about your birds but never gave that a thought. It’s really cute.
Sorry Joy, misunderstood! You little guys sound like they are spoiled! My mistake! Lucky guys!
Darryl, LOL
Shane, I Love their names- I miss them!! Give them a kiss from me.
Our dogs- Roxi and Kayla
Tessa, do you have Kayla back?? I loved her.
Joy, your pets are so sweet! I think pets are part of the family, so why not a “human” name!
Yes, Kayla had TEN puppies before xmas!! The friend who had her broke up with her gf, so we took her back! He was happy not to have 12 dogs anymore!! We are happy too! Kayla is a big sweetheart, but a big dummy too as Eric says!
OMG, what happened to the pups? Eric does love her so I’m happy.
They were given away to different people! Good homes, military families! I hope they take care of them. We so wanted one, especially Eric, but housing only allows 2 pets and it would be too much work for me right now with school! They were adorable. I have pics on facebook I think.