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OK, so you may be seeing a pattern in my opinions/blogs that I generalize.  My grandmother once said, “People earn their reputation.”  (She also taught me, “people are finished, roasts are done”.  Every time a waitress asks me if I’m done, I think of her and smile). So because of this, yes, I do generalize.  Is stereotyping the same?  Probably.  Guilty on all charges, but at least I admit it.   So here I will make another generalization, “a dog’s name is a reflection of the owner”.   It is a known fact amongst police and animal control officers, that if they go into a raid and there is a dog present, the first thing they ask is “what’s the dog’s name?”  Not so they can call it by its name, but it shows the attitude of the owners towards the dog, and how they may have attempted to raised it. Meaning:  guard dog or pet? I gotta tell ya, when I see these macho looking guys walking around with their spiked or prong wearing, intact  bully type breeds, I have to wonder. Over compensation, for what?  One guy, even admitted to me that he was bullied in school.  I almost said out loud, “oh….so that explains it!”  I just caught myself and smiled at his wife.  She knew what I was thinking.   I even won a bet with some guys at the Canadian Pet Expo, in that I knew by the breed and looking at the owner that the dog would have a “macho” name.

So I went over and talked to them about how cool their dog was, and asked, and sure enough it was Thor.  $5.00 please.  A name definitely has connotations and may even reflect a miserable past.  I was touring the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada and asked about the donkeys’ cute names.  The one I personally sponsor, is named Hershey, due to his dark brown coloring.  I liked him cause of him having the same name of my birth town.   The guide informed me if the donkey came from a reasonable home, they keep the same name. Unfortunately in most cases this is not true, so most are renamed. This is done to shed the old name and all the history that went with it.  A new name, for celebrating a new life.  I thought that made great sense.  The Cherry Family, are big on one-syllable names, and are prone to colors.  Of course there is the famous Blue, then my dog Red.  He was renamed due to his name given to him by his OSPCA caretakers.

Though given his name out of love, which was H.O.G. the acronym for handsome old guy, I couldn’t bear to call him that.  So please people, when picking a name for your dog, have a bit of thought of what kind of attitude may be inflicted on the dog.  A name is more than just a name, it’s a label of life.   Plus, don’t even get me started on kids’ names.  One of the biggest arguments my Dad and I had was over how to spell a kid’s name.  Every time he signs an autograph to Braydon,  Braeden,  Bradon,  Braedyn,   Braden,  Braedon,   he looks up and smiles at me.

For a great read on this subject from “Psychology Today”, click here>>
A professor from the University of BC., agrees with me in a more scientific way. “Thank you, Dr. Stanley”