Puppy proofing is by no means an easy task. You basically have to get down on your hands and knees and explore your house through the eyes of a dog. What can you knock over? What can you eat? What can you pee on? What can you poop on? and so on... However, there may be an even more daunting task!
You may be thinking "house training". Though difficult, that is also not what I am talking about. The task at hand is even more daunting...I ask, "what is the one thing that every dog needs?"
A name.
When parents (of the human variety) are expecting a child, battles between husband and wife go on and on about what names they like and those they don't. My own mother wanted to name me Victoria. My father did not. THANK YOU DAD! However, the only name they could agree on is the one I have now. I like my name, don't get me wrong, but when I say "Naomi" is the only name they could agree, I don't mean the only girls name. If I were a boy, my name would have been "Naomi." And wouldn't that have been a cruel joke.
When you have a child (I don't actually know from experience), you have nine months to think of a name. Adding a furry family member often happens more quickly, and most people wait and see what their new puppy does to name it. Or if they're like me, they'll just keep the name that the animal came with.
That's right. I cannot take credit for Ike. That would be a result of the staff at the Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire. How did they name him? They pointed to a name in a book of German names. Ike, however, was not the first selection. Hitler was...
You would think that working at an animal shelter would make you more suited for naming pets. Numerous owners surrender their pets to the shelter on a monthly basis. Every animal comes in with a name, so I should, technically, have a wide variety of names in my aresenal. Unfortunately, the pet owner population is not as creative as you would think, and more often then not, these animals' names have set them up for failure. As an example, I bring to the table the names, Precious, Princess, and Angel...most animals with these names have spent time on quarantine for biting or scratching someone...
So when a nameless animal comes into the shelter, the staff do their best to give names that have not been used, or at least haven't been in the recent past. Our biggest inspiration, television characters. These work well for litters of kittens, or dynamic duos. "Bonnie and Clyde," "Thelma and Louise," "Ross, Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, and Joey," "Ted, Marshall, Lily, Robin, and Barney." But when a four week old puppy comes into the shelter motherless and nameless...it doesn't get more difficult than that.
He was so small, but very active and robust. He looked like a little pit bull/boxer mix with the best brindle coloring. Four of us just stared at him throwing names back and forth each other turning their noses up at suggestions. He was coming home with me, so basically I had the final say, afterall I would be the one teaching him his name, calling it from a far. And then it happened....
He pooped...
"It looks like chocolate pudding"
"We should call him pudding!"
"I am not going to yell Come here Pudding"
"It kind of looks like JELL-O"
"NOPE"
"How about Bill Cosby?"
"I like Cosby"
"Cosby fits him"
"Cosby it is"
And that my friends, is how the most adorable puppy got his name. There will be more on Cosby later. In an animal shelter environment, even poop is inspirational.
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