We once knew a dog that was called Ralph because its owner wanted a dog that could say its own name.
The first trick Ralph learned was to bark softly whenever she — yes, Ralph was a she — was asked her name.
“What’s your name?”
“Ralph.”
Great party trick that earned Ralph many a cocktail weenie.
Cat and dog names can be fun to explore. But they take on another dimension in the shelter and rescue world.
With so many homeless animals having been strays or rescues, they’ve assumed aliases provided by the shelters. It’s pretty obvious. Run down a few shelter or rescue adoptable lists and you’ll see Maxes, Bears and Mollys. Middle of the road. Dull. But still better than Puddles, Foamy or Capt. Skidmark.
Some shelters, though, do a splendid job.
The Wisconsin Humane Society recently received kudos from the British website The Poke for offering kittens named Professor PuddinPop, Colonel Snazzypants and The Good King Snugglewumps.
Where in the world did those monikers come from?
“There’s at least at least a dozen staff here who pick names,” says Angela Speed, vice president of communications for the Wisconsin Humane Society. “From veterinary technicians to adoption counselors to the care staff. There’s not a set person who names animals. Sometimes the volunteers who foster them choose the names. It’s a fun perk.”
With 140 employees at its three shelters, the Humane Society has a deep pool of clever people on the job.
“I’d say our workplace culture is pretty creative. Everyone who works here has fun,” Speed says. “I remember we had a staff member a few years ago who was an artist. She’d name animals after her favorite Baroque or Renaissance artists.”
The WHS does about 10,000 adoptions a year, half of whom came in without names. So that’s about 5,000 animals who get rechristened. At PAWS Chicago, the number of invented names is between 4,000 and 5,000, according to spokeswoman Sarah Ahlberg. A good source for names at PAWS is Social Security records (www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames), she says.
“We also look at theme names — like a litter of puppies named after spices, or kittens named after kinds of pasta. We also select names that coincide with different events/promotions/seasons. … We may name a springtime litter after flower names, and have been known to select names after fun movies and TV shows. For example, we named two Shar-Peis Shay and Severide, after cast members on NBC’s ‘Chicago Fire.'”
Heartland Animal Shelter in Northbrook also gives animals the celebrity treatment.
“Two dogs were named ‘Hossa’ and ‘Toews’ in honor of the Blackhawks players,” says Beryl Levine, a volunteer at Heartland. “These two dogs were very active, so the names were perfect for the winning Blackhawks.”
Also fitting is “Frank the Tank,” given to a senior rescue “who is a chubby little guy who needed a special title.”
Levine says that if a litter comes in to the shelter, the animals will be named by a category, such as different nuts — “Cashew,” “Almond,” “Macadamia,” “Hazel,” etc.
Candy bars, movie stars and fast-food restaurants have been used as well at Heartland, which took in 341 dogs between September 2013 and 2014 — and 300 of the dogs got new names.
