My dog is Chelsea. She was, and will always be. But starting today, my dog is also Rosie:
[picture to come, camera battery taking too long to charge, so imagine a big red ball of cuteness here]
She is an energetic year-and-a-half old Viszla/yellow lab mix (supposedly). I went to the Humane Society thinking I’d just window shop for an aging mid-size dog but somehow, neither window shopping nor aging nor mid-sized happened. She is a total sweetie pie and she’s going to make a helluva jogging buddy once she learns not to pull like the dickens on her leash.
But I need your help. You see, Rosie isn’t a name that I want to keep. I’m in luck because she doesn’t even really respond to it—I think the shelter she was at before she came to the Humane Society might have made it up. The thing is that Rose is my grandma’s name, and Rosie is what Uncle Joe calls her. I feel like it’s OK to name your kid after your grandma. But a dog? Kinda different:
“Rosie! No! Do NOT eat from the garbage!”
“Oh, Rosie! Who’s such a cute dog? Who is? Who is?” [read in dog voice]
It just doesn’t feel right calling Rosie Rosie. So I think I may change it—which is where you come in. I need help with name suggestions—and I need it quickly, before she starts responding to Rosie. So far, I’ve liked these:
• Cali (short for Callahan, which is the name for what happens when you catch a disc in your end zone when it was the other team’s possession)—although without the background explanation, it feels kinda valley girl-esque.
• Kat (get it? She’s a dog)
• Spark Plug (named after the dog in the Royal Tenenbaums)
• Chevy (named after the Springer who inspired me to want a Chelsea in the first place, a looooong time ago. This one wins big points for its connection to that memory; on the other hand, it loses many of those big point by virtue of its association with a car manufacturer)
• I tried brainstorming names similar to Rosie and came up with Prose, Posey and Rosetta. None of which I like very much.
So. If you wouldn’t mind—please submit in the comments TWO name suggestions: one human name and one noun or adjective. For example:
“MDIC, I think you should name her Maggie or Marmalade.”
Thank you!
18 responses so far ↓
1 Boo // Jan 29, 2008 at 3:23 am
Congratulations! This is excellent. Icannot hope to name that puppy. Not in the frame of mind for it, and anyway, that name will come out of you and her being together and it will be perfect.
I’m very happy for you.
2 TimsHead // Jan 29, 2008 at 3:43 am
That’s awesome! But here’s the thing: It’s really hard to suggest a name without actually seeing the dog or knowing more about it. I could likely come up with suggestions when I actually see the big red ball of cuteness.
3 jiffer // Jan 29, 2008 at 5:24 am
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! You have got a ball of energy in a Viszla mix. Just beware, she will be interested in things that move quickly. Squirrels, birds, and blowing leaves.
I will be thinking of names, and waiting for a picture.
4 nokona1012 // Jan 29, 2008 at 6:07 am
How about Zoe or Decoy?
5 Jacque // Jan 29, 2008 at 11:22 am
Having not seen the dog makes this hard. I would go with Trixie OR a word that means Dog in another language.
6 Jane // Jan 29, 2008 at 12:23 pm
As others have noted, it’s hard to suggest names without seeing her. But here’s a a couple of shots in the dark: Roda (cuz she’s red) or Canna
7 lizzy // Jan 29, 2008 at 2:51 pm
*gasp* Really?! How exciting! I can’t wait to see a picture. I really would have to meet the dog to be able to suggest a name or two. I agree, though, that Rosie isn’t the best name if that’s your grandmother’s name. Although, does the dog already know that name? Is it hard to change a dog’s name?
What about Mrs. Lincoln? Or Gigi? Or Amber (she might be amber colored, not a porn star, I know)?
8 "Dan" // Jan 29, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Gabe Guard decided that you dog’s name is Unah. I’m sure you can figure out why.
I’ll have to meet her before I can name her, but River would be a rad name (think rosie the riviter) without the it.
9 Ashley // Jan 29, 2008 at 6:08 pm
hey!! long time no see. congrats on your new dog! i agree, rosie is not fitting. can’t see you with a dog named rosie.
since i haven’t seen her it’s hard to say, but my suggestions based on her color are….
Ruby for the human name (cheesy i know!) or Cedar. i heard of a vizsla once named cedar and i really loved that name.
anyways…good luck with the new pup, i am so happy you have a dog now! have fun!
10 Natalie B // Jan 29, 2008 at 6:49 pm
sorry… but I must see a pic before I can suggest a name. need to see who this little character is!! However, out of your names above, I like “Cali” best. Congrats!!
11 Karin Leak // Jan 29, 2008 at 11:02 pm
You could do what my brother’s family did…they named their cat Libby, short for Liberty.
Any they were serious. You have no idea how hard it is to keep a straight face around them.
Short of that, how about Kendy or Cedar (good idea, Ashley).
12 ernay // Jan 30, 2008 at 9:57 am
did some googling on your behalf, and came up with the perfect name, providing your pedigree info is sorta correct:
ARANKA: the Hungarian form of Aurelia, meaning “golden”
best of luck on your new treasure. Dylan sends his regards, though he does not yet know Hungarian.
13 Hanu's Aunt // Jan 30, 2008 at 2:02 pm
I second the “river” idea, submitted by Dan. Can’t wait to see a picture!
14 Truly // Jan 30, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Name: Alejandro (I love this name. It is among my favorite names of all time.)
Noun: Snowshow (this works better if the pooch has white paws, but snowshoes are cool and unexpectedly stealthy.)
Congrats on the new doggie! How great. You are such a good pet owner - that pup is lucky to know you. Sometimes I want to rename my cat Lara Flyn Boyle, but only when he is bad. That is such a hideous name!
15 Truly // Jan 30, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Oh! I meant “Snowshoe.” I don’t like Snowshow - it sounds like Snowball, or rather snowballing which is nasty, especially when pets are involved. Ha!
16 michael5000 // Jan 30, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Callahan is too close to Caliban, which is Mrs.5000’s cat. Not that this would cause too much confusion on the ground, I suppose.
Human Name: Boadicea, after the Celtic warrior queen.
Adjective/Noun: Roja — Spanish for red, similar to existing name but not too close to Grandma.
yay!
17 jiffer // Jan 31, 2008 at 4:23 am
did she eat the camera? We want pictures!
18 The big red ball of cuteness // Jan 31, 2008 at 10:27 pm
[...] after all they’ve seen is an outline of a bean in an ultrasound, and yet half of the MDIC readership requires a full-color photograph of the dog currently known as Rosie in order to come up with an appropriate [...]