# Pet lovers only!



## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Seems that every time someone tells me the name of their pet, they have to explain the story behind the name.

Some of them are inspired and/or hilarious... some have very complex origins... hardly any are conventional or traditional anymore! Not a single Fluffy or Spot; I wonder if those names really only exist in literature now.

Want to tell us the unusual name of YOUR pet, and its origin?

Some of my favorites of the ones I've heard....

A stray that had a habit of lying on his back on the sunshine, and repeatedly rolling over.... _Beethoven._

A kitten who never stopped begging at the table.... _Baksheesh_.

A dog whose coat was part cream, part light brown, and part dark brown... the three colors of chocolate..... _Tobler_.

The first female cat in a household of half a dozen male cats, acquired at the same time the space shuttle had its first female commander (July 1999).... named after the shuttle's payload.... _Chandra._


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

One of my golden retrievers is named Thanda (the 'h' is silent); it is Zulu for love - we lived in So. Africa/Zululand for a year.
Another pet's name was Somi - a white cat with very blue eyes - the word is blue in Zulu.
And Thanda's son, another golden, is named Bear (or Oso) because he's just so big!


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

My golden retriever is named "Raney", after the title character in the Clyde Edgerton book. It's one of my wife's favorite books.


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

Max came to us with his name; I liked it and he seemed to know it, so it stuck. Buddah, OTOH, was named "Professor" at the SPCA and it didn't fit at all. If anything, it was irony, because I truly thought he might have been dropped on his little head a few times too many. My son was exploring Buddhism at the time and wanted to name him Buddha; I agreed as long as I could flip the a and the h. 

When I was little we had a cat name Ataturk. My dad didn't really want a cat, but the rest of us did, so he agreed as long as he got to name it anything he wanted. We brought home this sweet little girl tortie, and he took one look and named her after a Turkish president.  

I think she resented it, because from then on she was grumpy as all get out; preparing me, I think, for life with Max...


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

My cat Pumpkin had the name Fluffy from the previous owner. She's soft, but I didn't think it suited her and renamed her Pumpkin. She's BIG and heavy. I was given another kitty with her whose name had been Sparkles (kids gave those names). I renamed her Oreo. Poor Oreo had IDB and two years after the diagnosis and lots of care, she crossed the rainbow bridge last December.

Pumpkin:










Oreo:


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

This was Oreo when she was a reader:


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

Previous two kitties from same litter were Strawberry and Mookie. I got them in 1988 and named them after Mets baseball players Darryl Strawberry and Mookie Wilson, although Mookie cat was a girl. Here's my angel cat Strawberry:


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## 1131 (Dec 18, 2008)

Thumper said:


> Buddah, OTOH, was named "Professor" at the SPCA and it didn't fit at all. If anything, it was irony, because I truly thought he might have been dropped on his little head a few times too many.


Buddah could be related to my cat Zazzer Zoo (a child's version of Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz). I always said that on the cat intelligence scale, Zazzer was a -8 and most people who met her agreed. For 10 years Zazzer lived with me an and the most intelligent animal I've ever had, a black cat named Spooky - she came to me with that name.
I also had the sweetest black lab you would ever want to meet named Ferocious - named by another person who wanted people to think she was a protector. Another child named one of my cats Bowen which was her way of saying bowlling.


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

I don't think I have any great naming stories. Now, nicknames...

I've been calling my current Sheltie, Ferguson, Fergie Schmergie, which sounds like he was named by the Swedish chef on The Muppets. The rescue called him Buddy. 

Our greyhound came to use as Goldie, and we renamed her Rhiannon, which nobody can remember. 90% of the time, we call her Pony. 

The dachshund is Violet -- I was hoping the name would chill her out, as in Shrinking Violet! Hah! I call her Violence -- or Vivian, which is what my  mother called her to, I think, just to  infuse it with an extra implication that my grandmother treats the dog like she's human. Which, yeah.

We have one cat left -- Dixie. She hated me, so I call her Ditzy.

We had a stray that we took in named Jack, only because we didn't plan on keeping him. He was known as Jack the Ki'y Cat, Black Jack Shellack, and -- from the night he wouldn't stop pacing across our backs while we tried to sleep -- War's-Over-Jack, War's-over!

Mitzi who was named after my grandmother, but I'm not sure either was flattered. Mitzerella.

Cindy the Sheltie was actually Cinderella. I called her Cindy-Bears. 

Zelda/Grannie -- an ancient mess of a Sheltie who came into the shelter. If I didn't take her, nobody would. She was just a mess! I'm not sure which on of those names was the nickname -- used  interchangeably. 

Paddington the Shetie was often called Paddywagon because my grandmother couldn't recall his name. I might have, on occasion, called him Honeybunches of Paddywagons of Oats. Or Joy.

Then there was Riley. Another Sheltiie. My angel. He got called Rileton. Riles. Lord Riley, Cookie Boy, The Good Cookie Boy... I was just ridiculously crazy about him. I love all my pets, but I'll never stop missing him.


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

Rascal over there on the left.......well I think the name is self-expanatory.
Like me.


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## sharyn (Oct 30, 2008)

My Golden Retriever's name is Cedar...when my previous Golden was dying of cancer, we were having a deck built and were sitting out on it one day talking about how it was time for her to go find a new puppy body to come back in and her fur was the exact same color as the wood of the deck we were sitting on, so decided her next name would be Cedar.  But the joke was on me...because Cedar is *not* St. Cassie come back!

My Maine **** cat's name is Friday.  She was named when we rescued her last January...evidently, the woman who had her originally brought her home on a Friday; hence the name.  I added Princess to it...so she's now Princess Friday the feline imp.

Sharyn


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## candggmom (Oct 27, 2008)

It took me 3 years to talk my DH into letting me get a pug as he didn't want a little wuss rat dog!  I figured after all that I better give him an un-wussy name, so Spike was my first pug.  When said DH fell so in love with pugs that we HAD to get another - Bruiser came into the family and both dogs took over!  I've never heard another word about little wussy rat dogs!  LOL!


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

My mutt's (Aussie Cattle Dog mix) name is Noggin, which is what his previous owners named him and which I kept for continuity's sake when I adopted him from the animal orphanage. I suspect the name was in response to the way his head stands out due to its coloration, but then for all I know it was somebody's favorite TV network.

My sister-in-law called him "Nog Dog", and I'll occasionally use that, too (and thus my web user name, which I started using when "Noggin" was already taken on a site). My favorite nickname for him, however, is "The Nogginator."


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Loving the stories and the pics.


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## vsch (Mar 5, 2009)

My neighbor had a cat whoe name was elemeno....think alphabet...LMNO..P


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## KathyluvsKindle (Apr 13, 2009)

My beloved Westie was named Duncan Seinfeld Macduff.  He was only six weeks old when he came to live with me and a ball of energy like you have never seen. He was at me constantly to play, cuddle, eat, poop, and interact in any other ways possible. The only time I had a break was once weekly when Seinfeld was on TV.  That little white fluffball would sit motionless in front of the TV spellbound!  He crossed the Rainbow Bridge two years ago and I miss him as much as ever.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

I had a beautiful shelter cat with 6 toes on both front paws - his name was Dac since he was polydactyl!  A couple of weeks ago it made the folks on the grammar thread groan, but I brought home a grey tiger stripe kitten and named him Peeve (so I would have a pet peeve).


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Meet Alexander the Grate, so named because he arrived by jumping through a window screen I opened for him, to escape our three huge dogs. He was a tiny thing, but he actually ran them off. He's still a tiny thing, calm, sweet, and in charge.

Here he is making some kind of statement about a house guest:



















Here he is playing with his good buddy, Ignacio Zaragosa, aka Nacho:










They really are good buds. Here they are in someone's lap:










And here he is combing my grandson's hair, very gently. The grandson thought this was a hoot.


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## cheerio (May 16, 2009)

I love pets, nics pics everyone


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## Buttercup (Oct 28, 2008)

Well, I have a Ragdoll cat named Andy .. as in Raggedy Andy.

My other cat is named Binky. When he came to me from the shelter as a foster kitty he came with a little purple teddy bear that they said he loved. They had given it to him to keep him company, he was sick with an upper respiratory infection for a long time at the shelter and was in isolation. I called it his binky so the name ended up transfering over to him, then of course I adopted him.

Nothing really behind the names of my dogs, Rosie, Tucker & Miles.

Here's my Binkster


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## kjn33 (Dec 8, 2008)

A guy I worked with had a bunch of kittens running around outside his house, so I took one & named her Lola.......Copacabana is one of my favorite songs & I had just moved to Vegas. There was a stray kitten around our condo that would meet us as we were walking to our place & he talked so much......it was like he was meeting up with his buddies, so he became Buddy. Casper, we got from Petco adoption day, was totally white-kind of a no brainer. Sophie was a stray kitten near my moms place we took in, no reason for her name, but for some reason my DH started calling her Sophaphina Jean.........don't ask?? 
Riley is the only dog, and I always liked the name. I would have named a child that if I'd had any, and my pets are my kids, so there ya go.........

I love everyone stories & pictures. 
Kristie
/Binkster looks like he's smiling! very cute.


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## vsch (Mar 5, 2009)

This is Jack, as in Jack Rabbit. He is a lionhead rabbit and is about 4 months old.


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## lynninva (Feb 7, 2009)

Our cat is named Elsie, after Elsie the cow on the Borden dairy products.  I thing the Borden Elsie is brown, but she is still a cow and we thought that the cat had the markings of a cow.  

Elsie is not light on her feet.  I thought that was because of the cow resemblance.  But then I read Thumper's (Max's?) book The Rules & I realized that she is not the only cat that sounds like a Thundering Herd of Elephants running through the house.

Many years ago, my brother named his dog Bo.  He said if he got a second dog, that dog's name would be Derek.  Then he could stand on the porch & call "Bo  Derek" to come home.


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## egh34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Our most recent rescue:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3341/3560320450_0825eac19b_m.jpg

and our 2 cats: one named after the constellation, and one named after my dad's best friend:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3598/3560325668_962c11c25f_m.jpg


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## bkworm8it (Nov 17, 2008)

all those pictures are SO cute!

Let see, we had a golden retriever named Bear - he looked like honey so mom called him Honey bear but the males in the males in the family objected so his name became Bear.

I had a cat named Tishka. Spent weeks trying to come up with a name for her. One day I was just making sounds and being silly. When Tishka popped out she turned and came over to me. So that was her name.

I have an African Grey name CJ. Curious Jeorge - yip with a J not a G. I got him when his feathers were just coming in. He was covered in pin feathers at the time (waxy coat over the feather as they grow out of the skin) He beaked everything within reach. Like a little kid, everything went into his mouth!

Squirrely my other cat got his name because his under coat looks like that of a squirrel. Figured his mom must have gone out with one LOL.

When I was growing up I had a cat that weighted about 15lbs called Feather. We were coming home one day and he was in the window, my sister (4 at the time) looked up, pointed and said 'Feather' and the name stuck!

Theresam


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

We named a pug at the shelter Herbie -- Herbie The Love Pug.

I once fostered a 3 legged dog that the shelter wanted to call Ilene, and Tripod -- the owners named her <sp> Santui which is, I dunno, Mandarin for, well, tripod.

I did an intake once on a dog named Sex -- we renamed him Sax.

One time I did an intake on a scared little beagle that the guy had never bothered to name. Turned him in because he was a bad hunter. I named him Bashful. I silently named the guy something else.

I know I should have a million other examples, but I can't think of them.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Buttercup *member #83* said:


> ...My other cat is named Binky. When he came to me from the shelter as a foster kitty he came with a little purple teddy bear that they said he loved. They had given it to him to keep him company, he was sick with an upper respiratory infection for a long time at the shelter and was in isolation. I called it his binky so the name ended up transfering over to him, then of course I adopted him....


Being a big "Discworld" fan, my first thought when I hear the name "Binky" is Death's steed.


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

my black and white shelter dog is called Domi - his real name is Domino because he looks like one, long and black and white, however, it has been shortened to Domi 'cept when we add the NO


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## bkworm8it (Nov 17, 2008)




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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

Some of the pet pictures disappeared.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

mlewis78 said:


> Some of the pet pictures disappeared.


Looks like the host site(s) went down. The pics will return once they're up again (I think).


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## koolmnbv (Mar 25, 2009)

I love hearing everyones stories and names. I really love all the pics!

My dog is Riley, thats him in my avatar. He is an imperial shih-tzu which is basically just fancy name for miniature shih-tzu. He's about 4lbs fully grown. I got him about 2 weeks after I got married (feb 05) and he was about 12 weeks old. He was so tiny back then (1 lb), I miss his baby pictures!!

We named him Riley because that was my husbands last name (now my new last name) and I don't know why we decided it should be his first name lol

This is him now ---he looked like one of the stuffed toys










Me with Riley at about 6months old


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## Sanveann (May 16, 2009)

Our cat Pawnee came with her name (her whole litter had Native American names). Our cat Geronimo (Nimo) was just because it sounded cool  Hercules, our youngest, was part of a litter of orphaned kittens that a friend of mine was bottle-raising. We picked him out as ours right away, and DH gave him the name Hercules because he thought such a tiny kitten would need a big, strong name!

Tiberius, the dog, was named for his parents, Titan and Berlin; we just sort of smooshed their names together.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Excellent pet stories and pics! That's one majorly cute rabbit!

Here are two of the three dogs that kitten Alexander the Grate (see previous page) backed off:


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## Karen (Feb 12, 2009)

We have 2 cats, Cinnamon - she's a white, brown, & black calico; Cleo (short for Cleopatra) because of her stripes by her eyes
A turtle named Yertle (Dr. Seuss)
Quaker Parrots - Snuggles, because my daughter "thought" she could snuggle with him, and Madeline, my sons first love ( he was 8 when we got them).
LOTS of fish, no names.
Had a cocker spaniel named Dusty, he cleaned under the furniture in my husbands house when he was a puppy; A springer spaniel named Muffy, she already had the name when I adopted her;
& Little Bit, an abandoned, abused, & malnourished beagle that would make herself as small as possible for the first year after she adopted us.  I like to think she died a happy dog as she was no longer little at 49 pounds and 5 years later.


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## Aravis60 (Feb 18, 2009)

My dog's name is Ally. I named her after Ally McBeal, which used to be my very favorite show. It seemed appropriate because she is very neurotic. For example, whenever she is in the kitchen and someone else walks in the room, she has to go through the table legs in a certain and very specific pattern, passing through each place twice before coming back out.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

MichelleR said:


> One time I did an intake on a scared little beagle that the guy had never bothered to name. Turned him in because he was a bad hunter. I named him Bashful. I silently named the guy something else.


I'm hoping that Bashful found a nice new home where he was loved just for being a beagle!

(And hoping that that guy was blacklisted with all the shelters in the state....)


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## RavenclawPrefect (May 4, 2009)

Our current batch of pets are:

*Tinsel *- our dog, she was born on Christmas day and her entire litter had Christmas themed litter names. We liked Tinsel well enough to keep it.

*Mist* - pied cockatiel that belongs to my 15 yr old. Mist was named after Sierra Mist, a soda that my son liked at the time time 
*Equinox* - pearled whitefaced cockatiel that belongs to my 16 yr old. I think he thought it was a cool name at the time.
*Zazu* - my quaker parrot, named for Zazu from The Lion King
*Hermes *- a blue female budgie (parakeet) Hermes was originally thought to be male and was last in a long line of Harry Potter themed names. (Lily, Luna, Sirius, Regulus, Petunia and Erroll were the others..all guinea pigs except Erroll, a green budgie)
*Neon* - a blue male budgie that belongs to my 12 yr old, no idea why she named him Neon...he is a typical blue budgie with a white head.
*Savannah* - my scarlet macaw named by my DH It was best of the names he selected and I can't imagine her being called anything else. She came from a shop who are big Jimmy Buffet fans so she is often called Savannah Jane (Jimmy's daughter)


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Here are two pictures of my Abby, Kiri:



















I named her after the operatic soprano from New Zealand, Kiri Te Kanawa, because I had to drive 100 miles to get her home, and she practiced singing scales at the top of her voice all the way home.

Seemed appropriate. 

Mike


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Bashful did get a loving home. We tended to have an amnesty policy for people turning in animals, figuring they could have made a worse decision, even in the cases of abuse, which this wasn't technically.  If he would have applied to adopt from us and listed he surrendered a dog for that reason, that would have gotten him refused. At the point of refusal, our other shelters would have been contacted, as well as the other agency in the city that we had a good relationship with.

Bad pet owner think shelters are crazy for rejecting them and will tend to tell other agencies the same thing that got them refused -- almost as if it's a point of pride. One of the most bizarre memories of when I started was refusing a guy to adopt, and having him show up again to apply maybe a week later -- when asked about it, he claimed he was his own twin. The ID he gave me was the same, and all the same reasons he was refused the first time he revealed again. 

"Congratulations, sir -- now you have something more in common with your twin."

I remember the first intake I ever did on my own. It was a man turning in a seven-year-old Cocker Spaniel. When asked why he was giving him up, he said, "I guess we just don't love him anymore." To me, it was just this insane thing to say, something that made no sense at all -- you love your pet more each day, not less! When I took the dog back and told my co-workers, expecting this big reaction, they didn't blink. By the time I left, I'd heard so many things equally, if not more appalling, that I was just as jaded as they were -- it was left for the new people to be shocked. 

By the time you've seen many starving dogs and been told it again and again that it was because the children of the house weren't doing their chores -- namely being the sole-caregivers for the dog -- and usually the kids were still in grade school, you learn to accept humans really sorta suck.

There were many reasons I left the shelter, mostly burn out, but I thought it would be best to escape before I became a permanent misanthrope.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

jmiked said:


> Here are two pictures of my Abby, Kiri:


What is it about boxes that they like so much... This is Samantha in "her" box. She looks like she's pretending to be an owl.










Love Kiri's naming story! Poor little cat who doesn't like travel....


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Susan in VA said:


> What is it about boxes that they like so much...


Want to see the best thing in the world and why I bless the internetz?






And then for a cool down -- cats in sinks.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Michelle, I don't know how shelter employees find the strength to do it.    I'd be alternating between tears and anger every single day.    Our cats, past and present, are all either shelter or rescue-organization cats, and some of the stories we've heard are just appalling.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

MichelleR said:


> Want to see the best thing in the world and why I bless the internetz?


Those are great! 

Have you seen the Infinite Cat Project?

http://www.infinitecat.com/infinite/cat1.html


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Cats and boxes--yes! And bags!

We have a cat we named Charity, because that's what it took an act of to take her in. I drove home one day when she jumped out in front of me and tried to run away. She was so weak she fell over. We fed her and cleaned her up and she became a nice, if neurotic cat. She once ate a whole stick of butter set out to thaw. Another time she pushed a fresh apple pie off the counter (it was in a covered dish), breaking the glass pan it was in. We couldn't even give it to the dog! Now she's an outside cat. Our cat-loving friend calls her "Calamity."


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

And then there's this one....


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## Avalon3 (Dec 3, 2008)

We had a hedgehog named Nopal a type of cactus.

We had a 3 legged pond turtle named Tripod.

My mother named a parakeet Wallbanger because he kept banging into the walls.  She called him Harvey for short.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Avalon3 #888 said:


> My mother named a parakeet Wallbanger because he kept banging into the walls. She called him Harvey for short.


He could have used a cool helmet!


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

Ok, Here goes... I almost always name my pets after FOOD!

I have a Pomeranian named "Hunny-Biscuit" and had one named "Licorice", one named "Pie" and one named "Cinnamon". A boxer I wanted to name "Noodle" but was told "No" so I called her "Doodle" had a turtle named "Gum" or "Gumby" 

Then I have a fish named "Sludge" and had a bird named "Cheeks" I'm still thinking...


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

Names of some of the cats we have had over the past 36 years:
*Nimbus * - she had the coloring of a storm cloud. She was a wonderful and brilliant cat who died of feline leukemia before the vaccine was available.
*Tempest * - she was a tiny tempest in a teacup. She lived to within three months of 20 years.
*Tigger * - grey stripped cat with scoliosis. He hopped instead of walking normally. He was the son of Nimbus. We took him to a vet to find what was wrong with him. The vet said Tigger had the worst case of scoliosis he had seen in a living cat. He also said that Tigger should be able to have a normal life if he never went outside. If we had known Nimbus would not be alive a year later, we would have kept Tigger instead of finding him a good home where they promised to keep him inside.
*Scamper * - she was not the brightest cat but loved scampering around. (Only pet we kept on this list not from a shelter or a stray; she was the daughter of Tempest.)
(Both Nimbus and Tempest were spayed soon after their kittens were weaned. We found homes for all of their kittens. All other animals on the list were either neutered when we received them or as soon as they were old enough.)
*Boarder * - she was only supposed to stay a short while. 
*Stormy * - based on her personality.
*Charley * - named by our daughter (possibly for Creeping Charley). (Poisoned by SOB who threw poison over wall.)
*Thunder * - he was a large wonderful cat with electric blue eyes and thunderous purring. (Edit: Thunder was the last of the of the "weather" named cats for a long time. His full weather name was *Agustyus Thunderous Catlickula Cloudyus* as he was a very regal cat. But we always called him Thunder for short. Guess what had recently been playing on PBS? )
*Tiger Lily* - our first orange tabby; our daughter named her (possibly for character in Peter Pan).
*Buttons * - as a kitten he would try to bite buttons from shirts. A large cat who lived to be 18. DH wanted to name him *Spot * as he had a single large spot on his back. DD would not hear of that. He was nearly named *Arnold * as he was very muscular. (Vet had to use adult cat needle for vaccination as the kitten needle broke.)
*Chessie * - she looked like and was named for the mascot of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad. She showed up at our door. Buttons did not get along with her and we found her a good home.
*Dusty * - short for *Dusty Devil*. An orange tabby, he was previously named *Tanner * when we got him from the shelter. I could not remember that name and called him other names starting with the letter T such as *Tucker*, *Tyler*, and *Taylor*. We called him *Cat 4 Tornado * for a while based on how he flies around the house. However, in color he is closer to a dust devil. 
*Snowflake * - she is a stray who was named by the shelter and will be joining us after she recuperates, has her shots, and is spayed. 
EDIT: Dusty and Snowflake are our current cats. Snowflake has gained enough weight that we sometimes call her *Snowball*.

Dogs:
*Bernie * - as a puppy she looked like a small, tubby, St. Bernard. She was a wonderful spaniel mix. Developed epilepsy possibly due to poison thrown over a wall. (Due to same SOB who threw poison into all of the back yards on our street.)
*Amber * - named for her color.


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## Avalon3 (Dec 3, 2008)

My grandson takes Tae Kwon Do. We named our chihuahua Kia which means spirit or energy used in Tae Kwon Do. Kia used to go to all the classes and she was a hit with the kids that loved to come over and pet her.

Kia on Wendy's lap on Tae Kwon Do.









Grandson breaking board in Tae Kwon Do


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Susan in VA said:


> Michelle, I don't know how shelter employees find the strength to do it. I'd be alternating between tears and anger every single day.


No, it's easy -- you just suppress and deny your feelings! 



> Our cats, past and present, are all either shelter or rescue-organization cats, and some of the stories we've heard are just appalling.


Yes, but you made it better for at least some of the cats.



Susan in VA said:


> Those are great!
> 
> Have you seen the Infinite Cat Project?
> 
> http://www.infinitecat.com/infinite/cat1.html


Wow! Who needs drugs?


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Avalon3 #888 said:


> My grandson takes Tae Kwon Do. We named our chihuahua Kia which means spirit or energy used in Tae Kwon Do. Kia used to go to all the classes and she was a hit with the kids that loved to come over and pet her.
> 
> Kia on Wendy's lap on Tae Kwon Do.
> 
> ...


Kia doesn't look impressed, but I am.


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## ferretluver (Mar 2, 2009)

My pets are all rescue animals or strays that adopted us.

Sheba, pure bred Persian. When we adopted here the shelter named her Giselle. Hubby said that did not fit, so he re named her Sheba.

Oreo, Black and White stray that adopted us. name is obvious.

Merlin, all black male cat. Neighbor bought him home at 6 weeks and let him roam the streets so we cat knapped him.

Magic, A Keeshound that the rescue group brought up from W.Virginia with a litter of 6 pups. All of the pups were adopted but, no one wanted her and older dog so we adopted her. She was ony 2 years old not old.










Magic & Merlin










Magic










Oreo









Sheba

Sorry I do not know how to make the pictures smaller


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## egh34 (Jan 11, 2009)

We have a rescue keesie too!!


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## ferretluver (Mar 2, 2009)

egh34 said:


> We have a rescue keesie too!!


They are great dogs!!!!!!!
Such a people dog!!!


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## egh34 (Jan 11, 2009)

ferretluver said:


> They are great dogs!!!!!!!
> Such a people dog!!!


I think they are one of the best kept secrets in the dog world!


----------



## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

MichelleR said:


> Yes, but you made it better for at least some of the cats.


There are always so many more.... but I'd rather have three happy cats who get along than fifteen who fight constantly and are stressed out. Not to mention that there'd be the whole "crazy cat lady" effect... 



MichelleR said:


> Wow! Who needs drugs?


LOL!


----------



## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

ferretluver said:


> Sheba


  Sheba is the grumpiest-looking cat I've seen in a while.... but cute!!


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## ferretluver (Mar 2, 2009)

Susan in VA said:


> Sheba is the grumpiest-looking cat I've seen in a while.... but cute!!


that is what we love about her! she can be sleeping,playing or just hanging out and always looks grumpy.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Here's a longish story about a couple cat names.

It was when I was in high school, toward the end of my sophomore year. We had recently done the frog dissection thing in biology class. My lab partner and I decided to name our frog "Ferdinand" for the identifier we wrote on the tag on his leg. Well, after we cut him open, we realized he was a she. So we scratched out Ferdinand and renamed her Isabella. (Get it: Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain?)

Soon after that, our family adopted a couple of calico kitten sisters from some friends on a farm. For some reason the slightly larger one just looked like an Isabella to me (I guess I had Isabella on the brain). Her sister could not be called Ferdinand for the simple reason that I knew my sisters wouldn't go for that, so I suggested Francesca and Isabella. For whatever reason, everyone immediately agreed they were fitting names, and they all lived happily ever after -- well, that is until Francesca ran off several years later and never returned, a mystery to this date. Isabella survived the move to New Jersey like a champ and continued bringing us dead (usually) mice, baby rabbits and assorted birds until she was about 15 years old.


----------



## egh34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Had to add our Fatty, aka Orion after the constellation. He was recently shaved.


----------



## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Winston, having a debate with Cecily, the ridgeback, over whether possession of a mouse is nine-tenths of the law, or not:


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## louiseb (Mar 2, 2009)

I need to work on getting pictures up, today I'm at work.

I have 7 dogs, and a double yellowhead Amazon parrot

Moose - Came with his name, an accidental breeding from a breeder's prize blue merle chihuahua stud and her grown daughter's dachshund. For some reason the breeder kept Moose until he was 6 months old, and he did look like a Moose among her tiny chihuahuas. They really picked on him though, and he was pretty neglected, though his basic needs were taken care of. She gave him to a neighbor who ran a daycare out of her home and after 2 weeks the neighbor gave him back and I took him. He still has a fear of children.

Gus - looks like a white lab/basset mix. He looks exactly like a white lab with short legs and huge feet. Got him from the shelter, he was probably about 10 years old and had been horribly neglected most of his life. I forget what the shelter called him, but he just seemed like a Gus to me. I have spent a small fortune trying to get him healthier, but he will always have health issues. Everyone loves Gus.

Odie - probably another chihuahua/dachshund type mix. Got Odie from a rescue group, he does look like the cartoon Odie and came with his name. His owner turned him over to the rescue because they wanted a cuter dog.

Angel - another from the shelter. She is a black chow/possibly catahoula mix. Looks very chow with gray shading through her coat. She was set to be put down, had clearly had puppies who had just been weaned (I hope) Her owner left her at a neighbor and never came back to get her, the neighbor turned her in. I named her Angel because she looks scary but she is a very sweet girl.

Poppy - from the shelter, a little apricot mix, probably has some poodle and terrier. The shelter called her Popcorn because she is so bouncy, I named her Poppy.

Merle - probably some kind of cattle dog maybe some Australian Shepherd mix, long legs and mostly white but with merle and black patches. He was considered unadoptable by the shelter where he was dumped at 6 months old because he was full of terror. He just huddled in the corner of his kennel and would not make eye contact. When I brought him home I had to carry him from place to place because he was so frozen with fear. He still does that at the vet, but he has come a long way. Still his first reaction to everything is fear, and he is often afraid to even come to me, but he adores my other dogs and is a very sweet affectionate boy with me when he's not afraid. I've had him a little more than a year.

Caesar - a corgi mix from the shelter. I was watching him hoping a rescue would pull him but everyone is maxed out and Caesar was heartworm +. His owner turned him in because he didn't want to pay for the treatment. The day he was going to be put to sleep I adopted him. When I took him to my vet he X-Ray'd to see how damaged his heart was, and found 2 bullet slugs in him, one in his shoulder and one in his liver. Both were healed over and we left them, thinking it would cause more trauma to take them out than leave them in. He is heartworm free now and a great little guy. I kept his original name.

Picasso - my parrot, he came from a family member who had to give him up, she is very artistic. He is 10 years old and very entertaining.


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## KindTrish (May 25, 2009)

My little guy was Cyber Space Escher. "Cyber"  At the time 14 years ago cyberspace was unique.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

NogDog said:


> It was when I was in high school, toward the end of my sophomore year. We had recently done the frog dissection thing in biology class. My lab partner and I decided to name our frog "Ferdinand" for the identifier we wrote on the tag on his leg. Well, after we cut him open, we realized he was a she. So we scratched out Ferdinand and renamed her Isabella. (Get it: Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain?)


  Reminds me of when my mom "adopted" a squirrel... it regularly came onto my parents' balcony when they lived in a 12th-floor apartment, climbing up the brick building all the way from the ground. She fed it peanuts and it took them from her hand. She wanted to pet it but had heard too many scary stories about being bitten, so she took an old toothbrush and brushed its fur with that, and the squirrel absolutely loved it... you could see it leaning into the brush strokes just the way a cat does. When it got startled it sat up with one paw over its chest, exactly the same way every time, and so she named it Napoleon.

Then a few years later I acquired a python (actually for someone else, but I snake-sat it for quite some time), and of course it had to be named Josephine...


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## Tippy (Dec 8, 2008)

My daughter was forever saving cats from the pound.  She brought home a three-legged kitten, that we promptly named Hop Sing.  Hop Sing had a particular way with dogs.  They only bothered Hop Sing once, after that they stayed away.  Hop lived to a ripe old age.  

Then my daughter rescued another cat for Grandma, because she knew Grandma needed a good cat.  We got the little kitten down to Grandma's and Grandma decided to name her Li'l Sweetheart.  My Dad took one look at the kitten and said, "That kitten is nothing but Trouble.".  And that is how Trouble came to be named.  Trouble lived to be 26 years old.


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## MonaSW (Nov 16, 2008)

All of my cats and dogs came named, so I have no idea really where their names came from, but here are a couple and their nicknames:

Cats: 
Mutterbutt - possibly because her purr was like a motorboat, nicknamed the Duchess of Gourmand (she loved good cooking) aka Meatball Thief. 
Milo - no idea nicknamed the One-eyed Bringer of Sleep. If you couldn't sleep and she jumped up on the end of the bed and went to sleep, you did too. One-eyed because she had a tumor in one eye and the eye had to be removed. Didn't bother her a bit.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Tippy said:


> My daughter was forever saving cats from the pound. She brought home a three-legged kitten, that we promptly named Hop Sing. Hop Sing had a particular way with dogs. They only bothered Hop Sing once, after that they stayed away....


Yep, unless a dog has really learned how to deal with cats, cats seem to usually have the upper hand, at least in one-on-one encounters. I remember one day seeing the 80-pound hound that lived two doors down from us running home in a panic, with Isabella riding on his back with all 4 sets of claws firmly dug into poor old Cleo (who was a super friendly dog who probably just wanted to play with our cat).


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## Tippy (Dec 8, 2008)

NogDog said:


> Yep, unless a dog has really learned how to deal with cats, cats seem to usually have the upper hand, at least in one-on-one encounters. I remember one day seeing the 80-pound hound that lived two doors down from us running home in a panic, with Isabella riding on his back with all 4 sets of claws firmly dug into poor old Cleo (who was a super friendly dog who probably just wanted to play with our cat).


That is exactly what Hop Sing did -- only it was three sets of claws in the back. It was quite a sight to see. No one messed with Hop.


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

We had a grey cat - named Dusty ('cause she looked ..........)

She used to sit out in the front yard and "dare" the neighborhood dogs to come on down.

Once was usually enough.
Our front lawn was clear of dog pooh.

Just sayin.....


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

geoffthomas said:


> We had a grey cat - named Dusty ('cause she looked ..........)
> 
> She used to sit out in the front yard and "dare" the neighborhood dogs to come on down.
> 
> ...


Greebo, the ultimate "watch cat" (with Nanny Ogg, one of the Lancre Witches of the Discworld):


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## Brenda M. (Nov 26, 2008)

I am loving these stories! Please keep them coming. 

I love keesies too! well, heck I love all dogs! 

Dewey is in my avatar. When we adopted him he was only about 1.5 years old and his ears just seemed too long for a pug and we kept calling him Droopy Dawg (from the cartoon) and that became Dewey. He also has a middle name of Montgomery that I use when he's bad and he knows it! 

Shasta was adopted when she was 1 year old and was originally "Sugar". I was always a tom-boy, so that meant my girl dog had to be one, too  and Sugar was too girly, so my husband thought of Shasta. I still haven't chosen a middle name for her, but she rarely gets into trouble. 

I'll have to keep this list handy as we're always trying to think of names for the rescues as they come in. There are some great ones here!


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## Googlegirl (Mar 4, 2009)

We have:
Otis, the boxer. I have an uncle named Otis but everyone calls him "Brother". I always liked the name and thought it would bee cool for a dog  
Sully, boston terrier. She is named after the lead singer of Godsmack. Most of my previous animals have been named after Rock Stars. There has been Motley (black cat) Axel (orange cat) Sabbath (black Chow)
And Huckleberry Finn, polydactyl cat. He's named because of the famous Hemingway cats. They all have famous celebrity or literary names. 
Here are some photos of them.


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## koolmnbv (Mar 25, 2009)

I just love seeing all these pictures and hearing all the story's! Its so funny/fate how everyones road leads to their pet that inevitably being their true love!


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## Cindergayle (Mar 15, 2009)

I have a chocolate labrador retriever Grace. I also have a silky terrier named Lucy. I have a boston terrier named Albert after my dad, and a yorkshire terrier named Percy. He is named after one of my dad's brothers. As you can see we love dogs at our house. They are really great and bring a lot of joy.


Cindy


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

April was our feistiest cat, may she rest in peace. See pics above. She and I would "hunt" each other about the house. I called our game "Gotcha," but I don't know what she called it.

When she was little, and our ridgeback was about half grown, April laid a trap for her. She rolled in the dirt within sight of the dog, rolled and rolled, and when the dog came closer to investigate, she sprang to her feet and took after her. She never had a problem with the dog after that.


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## egh34 (Jan 11, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> the dog, rolled and rolled, and when the dog came closer to investigate, she sprang to her feet and took after her. She never had a problem with the dog after that.
> 
> Lol, aren't ridgebacks big fierce lion-hunters by trade?? LOL


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

egh34 said:


> BrassMan said:
> 
> 
> > Lol, aren't ridgebacks big fierce lion-hunters by trade?? LOL
> ...


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## farmwife99 (Nov 22, 2008)

I'm going over names in my head for a special little furbaby that will soon join our family.  The owners of the litter is calling him Corona right now but I'm leaning toward a plain simply name like "Tommy".
My Babyface passed over to the rainbow bridge the day after x-mas so I have been 5 months with a special furbaby. But I am ready now and am waiting until "Tommy" is old enough to leave momma dog to come here to his forever home.
He is an All-American mutt, a sorted affair between a corgi and a schnauzer. I can't wait to share pictures with all of you.


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

Tippy said:


> [a cat] named Hop Sing.


Tippy - I haven't checked this thread in a while - but when I was a child, we too had a cat named Hop Sing (in Alvin, TX). Pretty strange coincidence.


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

egh34 said:


> Had to add our Fatty, aka Orion after the constellation. He was recently shaved.


Wow - why was Fatty/Orion shaved?


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## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

I am so loving this thread!

Our Lhasa Apso is named Harley Davidson Wayt, because I figured it would be as close as I would ever get to owning one!! 
Little did we know that Harley would live up to his name... He was born to ride!








Riding with Mom!








Patiently waiting to ride with Dad!








Enjoying the ride!

Harley just celebrated his 9th birthday and still gets excited when we ask him if he wants to go for a ride. He jumps up and runs to the closet where we keep the life jackets because he knows he isn't allowed on the dock without it. He is better trained than the kids!!


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

Angela said:


> I am so loving this thread!
> 
> Our Lhasa Apso is named Harley Davidson Wayt, because I figured it would be as close as I would ever get to owning one!!
> Little did we know that Harley would live up to his name... He was born to ride!
> ...


What fun!!


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## Rita (Apr 30, 2009)

We have four pets now. The two inside are my pomeranian named Callie Mae and a shelter adopted tabby cat named King Louie. The two outside dogs are a pyrenees mix named Sandy Sue (another shelter adoption) who by the way has only three legs and last, but not least Ghost. We're unsure exactly what breed he is. He suddenly appeared at our home one day and adopted us. He is solid white and has two different colored eyes. He's a big teddy bear.

The funny thing is for each pet we have named my husband ALWAYS calls them something else. For example he calls Callie...Peadoodle, Sissy or Poo, Louie...Puss, Sandy...Beethoven or Beatle and Ghost...Mongo. I know, I know, it's weird!   Somehow they always adapt to different names because they come running every time he calls for them.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Wonderful shots of Harley! He's smarter than the average Ensign!

What about before and after shots? A bunch of us must have those.

Here's Cecily before and after:
























And after:


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## louiseb (Mar 2, 2009)

Such a cutie!! Are you in Texas? (noticed the Bluebonnets)


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

louiseb said:


> Such a cutie!! Are you in Texas? (noticed the Bluebonnets)


I am, yes. There are more wildflower pictures from where I live on the second page of this thread: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,7480.0.html. That's when it rains, of course.


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## farmwife99 (Nov 22, 2008)

Here is a picture of my Tommy, he is the one sleeping on this back. It shows his name as Corona. Isn't he a sweetie? Can't wait till he is old enough to come live with us.


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## louiseb (Mar 2, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> I am, yes. There are more wildflower pictures from where I live on the second page of this thread: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,7480.0.html. That's when it rains, of course.


Very nice pictures!! I live in the DFW area


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## Aravis60 (Feb 18, 2009)

Angela, I love the cute little doggie life-jacket!


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

before i left for college:









After 2 semesters:


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## frojazz (Feb 10, 2009)

Rita said:


> The funny thing is for each pet we have named my husband ALWAYS calls them something else. For example he calls Callie...Peadoodle, Sissy or Poo, Louie...Puss, Sandy...Beethoven or Beatle and Ghost...Mongo. I know, I know, it's weird!  Somehow they always adapt to different names because they come running every time he calls for them.


My dad did this with all the pets we had growing up. The funny thing is, he called our cat Willie "Elvis," and eventually Willie had to get a bunch of teeth pulled, and now his top lip gets stuck up on his bottom canine!


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Most of our animals are rescue critters, meaning no kittens or puppies. Cecily (above) was an exception. Alexander the Grate, here, was rescued as a kitten.

Before:


















After (he's still a runt):


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> Before:


Alexander as a kitten is so cute!!


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)




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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Awwww.


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## Tippy (Dec 8, 2008)

CegAbq said:


> Tippy - I haven't checked this thread in a while - but when I was a child, we too had a cat named Hop Sing (in Alvin, TX). Pretty strange coincidence.


Ceq -- it is indeed a strange coincidence. I must say, I love your sense of humor.


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## Tripp (May 28, 2009)

Our family has two Cardigan Welsh corgi's.  Our girl was already named when we got her.  She was supposed to be a show dog but didn't have the right bite... whatever that means.  Her full name (I think) is Shadow Walk Belle of the Ball.  We call her Belle.  We got our boy when he was a puppy and named him Cooper.  Our last name is Anderson.  I was watching cable news when I got that one...LOL

I will post pics as soon as I figure out how to do it.  I am a techno-phebe and will need to get one of my sons to help me.


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## Tippy (Dec 8, 2008)

Angela -- Harley is so cute -- I looove his little life jacket.  You are such good parents.

Brassman, as always, I love your photos and your heart.  Your pets are so lucky to have found such a loving home.  I had a cat that was fierce like your April.  His name was Sammy.  Well his full name, if you will forgive me, was Sammy-You-Little-A******.  I loved that cat and he loved me.  But he did play a little rough from time to time.  Sammy was Siamese.  I had another Siamese that I gave to my mother.  She called him Sweetie Pie.  Every time I heard Mom calling SP, I would LOL!  She was so darned cute. 

Vegas, I love your before college/after two semester photos.  How neat.

I love this thread.  You guys make my day.  I'm grinning from ear to ear!


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## Tippy (Dec 8, 2008)

Egh, loved your photo of Orion.  My brother had a cat that was shedding.  My nephews, in their late teens, got tired of cleaning up the cat hair, so they shaved the cat, whose name is Hobbit.  They said it was a 'poodle cut' because of the round ball of fur they left at the tip of her tail.  Hobbit had a grumpy look for quite some time.

Ferret, your photo of Sheba was so 'persian'.  They always look so pouty and grumpy.  Gotta love 'em.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Sometimes long-haired cats get shaved if they (and their people) get behind on the grooming, and the fur is a matted mess...  better to shave it off and start over!


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

I have our long-haired cat, Yoda, shaved every 3-4 months.  He was miserable hacking up hairballs all the time (even with brushing every day and special diet).  He gets a "lion cut" that leaves a ruff around his face and full tail.  His fur feels like suede now and he is a happier cat, much more affectionate and social and no more presents around the house!


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## vsch (Mar 5, 2009)

As requested, another picture of the lionhead rabbit.










Brassman, when i first saw your pics of April, I had to laugh. We have a cat like that...her name is chuggy and boy, can she be nasty. She is moving out in a couple weeks with my daughter. We are hoping that without the other cats around she might have a better disposition. My DD also wants to take the rabbit, but "Jack" is staying here.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

We wanna see more of that lil' rabbit, vsch!

OK, Tippy, here's a few more. Do NOT get me started. I have over 50,000 pictures, at least half of them animals. Our cats get to where they ignore the guy who creeps around with the little silver box that flashes.

Siamese must be especially playful. We've had three, and they've all loved their fun. April's thing was to hide and spring out. She wouldn't actually attack ME, I'm glad to say, but when I'd look around and find her looking at me, I knew if she were, say, 50 pounds, I'd have been lunch.




























My wife tried to decorate April's hooch with a Christmas ornament. You'll see how long that lasted:



















This is fun. Just like no one knows you're a dog on the internet, no one knows I'm an author when I share pet pics. Here's another where the photographer has just realized he could have been a cat meal.



















Still, there are rules at our place. Manners are important. If you have manners, you might get a seat at the table.










Or even










Back to books. We are readers, after all. Can you spot the book-curious cat?


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## vsch (Mar 5, 2009)

I'll update the rabbit pics.  need to take more...such a chore..LOL

One of my cats is a ladder climber, too.  He scared the you know what out of some guys working in the attic. The told me they thought they were going to get attacked by a raccoon. I told them there was a reason the cat's name was Houdini.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

BrassMan said:


>


It's so funny how cats always seem to believe they're completely hidden...


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

You saw her tail, but did you notice her nose?


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> You saw her tail, but did you notice her nose?


Sure did.. the little stealth-nose!


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

BrassMan, love your cat pix.  I particularly like the little black & white kitty on the piano.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Few things are as cute as a kitten. Alexander the Grate (so-called because he entered our house through a popped-open window screen) was, and still is, as an adult, a very cute guy.


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## MonaSW (Nov 16, 2008)

Great pictures! Don't you love how innocent cats can look?


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

How about the "Mean Kitty Rap?"


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

MonaSW said:


> Great pictures! Don't you love how innocent cats can look?


I was thinking the same thing when I saw that one with the Christmas lights. "Who, me??"


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> How about the "Mean Kitty Rap?"


  That's the first time ever that I voluntarily listened to a rap song all the way through.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

MonaSW said:


> Great pictures! Don't you love how innocent cats can look?


Yes! That's part of what I love about them.


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## Lynn (Nov 4, 2008)

I currently have 2 dogs- a Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Rudy, a Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen named Sparty, and 3 cats- 2 brothers George and Ira and a little female I brought home 3 weeks ago. I have not yet given her a name, nothing seems to fit as yet. She was brought into the clinic I work at as a stray, figured out she was pregnant after we had her for 3 weeks. She had 3 kittens last week. She routinely makes Sparty run from her and yelp if she gets close enough to amack him. Sparty is a bit of a wimp though.
Sparty








Rudy








George








Ira








? before








? and kittens









Anyone have suggestions for names?
Ones that have been tossed about: Tinker (belle), Tiger lily, Mia, Shandy, Grace

Lynn L


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

Kittens!!! They are so cute. three colored cats are considered lucky in china


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Lynn said:


> ...Anyone have suggestions for names?
> Ones that have been tossed about: Tinker (belle), Tiger lily, Mia, Shandy, Grace


I love Calicoes. 

The mother's coloring reminds me a lot of a cat we had named Isabella, and the kitten closest to the camera looks like she might look a bit like Isabella's sister Francesca. So, if you have 2 female kittens and one male, I'd go with Ferdinand, Isabella, and Francesca.


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## Googlegirl (Mar 4, 2009)

Miss Callie- as in calico kitty. 

My sister has a calico she named that.


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## Lynn (Nov 4, 2008)

NogDog- good idea- but all are females  and the kittens are NOT staying! They must find homes, 6 cats is too much for this household 

Lynn L


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Lynn said:


> NogDog- good idea- but all are females  and the kittens are NOT staying! They must find homes, 6 cats is too much for this household
> 
> Lynn L


How about Olga, Maria, and Irina from Chekov's "Three Sisters"?


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## ferretluver (Mar 2, 2009)

I love Calico's! I had a calico that we named Trouble cause she was always getting into things.

How about Callie, Trouble, Mia, Pia.


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## klrodrigues (Mar 29, 2009)

WOW, I just love pet names.

My Chihuahua babies
First, we have Skye... DD named her, her eyes are very bluer.
Ramsey... I named her from a Dobie I saw that I loved on Youtube...., she has about the same temper  
Striker... ha, this little guy when he was 3 weeks old tried to bite my DH like a snake  
Bella, DD's dog... she is white with a bit of tan & well DD loves Twilight  
Patty aka Phat Girl, she was the biggest in her liter & so I called her Fat girl but I didn't want her to have a complex so she's Patty now.

  Then we have our stray that DH found in the road.  The guy in front of him almost hit her.  When he brought her home she had pneumonia & full of worms... not to mentioned had kept herself alive on grass & twigs.  She is a Shepard Mix, cream colored.  We couldn't think of a name & one night I was watching the Munsters, said something about "Lily" & she came.  LOL  So she's our Lily.  Although she answers to "Hoy" better which is my 2 yr olds version of Lily.

LOL, that's our Crew.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Lynn said:


> NogDog- good idea- but all are females  and the kittens are NOT staying! They must find homes, 6 cats is too much for this household
> 
> Lynn L


My brain dug up something from deep in its old files last night reminding me that the calico coloring normally appears only in female cats. A little web searching confirmed that foggy memory.


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## MonaSW (Nov 16, 2008)

Titania  because she looks rather queenly there spread out on the couch as if it were her throne.


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## Avalon3 (Dec 3, 2008)

BrassMan said:


> We wanna see more of that lil' rabbit, vsch!
> 
> OK, Tippy, here's a few more. Do NOT get me started. I have over 50,000 pictures, at least half of them animals. Our cats get to where they ignore the guy who creeps around with the little silver box that flashes.
> 
> ...


----------



## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Meet Bob. Bob was another rescue, a great, mellow fellow, the Eeyore of felines. Large! Furry!



















He loved to climb into open suitcases, boxes, and bags--loved to.










As the French say, il savait sa valeur--he knew his value.


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## Avalon3 (Dec 3, 2008)

This is Coquito our green cheek yellow sided conure. My daughter took the picture of Coquito in my blouse and sleeping on my blouse.


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

We have a 10 year old, part main **** cat named Mimo. We adopted him from the SPCA when he was eight weeks old. My daughter named him when she was about eleven. We also now have a year old black lab named Baily. His name was a family decision and we had a list of possible names we posted on the fridge so everyone could give input. We all wanted something that we could call out loud with being embarrassed or getting strange looks from people.


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## Kilgore Trout (Dec 28, 2008)

My sister gave me a Balinese kitten for Christmas in 1990. In case you are not familiar with the breed, a Balinese has the body type and coloring of a Siamese, but the fur is almost as long as that of a Persian. The silky fur lies very flat and never knots up like it does with an unkempt Persian. She had witchy looking eyes, and she was a sweet little witch, so I named her Tabitha. She lived with me until she passed away at age sixteen. The URL of my website is still e-tabitha.com.

In the early '90's, a dirty-white tomcat kept hanging out at my house, grabbing a free meal from Tabitha's food bowl, so I adopted him and named him Arnold Ziffel. He was a real pig of a cat. He liked his freedom, liked to stay outside except in the worst of weather. I have never had or heard of a cat that pooted before Arnold, but that boy could clear a room! In early '95, I rescued a kitten from the parking lot at my job and named him, appropriately enough, Maynard G. Krebs. Maynard stayed with us until late 2005, and if any of you have seen any post I have made on the Yahoo Groups, you will see that I am Maynerd592000. Who would ever have thought that there were 591,999 other Maynerds out there who actually admitted to it!?

When I met my wife, she had a Bichon whose name was Cotton. Well, that common name for a fluffy white foo-foo dog would never do, so I nicknamed her Huckleberry Hound Dog.

Pam and I had a lake house on upper Lake Travis for many years, and since it was a weekend place, we tended to have a lot of feral cats having kittens under our back deck. Being the softy cat lovers that we are, we had to start adopting them, sometimes in whole litters! For the sake of brevity, let me just say that we have lost many of them to diseases and such over the years, so don't think we have this many cats. We peaked at sixteen, but now we are down to eleven. We sold that lake house a few years ago so we would not have to adopt any more kitties. I declared that sixteen would be our final limit. Now we are down to eleven, but here is the whole list.

After the aforementioned came Gidget & Sabrina; Mary Ann & Ginger; Buffy & Jody; Jerry, George, Elaine, & Kramer; Sue Ann, Ted, Murray, Georgette, & Rhoda; and finally, Murphy, Frank, Corky, & Miles. Of course most of them have or had surnames of which we are all familiar.

http://www.e-tabitha.com/


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## HollyChristine (May 30, 2009)

Clemenza is our little Pomeranian. He's also the big guy from The Godfather (just One, he doesn't make it to Two, but he dies of natural causes, at least I like to believe). Clemenza was the guy that said, "Leave the gun, take the cannoli." He's my favorite character, but I never really thought that OUR Clemenza would take his characteristics! She's bossy!


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## Tippy (Dec 8, 2008)

BrassMan said:


> You saw her tail, but did you notice her nose?


 Yes I noticed it! Too too funny. Cats are such a hoot. Am going to see my dear mother this weekend (our birthdays are tomorrow). I've got a photo I want to post, so am going to have to dig out the instructions and see if I can get it done. Brassman, ya make me grin!


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## Tippy (Dec 8, 2008)

Brassman -- Bob is HUGE!  Did you name him Bob because he is the size of a bobcat?  

Avalon, love your conure.  He is a shy guy.  Lynn love your cats and dogs.  They are beautiful.  The kittens are so cute.  Winkum Blinkum and Nod.  And Vsch -- your rabbit is beautful.  

Pets bring so much joy into our lives.  Thanks all for sharing your joy.  I love each and every photo.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Tippy said:


> Brassman -- Bob is HUGE! Did you name him Bob because he is the size of a bobcat?


Bob wasn't as big as he looked. He was good-sized, yes--about 12 pounds--but he looked bigger because he was fluffy. When we got him (a student of mine was told by her doctor that she had to get rid of him because of her allergies), his name was "Aspen." That didn't resonate with us. As we got to know him for the calm, sweet guy he was, it seemed like "Bob" was more appropriate of his simple directness.

You might have seen April, above, tearing after our ridgeback, terrorizing her. Bob wasn't like that. Here he is meeting Cecily when she was just a puppy. It would have been the perfect time to teach Cecily some respect, but Bob was too calm, too polite.










We eventually passed Bob along to a friend who really wanted a pal. She said when she came home from work, Bob would not be denied: he needed attention. She would have things that had to be done, so to accommodate Bob while she did them, she made a sling for him and "wore" him about the apartment as she did her chores. Bob loved that.










April, on the other hand, was way too feisty. I took pictures of her sleeping, but I seldom could get close when she was awake. Here's one of the rare exceptions:


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

I swear, cats have a much wider range of behaviors and peculiarities than dogs. I have a theory about that, but never mind. Some of our cats head for the back bedrooms and dive under the beds whenever the doorbell rings. Now we have a cat who does the opposite. He just loves strangers. I mean LOVES strangers. It's Alexander the Grate. He was not invited to do this. He decided on his own, jumped, and there he was. Here are some examples.


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

Last night, I got home from a trip to Rhode Island and there was enough light left to take Raney to the lake. She's a golden retriever, but has never been too sure about swimming.

Well, she figured it out yesterday and we had a great time with her in the water. It was great to see her instinctively spreading her paws to take advantage of the webbing between her toes.


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## MonaSW (Nov 16, 2008)

She sure looks like she belongs in the water now. Great pictures everyone!


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

lol. Wow she got so big so fast! Beautiful Golden.

Well today is a PERFECT weather day in Vegas 82 degree with clouds in the sky (usually there aren't many clouds about) and a nice breeze. So right after Kindle/Koffee day...I walked my lab and we spent the last three hours at the dog park.


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## Avalon3 (Dec 3, 2008)

BrassMan said:


> Meet Bob. Bob was another rescue, a great, mellow fellow, the Eeyore of felines. Large! Furry!


Bob is gorgeous! How much does he weigh?


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Avalon3 #888 said:


> Bob is gorgeous! How much does he weigh?


Bob weighed about 12-13 pounds, one or two of that fur. Bless his heart. He was a great guy.

Here's another shot I did NOT take but had to share. This is from this weekend's cat calendar page.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

The cat looks like it owns the mule.


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## Tippy (Dec 8, 2008)

Harvey, Raney is beautiful!  Great shots.  Looks like ya had a great time.  Thanks for sharing.


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

^ Thanks, Tippy! We went again today, and she followed me out into the lake as we swam together. I loved it and she seemed to as well. 

The only dicey part was, swimming back in she tended to want to ride in for free on my back. I have a few claw marks there that I'll have to explain to KindleWidow.


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## libros_lego (Mar 24, 2009)

Harvey said:


> The only dicey part was, swimming back in she tended to want to ride in for free on my back. I have a few claw marks there that I'll have to explain to KindleWidow.


This made me crack up!


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

That gave me a chuckle too, Harvey--teaching a water dog to swim? Seems kind of remedial, doesn't it?

Can't resist a couple more pics from the cat calendar. Got it through Amazon, by the way--hint to cat lovers. It's by Workman Pub. Check these guys out:


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Author Edith Layton recently died from ovarian cancer, and her passion in life was animals. Bloggers and other writers have gotten together to raise money for shelters in general, North Shore Animal League in particular. There are contests and a really nice eBay auction, as well as a chance to win stuff just for commenting:

Host site 1 (Blog name NSFW)

Host site 2

eBay auction to win A.R.C.s from Nora Roberts, Christine Feehan, and many other goodies.

North Shore Animal League


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## kevindorsey (Mar 4, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> Meet Bob. Bob was another rescue, a great, mellow fellow, the Eeyore of felines. Large! Furry!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

Our 4 rescue babies.

Bizju, rescued 8/98 as a very young kitten (with his brother) from a breeder who decided she didn't want Siamese any longer. Bizju is a Chinese name for long nose (which he had as a baby).









Yoda, rescued 5/08 at 1 year from a Sheltie breeder who bred for show and he grew a little too large. It's only his 2nd year of watching Formula 1 with us and already a McLaren fan. 









Kibou, rescued 8/08 at 3 months from the county shelter, found living on the streets - now runs our house. Name is Japanese for "Hope" and also the name of the Japanese ISS module.









Obi-Wan, our newest rescue 4/09 from a Sheltie rescue group who received him after his adopted mommy died from breast cancer. He originated from the same breeder as Yoda and we have since found out that they are not only biological brothers, but also from the same litter. He is still very shy from being jostled around so much, but loves his long long brother and his new kitty brothers...and his new Mommy & Daddy!


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Beautiful critters, F1Wild! Great character! Let's hear it for rescue pals.

Here's one of our rescues, Pancho, a sweet, mellow fellow. Somewhere back in the queue there are more of him, usually with Cecily, our Ridgeback, sitting on him (which he didn't mind).

We'd love a sheltie, but lordy, lordy, is a long-haired dog a mess in our hot, sticker-filled land. See what we had to do with Pancho. He lost enough hair to make a second dog:


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> Beautiful critters, F1Wild! Great character! Let's hear it for rescue pals.
> Here's one of our rescues, Pancho, a sweet, mellow fellow. Somewhere back in the queue there are more of him, usually with Cecily, our Ridgeback, sitting on him (which he didn't mind).
> We'd love a sheltie, but lordy, lordy, is a long-haired dog a mess in our hot, sticker-filled land. See what we had to do with Pancho. He lost enough hair to make a second dog:


We live in Phoenix - hotter than any place I can think of and our 2 do pretty well. Shelties are awesome! Yours are beautiful, too!


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

I am so glad this thread was revived - I love pictures of furbabies!  Then again I love furbabies!


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## 4Katie (Jun 27, 2009)

I got my Shih Tzu from a breeder (not a puppy mill) near Jellystone Park in the mountains. His name is Yogi Bear. 

One of these days I'll have to post his picture.


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## amyrebecca (Jul 28, 2009)

My kitty is named Bailey for my hometown. Here he is looking very regal! That is his spot when I am on the computer or watching tv. He often tries to fit on my lap along with my 15" laptop  Not easy, since he weighs 13 lbs!


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

Handsome fellow!


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

I took these shots just after dawn this morning, out our back door. I was tempted to post them on the Good Morning thread, but feared they might ruin the breakfast of some folks. So I'm putting them here.

Nacho alerted me to the presence of this other, wilder pet (Roger), and then I noticed Roger was having breakfast himself. Or herself.


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## LCEvans (Mar 29, 2009)

Snakes have to eat, too, but I feel kind of sorry for Roger's breakfast. Here's a picture of my daughter's new Pom-Chi puppy, age 7 weeks. She calls him Sonic because she says he looks like Sonic the Hedgehog, but I call the little critter Wolf. He's very feisty. I think he looks like a cat in the first photo.










Here he is again with my Chihuahua, Jackie. Jackie is small, weighs about 4 pounds, so you can get an idea of how small Wolf is.


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> I took these shots just after dawn this morning, out our back door. I was tempted to post them on the Good Morning thread, but feared they might ruin the breakfast of some folks. So I'm putting them here.
> 
> Nacho alerted me to the presence of this other, wilder pet (Roger), and then I noticed Roger was having breakfast himself. Or herself.


Your Nacho has the same coloring as my Bizju...quite lovely!


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

LCEvans said:


> Here's a picture of my daughter's new Pom-Chi puppy, age 7 weeks. She calls him Sonic because she says he looks like Sonic the Hedgehog,


How cute! What is a Pom-Chi? Pomeranian/Chihuahua? How small is that? Pretty soon we will have dogs the size of mice... 

So, is he going to be Sonic or Wolf?


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## Veronica (Jan 23, 2009)

When I got my Italian Greyhound, I thought it would be cute for him to have an Italian name.  My coworkers and I had a brainstorm session, and came up with a few.  The only name that fit him was Guido.  Fast forward a few years to a new job, and a coworker promptly informs me that "Guido" is a racist term.

Honestly, at the time I named my dog, I had no idea of the connotation associated with the name.  Anyway, Guido is his name and that is how it will remain.  May he fight the stereotype of the name with every person he meets.  

He has various nicknames, of course.  Guido Petito was the first, which led to a few variations...Guido Tito, Guido Potato, etc.  I also, for some inexplicable reason, call him Boo Boo.  And Baby Dog.


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## Veronica (Jan 23, 2009)

Also, I used to have a dog named Jinx and a cat named Taz(manian Devil).

Both lived up to their names.

I have banned myself from naming any future pets.


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## LCEvans (Mar 29, 2009)

The Pom Chi is a cross between a Pomeranian and a Chihuahua. We expect this puppy to mature at about 4 pounds. He answers to both Wolf and Sonic.


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

LCEvans said:


> The Pom Chi is a cross between a Pomeranian and a Chihuahua. We expect this puppy to mature at about 4 pounds. He answers to both Wolf and Sonic.


4 lbs?!! Wow, pocket-sized!


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I saw the first picture of the cat and the snake, but I couldn't look at the next one.  Am curious though as to what the snake's meal was.  I'm extremely snake-phobic.  I always thought it would be a nasty scene if my cat met up with a snake.  Did the cat or the snake do anything to each other?  I really can't look at another picture of it though.  Seriously!


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

mlewis78 said:


> I saw the first picture of the cat and the snake, but I couldn't look at the next one. Am curious though as to what the snake's meal was. I'm extremely snake-phobic. I always thought it would be a nasty scene if my cat met up with a snake. Did the cat or the snake do anything to each other? I really can't look at another picture of it though. Seriously!


The snake was munching on another, tiny snake.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

F1Wild said:


> The snake was munching on another, tiny snake.


Looks like it may be a King Snake (perhaps a Western Black King Snake?). If so, it's worth cultivating as a "friend", as it will even eat poisonous species of snakes.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

NogDog said:


> Looks like it may be a King Snake (perhaps a Western Black King Snake?). If so, it's worth cultivating as a "friend", as it will even eat poisonous species of snakes.


Around here they're called black snakes or indigo snakes (because their black scales have a purple sheen in sunlight). I don't know my snakes, but I know these are the good kind. We had a smaller one in front which died last week, perhaps because of the drought. The one in back is big and seemingly healthy (but how can you tell?). Here it is last May backing off our ridgeback Cecily, who got between it and its burrow.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

mlewis78 said:


> I saw the first picture of the cat and the snake, but I couldn't look at the next one. Am curious though as to what the snake's meal was. I'm extremely snake-phobic. I always thought it would be a nasty scene if my cat met up with a snake. Did the cat or the snake do anything to each other? I really can't look at another picture of it though. Seriously!


OK, no photos this time. The question of what the meal was was answered by F1Wild. Cats are fascinated by snakes, but they're so quick to react that they don't seem to fear them. They seem attracted by their slitheriness. I've never heard of a cat being bitten by a rattler, but I suppose it's happened. There's a nifty YouTube clip of a bobcat attacking a large rattler and making a lunch of it. The rattler, speedy as it was, had no chance against a good-size cat.


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

Not to get away from snakes, but......to get away from snakes. 

And so the bromance continues.......Yoda & Kibou in a casual moment.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Sooo sweet! It's almost Biblical--the lion and the lamb, sort of.

Here's another casual critter. A friend sent me this yesterday.


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> Sooo sweet! It's almost Biblical--the lion and the lamb, sort of.


The funny thing is Kibou, the Kitty Cat (how they refer to each other) is the lion and Yoda, the Doggie is the lamb!



BrassMan said:


> Here's another casual critter. A friend sent me this yesterday.


That's total relaxation!


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## Aravis60 (Feb 18, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> Sooo sweet! It's almost Biblical--the lion and the lamb, sort of.
> 
> Here's another casual critter. A friend sent me this yesterday.


If only I could be that relaxed....


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

When we built the pond last year and tons of frogs came to stay, I made a decision not to put fish in the pond. I figured the frogs chose to be there and had first dibs and didn't need the fish eating their babies. This year, the frogs took forever to show up, and didn't appear until August. Now we have two frogs and a garter snake, and I find myself counting frogs a lot -- and telling them to be careful. Like the frogs, the snake chose to be there, and so it doesn't feel fair to oust him.

But frogs are cuter and I can't help but be Team Lily Pad!

We really put tons of work into making our yard even more wildlife friendly. The bat house was ignored. The bee houses were a success. The various berry and cherry bushes we've planted are doing well. I can't keep the bird feeders full. A chipmunk spent a whole day hiding nuts we left for him in the wheel well of a guy remodeling our front porch -- can you imagine the poor baby's reaction when his stash drove away? 

Tons of yellow finches this year.  And there was a scary amount of hummingbirds, although they've seemed to have headed south, but for a while it was not unusually to round a corner and see several flit away.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

Regarding the name Guido for a pet, Guido is still a legitimate name.  I had to look online to find the way the name has been used, but I wouldn't let that deter me from using the name.  One of my friends has a beautiful butterscotch tabby named Guido.  Also think of the Guidos in history, such as Guido d'Arezzo, who developed modern notation of music.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

This little wild kingdom encounter happened a half hour ago. The cats had had their breakfast. The armadillo was still working on his (or hers).


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> This little wild kingdom encounter happened a half hour ago. The cats had had their breakfast. The armadillo was still working on his (or hers).


Haha! Pet armadillo or visitor?


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

I'm guessing visitor since he doesn't know if its a boy or a girl -- a Dillo or a Dilla.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

I've never heard of one kept as a pet. They're not that bright--about like possums, I guess. This one was up all night, probably, rooting for grubs, and headed back to the burrow late, meaning after sunrise. Anyone remember the shot I posted of the same white cat checking out a black snake? Or our dog, checking out a skunk?


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> I've never heard of one kept as a pet. They're not that bright--about like possums, I guess....


Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?

A: To prove to the possum that it could be done.


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

MichelleR said:


> I'm guessing visitor since he doesn't know if its a boy or a girl -- a Dillo or a Dilla.


Good point, but even if a pet would one need to know?


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> I've never heard of one kept as a pet.


I know someone who raised them, but for research purposes.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

I think I remember that armadillos carry the leprosy bacterium, and that they are sometimes studied for that reason.

If one has a lovely lawn (we don't), armadillos are the very devil. They dig little holes all over the place, almost like wild pigs (which we also have). There's no point in shooting them. I prefer to think of it as free aeration.


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> I think I remember that armadillos carry the leprosy bacterium, and that they are sometimes studied for that reason.


Yup, mostly known for leprosy studies (for many years now) and also now several other research projects.


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## kevindorsey (Mar 4, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> I think I remember that armadillos carry the leprosy bacterium, and that they are sometimes studied for that reason.
> 
> If one has a lovely lawn (we don't), armadillos are the very devil. They dig little holes all over the place, almost like wild pigs (which we also have). There's no point in shooting them. I prefer to think of it as free aeration.


That's an interesting little fact.


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## Tip10 (Apr 16, 2009)

Here's another interesting fact that I recently learned:

If you have a lot of lightening bugs its a good indication that you also have a lot of slugs since they are one of the things that the lightening bug larvae eat.


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