The Evolution of a Name

Since I was a kid, no pet of mine has simply had 1 name. When I was 11 we adopted Sammy, a German Shepherd Collie mix puppy. I imagine I was short then, in 6th grade, and by the time the pup was 9 months old she was up to my knees/lower thigh on all 4s. She walked me. I loved that dog even though she was big, barked a lot and the neighbors didn't like all her barking. She was Sam, Sammie, Teenies. Not that she was in any way tiny.

Then there were the cats. They grew to be fat little guys and Oatmeal and I got along once in a blue moon (usually around Christmas) and Oreo was a mini me. Oatmeal was Oatmeal when he was fickle and refusing to come get his food or when he was in trouble. Otherwise he was Oatie, Bee Bee, Bebes and finally, The Bebe. Oreo was nicknamed Baby for a while (he was the baby of the family), Honey, and then Animal. It amazes me that they learned all these crazy names and managed to come (most of the time) when they were called.

Now we have Juliet, my little Boston Terrier puppy. Let's see...we call her Jules for short. Some call her Julie but I don't because I just don't like Julie. I usually just call her Pookie or Pook. The poor animals with all these names. It's a wonder they don't lose their little minds. We treat them like humans with tons of names and terms of endearment.

I guess we'll see how Jules/Pookie responds in the coming weeks and months and what if anything morphs from those names.