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What names have you given your animal companions?

When we do our workshops or book events, we always ask the participants to introduce themselves and tell us the names of their animal companions. This exercise gets a lot of laughs as people share the creative names they have given their furry friends.

Diana, from Australia, says that the impulsive adoption of two pullet hens caused her to name these new members of their family, Spon and Taneous. They joined Diana's other two hens, Little Red and Riding Hood.

Literature often provides the inspiration for animals' names. Janice says that she and her husband named their five puppies after characters in THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, a book Janice had loved to read as a child. They called the pups Christian, Purity, Chastity, Tenacity, and Charity. Another woman re-created her childhood by naming her new kittens Papa Bear, Mamma Bear, and Baby Bear. They joined Bear, the adult cat, who already ruled their household.

Beverly says that Shana Punem, in Yiddish, means "beautiful face." The name had special significance to her because this is what her father used to call his niece when the girl was little. Beverly says, "He would cup her face in his hand and say, 'Shana Punem.' It was such a sweet gesture." When Beverly adopted a dog nine years ago,
she named her Shana Punem.

Lisa wrote to tell us about her dog, Trouble. He got that moniker because when Lisa adopted another dog in addition to the two she already had, her sister-in-law predicted that Lisa's husband wouldn't be very happy about it. "You're going to get in trouble," was her admonition. As it turned out, according to Lisa, "Trouble was never any trouble at all. My husband and I both adored him." She says that Trouble was a dog who never did live up to his name.

An orphaned kitten named Gabriel was so sweet that his new human companions named him after the Archangel Gabriel. They write, "It backfired! We've found out that feline angels can be very mischievous!"

Although people get very creative about giving names to their animal companions, some say that the animals have let their humans know what they want to be called.

Melodie writes about the adoption of her tiny, juvenile green iguana. She says, "For a week, I tried many names that seemed perfect for her, but none of them were right for this little creature. During the second week of having her, a strange name was just in my mind. I truly believe that Eeghana-guana told me her name."

Our beautiful golden retriever, Prana, chose us from a litter of adorable puppies by coming forward and untying Allen's shoelace. On the way home, she seemed to whisper her name in Linda's ear. Later, we found out that "prana" means "breath of life." Prana surely was a breath of life for our family during the years we were blessed with her presence.

What names have you given your animal companions? Did you choose this name or did the animal choose it for you?