Contest: Name My Dog

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By J. Gelband, 5-31-07

I went to the Idaho Humane Society (nee The Pound) over the holiday weekend. I went with the intention of checking out the stock for a future adoption, not to pick up a new best friend that day. But zing went the strings of my heart; I fell in love with a yellow mutt and brought her home that day.

According to her papers, she’s part border collie, part lab. She’s 13 months old, 48 pounds heavy, no plaque on her teeth, her coat is very soft, and she’s super friendly. She’s got it all…except a name.

This is where you come in: Help me name my dog.

Submit all your suggestions in the comments section or email them to me and I’ll announce the winning name on Monday. If I choose the name you suggest, I’ll send you a NewWest.net T-shirt and I’ll write a story about your pet if you have one and/or if you want it.

The only rules are that it can’t be obscene, it can’t be a name that’s associated with her coloring (Goldy, Ginger, etc.) and it can’t be one of the popular names that dogs all over town are running around with these days (Sadie, Molly, Lucy, etc.).

Got it? Start naming!

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By J. Gelband, 5-31-07 | comments (37) | email story | print story

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Comments

By Clancy, 5-31-07

"Pink"- goes against the color naming restriction, but that nose demands some respect

By scootermom, 5-31-07

I tend to name my dogs in honor of others.

In college I had a great Springer Spaniel named Abby (Abbie Hoffman). I currently have a mixed breed named Marley (Bob Marley). And another mixed breed, named after the muppet Scooter (Jim Henson).

Although you list Molly as not a choice, I would go for Molly, in honor of Molly Ivins.

By Jill Kuraitis, 5-31-07

Since she's sweet-natured, I go for "Jezebel" - you know, a whore for love - and you've got Bell and/or Bella for short, or Jezzie. Then there is my favorite dog name of all, Daisy. She's an excellent Daisy. But I do like scootermom's idea of naming her after a female whom you admire!

By G.Jones, 5-31-07

All cats must be named Puff. All dogs must be named Spot. You may not like it, I may not like it, but it's the law.

By Sisyphus, 5-31-07

I've got a border collie black lab mix, he looks like a small wolf yearling. But he's genetically confused, to be kind. For example he never can decide if those webbed feet (lab)will allow it to overcome its fear of water(border collie). It finally did at, of course, the most inopportune time. I had just waded a top of the waders deep segment of the Salmon River to fish at some steelhead off the far bank. Just when I was within range of my fly rod but still out of sight, my dog decided for the first time that he could swim after all and swim he did, all the way across, right over the top of those fish scattering them to the deep.

I love my dog and he's getting long in the tooth. He has some pretty severe arthritis which I medicate and I don't let him overexert like he used to. I have many such stories which is part of the joy of being a dog owner. I'll miss him when he's gone. Call this one Sybil.

By Ethan Rarick, 5-31-07

Zinger, for your own description of zing went your heartstrings.

By j. gelband, 5-31-07

So far they all look good. I'm leaning toward the idea of naming her after someone special (but not Molly, sorry, even though Molly Ivins was super).
I am also partial to names from different ethnic backgrounds and foreign words that have cute/relevant translations in English.

By ken, 5-31-07

....I was about to finish by saying a dog by any other name would smell as sweet.....

By colleen, 5-31-07

Fiona

By ken, 5-31-07

that last comment seems a little abrupt, but something preceded which apparently didn't take....nevertheless, whatever you decide to call her, she looks beautiful and sweet. And to paraphrase the Bard....(now the previous comment follows).

By betty, 5-31-07

Phoebe sprang to mind when I saw her- I've been forbidden from naming my next dog Kitty. And there is always Josie.
Good luck!

By Courtney Lowery, 5-31-07

When we got our pound puppy, her name was "Lady" but my fiance couldn't stop singing the Styxx song, so we changed it to Lydia, which sounded a little like Lady.

But, I had desperately wanted to name her Seven or Ten. We'd picked up two kitties at the pound about a year earlier and they were two of a littler of 10 so they're pound names were Eight and Nine -- no kidding. We changed them to Ada and Ninah, but still shorten their names to Eight and Nine.

I thought it would be awesome to name Lydia Seven so we could have Seven, Eight and Nine.

And, I thought Seven was a sweet name for a dog. So, that's my suggestion:

Name her Seven, in honor of Eight and Nine.

By Casey, 5-31-07

It's not particularly creative or kitschy, but she looks like a Lola to me...

By Mark, 5-31-07

Pearl. She was obviously a hidden gem at the pound until you brought her out. Besides, out in the sun, she has a sheen that would reflect the name, even though you don't like name/color associations.

It would fit her.

By Irwin Horowitz, 5-31-07

Was trying to find a cute translation of some Russian word, but the closest I could find was "yabloko," which I think means "apple."

By Jill Kuraitis, 6-01-07

Wilma.

By Puppy Love, 6-01-07

Eve

By Patty B., 6-01-07

I have a few Italian words/names to suggest. Amica (ahMEEka), which means female friend. Or, how about Stella? That means Star. And I can't help but think of her as a Lula or Talulah. It's just plain fun to say!

By McMuff, 6-01-07

These may fall into your no color scheme names, but I was going to name my female yellow lab "Tequila" or "Corona", however, he turned out to be a boy. Or there is always "Kismet".

By News, 6-01-07

Point Guard. In the picture it looks like it is pointing at something and is guarding the house as well.

By Sisyphus, 6-01-07

Milish means sweet in Irish. Maybe Bella, she's beautiful? Its gotta be something you can holler that the dog will quickly recognize and won't confuse with other commands like "no" or "sit". This rules out just about anything over two syllables. If she likes to bolt you can name her Darby meaning liberty. Elsa means virgin princess. Gilda means golden, the metal not the color, and could include the celebrity Gilda Radner. How about yo-yo if she likes to go back and forth? She looks like a fetcher. But that might be confusing. Spongebob? I'm out of ideas. Good luck.

By Barb H., 6-01-07

I got a dog from an animal shelter and her number at the shelter was 501, so I named her (what else) "Levi". Your sweet girl looks like Nakita to me.

By Helena, 6-02-07

Willow.

By eL Mario, 6-02-07

I think, "Shohbie" would fit her quit well !
I've never herd it before (have you ?)
When giving a dog a name, I like to stick to one but no
more then a two sylable name to keep things easy for them.
I hope that helps !

Good-luck ! !

By dawn, 6-02-07

I suggest the name Sidel . When I was about 8, my parents had friends named Larry and Sidel. ( Sy-del ) Whenever they came over they brought us bags of swedish fish. We weren't poor or in need of anything, they just were being nice and thoughtful. That is big for little kids. I am 40 now and I have always remembered them. Just a nice name, with nice memories. For me at least. I wanted to give some recognition. Thanks.

By John Tracy, 6-03-07

I want her name as Amy,cause she looks like one.

By Beth A McGovney, 6-04-07

Against your direction the gods made her the color of tater tots and named her Totsi.
That's just the way it is.

By Jen, 6-04-07

I agree with Zinger. Not only does it match your heart strings but she looks like she can run really fast (zing, zing zing...Richochet Rabbit!) and she is yellow and sweet just like the Dolly Madison treat :)

By Red Dancer, 6-04-07

Charlene!

By Elin Hert, 6-05-07

My dog is a yellow lab and happens to be 13 too--13 years. Your dog is coming of age, and my dog is enjoying the end of her fun life. Her name is Basil Hathbone, a play on the name of the South African-born actor, Basil Rathbone. The actor pronounced his name with a short a, and we pronounce our dog's name like the herb. We just call her Basil, of course. We've loved the name and surely won't name our next dog Basil, so you may as well take it over because it's so cute (and so is she)!!

By Mike Banks, 6-05-07

What a nice color, facial expressions reflect possibly
being quite inquisitve. How 'bout Tawney. Good Luck

By Joan Mason, 6-07-07

I think a great name for her would be 'Ghillie-Leif'. A Scotish/Irish name for a part Border Collie, and Leif for Leif Erickson who was first to visit Labrador. She should be a wonderful dog.

By David Morris, 6-08-07

Your dog should have a name that reflects the true west, that of the Indian west. A good Sioux name would be Mato Gleska or Golden Bear in Lakota Sioux. It keeps the hopes and traditions of the true west alive.

By Joanie, 6-08-07

How about "Petunia"??
I think it has a lot of character, and besides, you could never name a male dog Petunia!

By Sara, 6-08-07

Ginger!

By kate, 6-20-07

I think Zinger or Happy would be a good name

By Eric Dell, 6-30-07

She is absolutely beautiful and looks like a lean, mean, tennis ball chasing machine....how about Chase??

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