All in a name

What is it about having a dog for a pet? I mean, you need to feed them, take them out, train them, give them shelter, brush them… the list goes on and on. The added responsibility in your life can be overwhelming, yet, you still want a dog? For me, my children would ask over and over again, “Mom, please can we get a dog?” and my response was always the same, “No, I have allergies”, “Dogs are a big responsibility”, “There would be a huge mess” or my famous “Sure, you want a dog and promise to take of it but who do you think will end up doing it all? That’s right, me… so until I’m ready the answer is no!”. Yep, that is what my children would hear from me each time they asked.

But then nearly two years ago, something changed. I began to notice a maturity in my children that made me think twice about saying no. Whenever they’d approach me with the usual question I would now answer them with, “You are going to need to SHOW me you are responsible enough to take care of a dog.”, “There are a list of things that you need to do everyday when you have a dog”, etc. That’s when I began to hear Giuseppe and Alyssa discussing who would do what and when, and began making a mental schedule for the dog, Alyssa even did a ton of research on hypoallergenic dogs and which breeds were best for families and children.

So after Christmas I began looking into local breeders for a Goldendoodle and discussing the possibility of getting a dog with my husband. Pam’s Dollhouse in Spencerport, NY had a website where you can watch videos of each of the individual puppies and see how playful or calm they were. The kids and I watched them numerous times and narrowed it down to two; the red collared puppy and the green collared puppy. Franco was still extremely skeptical and I knew he would need a lot of convincing, so what better way then to go and see the puppies in person! On Tuesday evening, after school, we went to visit a litter at Pam’s, to meet the 8 weeks old puppies in person and choose our potential pet. Oohs and ahs and awws went on though our whole visit, the kids and I were ready to take a puppy home with us that very moment! Franco on the other hand, didn’t feel the same and told the kids we need to discuss it some more, and with frowns on their faces (and mine) we left.

On the drive home I told them to start thinking of names for the green collared puppy we wanted to bring home. They were both upset saying things like “Why should we, dad will never let us get a dog” and “It will be for nothing if we don’t get a dog” but then the names started surfacing. They narrowed it down to Gus-Gus (like the mouse on Cinderella) because he was mushy like him, or Lucky because he had green eyes like a shamrock and that is good luck. We were going back and forth for the reasons why he should be called one or the other and finally Giuseppe shouted “We should just name him Lucky, because we’ll be lucky if Dad even says yes!” Well, not only were we laughing hysterically, but we decided on the name of our puppy and that Friday, January 20, 2012 we brought home our newest family member — our mauve nose, green-eyed Lucky ♥

I enjoy hearing the stories behind the name, it gives them a whole new meaning…. how did your dog get his/her name?

Blessings ~Danielle