How to Name a Dog?

Are you here for some inspiration? Need a good old witchcraft? Are you stuck in the process? Say abracadabra and read on.

I don’t know about you, dear but I always wanted to have a dog. Since I was a kid. A fluffy, furry, loving, and calming friend who shares the excitement of ´living da vida loca´with me. Whatever it means.

A best friend.

A good listener.

Since I always knew I’d adopt a dog one day, I never thought about how to name a dog. I’m very close to having a friend on four legs, and I need to have a backup name in case I need one. It seems like I will need one. 

I was told that my kids were too small to adopt an old lady next to me. Either I wait more, like ten more years, or adopt a younger dog.

Don’t get me wrong, I still have to wait like four years to get there.

So The Dog might, well, definitely could use A Name. And that was the point where I started to overthink, again.

Can dogs philosophize?

As a big fan of philosophy, more specifically the Greeks and even more specifically Epictetus I wanted to go with that. Of course! I was sure until I gave it more thought. Why, tho? Shouldn’t I respect the dog’s personality? What if (s)he is not into philosophy? What if (s)he is more of a playful one? Epictetus or any other philosopher’s name would be too controlling.

Let the dog shine.

Besides philosophy, I also love poetry. Bukowski is enjoyable. His poetry combines wit, intelligence, and raw emotion as well. Let’s be it, Charles. It didn’t feel right. Can you imagine if that dog acts as Charles Bukowski? Or even worse, can you imagine castrating him? Oh, that's an awful thing to do. How could I sleep at night? I'm sure it's a responsible dog owner's job to make sure their dog is neutered.

So, I put the name thing on hold.

I needed a mental break.

Eureka

No, not the name. Not even Archimedes. The moment!

One day, when I was very tired. Tired of life. Tired of making decisions. I was lying in my bed, looking for inspiration. Inspiration to move, to keep going.
I found a quote that I didn’t know I needed. It hit me so hard. It was this one:

“The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.”

Oh, dear lovely friend, I needed that so bad.

Thank you, I whispered.

Not as Neil Gaiman meant to say to me, but let’s pretend.

And in that moment, I knew that when I had a dog, it would feel like this. There will be room for smiles even in the heaviest hours. We will live as only we can.

Thank you, Neil Gaiman!

And thank you, future dog Neil.

Also, thank you for reading!

The Witty Witch