NAMES ARE ANOTHER GIFT FROM THE DOGS TO THEIR FAMILIES

I did a blog not too long ago on Miss Elsie, our adorable little deaf girl who was sitting so comfortable in her foster Mom's hands.

Someone saw Elsie on our available dogs page and got in touch with us right away. Elsie's deafness was of no concern to her new family including her new brother Miles. Elsie's new Mom renamed her Lyla which is a beautiful name and fits her well. I thought however that Lyla would not ever hear her name but that her Mom liked to say it when she talks to her or about her. Dogs do not grow up and blame their families for their name, they do not go off an adopt nicknames, choose to go by their middle names, or legally change their names. If they are lucky enough to stay with the same family for their whole lives, they will have one name and if the go into rescue, and their new family finds them, they may have another name but they don't care. If they can hear, they will learn to respond to their name. If like Lyla they do not have the gift of hearing, they will learn to respond to a hand signal. Their families however are the ones that take pleasure of saying the name of their pets. Much thought can be given to a name. They can be based on physical characteristics, personality traits or characters from television, movies or books. A friend of mine has 2 dogs and 1 cat - Scout, Atticus, and Gem respectively. A To Kill A Mockingbird Fan, perhaps? Sometimes, young children are given the honor of naming the new family member and you may end up with Spot, Dog, Tippy or Buddy. The point of all this name calling is to point out that it is us humans that benefit and find joy in naming and using the names we give our fur babies. In Lyla's case, she is just glad to be home in a loving family who understands her needs, and if saying the name Lyla makes her family happy - that is more than fine with her! Welcome home Lyla. We are very pleased that you have found your place!