Pets/Wildlife

Pet owners have various reasons for naming their animals and so does the Pasco County Animal Shelter when it takes in a dog or cat.

Coming up with creative names at the shelter is one way to ease a sad situation when strays come in lost.

“We like to have some fun with the whole naming process,” explained Rachel Stever, education and outreach coordinator for Pasco County Animal Services. “We like to keep it light-hearted.”

Some names come to mind spontaneously – as in the case for Rock, Paper and Scissors — a trio of kittens brought into the shelter.

Others are inspired by simple things.

That’s what happened with another litter of kittens that arrived at the shelter in a Tyson’s lemon-pepper chicken box – resulting in the names Tyson, Lemon, Pepper and Chicken.

Celebrities also have had their influence: Kitty Purry — a playful twist on singer Katy Perry’s name.

Making a first impression can also determine what an animal is called.

Stever recalled a stray dog taken in several months ago. Upon their meeting, he flattened out his body and legs across the floor – and from that day forward he was known as Pancake.

Sometimes two cats share the name of a famous person or band: George and Clooney; Fleetwood and Mac.

Sometimes seasonal holiday treats help to inspire that connection.

This past Thanksgiving, staff got creative, naming new strays Turkey, Mashed Potatoes and Biscuits.

“You know it’s really original,” said Stever with a chuckle. “You’re not going to find two of them in the same shelter.”

It is common for Stever and her colleagues to use character names they’re fans of from pop-culture.

At the shelter are cats Lestrange, named after the Harry Potter character; the Sesame Street-inspired Snuffleupagus; plus the pair, Peter and Cottontail from the Easter bunny song.

Many strays end up at the shelter without names or identification, but others do have IDs.

As of January, there are two animals named Diamond, which isn’t too hard to sort out for the shelter.

However, every once in a while, there’s a surge of animals with the same names brought into the shelter.

The most popular name documented by the shelter is Roxie, sometimes spelled  Roxy or Roxi.

“We try not to duplicate [names] here in the shelter,” explained Stever, in order to reduce possible confusion.

Each stray must be given an identification number.

That number can be used to pull up their information, whether the animal is at Pasco’s shelter or winds up in another one.

Naming the animals at the shelter isn’t required, Stever said. But, she added: “It feels a lot more humane and personable to do it.”

Once adopted, the new owners tend to keep the pet’s name, while others have one of their own in mind.

When Stever adopted her American Staffordshire from the shelter, she was content with the dog’s given name – Olivia.

She said that Olivia always had a happy smile, which contributed to her having a sense of humanity. So, she thought it only fitting that the dog have a human name.

Her parents stuck with a less traditional name when they adopted Pebbles from a kitten litter all named after characters from the Flintstones.

Potential adopters also help influence what names the animals are given.

As an advertising strategy, staff usually pick names that don’t sound intimidating to appeal more to adopters.

Stever said that sometimes names don’t match the description, like Tiny Tim, who in reality is a dog that’s a “big mass of muscle.”

“When you hear that name, it does soften your mind to the idea of what you’re about to see,” she reasoned.

Stever has her own experience with names that may seem mismatched.

Prior to Olivia, she adopted another dog named Precious, who she said was not small or dainty – but a big, red pit bull.

After they’re at the shelter for a while, the animals tend to respond to the names they’ve been given, she said.

“It’s a relationship you know you’ve built up with them all that time,” said the coordinator. “It’s one of those things you get to look forward to.”

Whether they have been given a name that is average, or unusual, having a name makes each animal at the shelter unique — and it shows that they are more than just an identification number.

Published January 16, 2019