Hubby always has concerns with bringing in new rescues. I get the information and he always says NO. It's just routine though, he caves pretty quickly. And if I can get him engaged in the naming process and settle on something HE's chosen, somehow it gives him a vested interest and we're good to go.
It was cute with Garrett, I did get to name him. He was an emergency apprehension by the Humane Society here. They needed a safe place for the night before the full vet work up the next day. Bob wasn't home when they dropped him off and I had him all settled in a back room. He'd obviously been thru a lot and was sleeping like the 10 week old puppy he was. I didn't shut the crate door, knew I'd be checking on him.
I'll never forget his introduction to Bob. He got home, settled in on the couch and the little monkey darted out, racing across the living room floor. Shocked, Bob looks at me and says, "What was that?" I got the story out and he was relieved it was only for the night. Then he started playing with him and commenting on how cute he was and smart. I'll never forget his next words. This is a Barrett dog, get the paper work done.
Not one whine or cry out of him all night and the pup was unusually quiet too. We got some sad news on his medical conditions the next day (his last littermate died the next week) but 11 years later and he's still enjoying a good quality of life.
Sam Elliott is a favorite actor (won't mention how many times I've seen Roadhouse). More Patrick Swayze but "Wade Garrett" (Sam) is his mentor. In the movie Mask, he play's "Gar" which I'm sure was short for Garrett, my connection anyway. And of course he was one of the Earp boys, a character he played alongside Pat Garrett.
It's always been a name association for me and this boy was one handsome little dude. Not to mention the tacky fact it rhymes with our last name. Bob said he was a Barrett. Voila, name stuck. He gets a bunch of other names too. Gare Bear. If there ever was a real life Care Bear, he would be it. And at 83 lbs, he's one of the smallest dogs we've owned and gets "Little Baby Gee Bees" all the time.
And then there's Mr. Vincent. A bit of a morbid basis to this one but Bob doesn't have many inhibitions or hang ups where reality is concerned. He's got a few movies he really likes but Pulp Fiction is a favorite. He can cite Ezekiel 25:17 backwards.
Vince came to us with the name Jake. And while I quite liked the name, it was clear he had some pretty traumatic associations with it. I have very little accurate knowledge of exactly what took place the first 10 months of this pup's life but the way this dog came to me is something I hope to never see again.
He was displaying extremely aggressive behavior toward humans and a couple of incidents had already caused a substantial amount of damage to two young children. The situation of a 10 month old shepherd pup, set for destruction, was something that caught my attention. One look in those eyes and a good look at the teeth he had to offer, it was love at first sight - NOT, but this big, young boy deserved a chance.
Pulp Fiction happened to be playing on the movie channel the first week we were settling him in and Bob was watching it. There's a scene where a handgun, Vincent Vega is holding, accidentally goes off and kills a passenger in the back seat. It truly is an accident and "not his fault", sort of. Well Bob made the association saying hey, he reminds me a lot of this guy Vincent, John Travolta plays. It stuck.
As he settled in and I started to get some solid obedience on him, Bob has gone on to say that he resembles the character to a tee. He was becoming incredibly calm, cool and collected, unassuming, minds his own business (always) but, aside from Bob and I, and even Bob still gets the odd grin, just don't get in his face. He's got a pretty solid record of not wanting anything to do with people and doesn't hesitate to get in their face and tell them.
What's interesting to me, and Bob has now made the association, is that as scary as he presents, he's actually quite pleasant about it. It's a respect thing with him. Isolated situations involving very specific but common actions, it's in the moment and he doesn't hold onto anything for any length of time. Out of my face, NOW...please. Vincent Vega to a tee.
And don't get me wrong, I in no way condone this, have simply come to understand it. His management is extreme and it was a challenge finding the right course of action to take with his particular issue.
Okay, didn't really need to share all that but it does speak to how he got his name. And if you've made it this far, onto Echo.
Echo was the 4th pup to join our pack a few years back. Vince joined us about 8 months earlier and we had no intentions of bringing in a pup. I heard about his situation and knowing he was high risk pup, I also knew things would not go well for this baby if he didn't get the right home. A ton of discussion, puppy proofing, a development plan and he was here 2 weeks later.
I didn't want anything flashy for him. It's a crap shoot what his lines end up producing but 3/4's of it was pretty clear. From what I saw and learned of his parents, the more I could disassociate the connection the better.
We actually called him "Number 4" for about 3 months. It was funny at the vet where it started, they needed to record some identifier for their records and we had nothing so Bob had them enter that. "Number 4, we're ready for you."
We were out hiking one evening in a bit of canyon, bowl type area. I don't know what tickled him but he let out this ear piercing howl. So loud it echoed down the valley. We yacked about the vocals this guy could reach but never thought anything of it.
The next day, at work, I get a call from Bob. No "hi, hello, what’s up". I simply hear the word "Echo" on the other end of the line. Of course I'm all, "What?" He said it again..."Echo". Yeah, yeah I'm familiar with the word, what are you talking about. He says Number 4. I just said, OH MY GAWD. Yes! Echo it is.
I won’t get into his all his nicknames (which are actually necessary because I absolutely will not allow Bob or anyone to dilute his incredible recall - and you think that's a tough one with a husky) but pretty much anything to do with Eggs has been associated to him. He gets Eggy a lot. Leggy Eggy. Leggo (Let go) my Eggo is his command for taking "toys" or bones away.
Okay sorry for the book. I knew I was hesitant on piping up on this one. I'm a fast typer, just need David's editing abilities.
But yeah, their names are pretty special, just like the precious souls they're attached to.
Re: Your dog's call name.
[Re: Tresa Hendrix ]
#361218 - 05/15/2012 09:04 PM 
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