Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Pet Names

Do your basenjis have nicknames? It seems that mine acquire them quite by accident, and they often changeMy first basenji girl Bow had quite a few tags that would jangle like a cat bell, and she was often called "that jangly little dog" by friends and eventually Bow Jangles.
Bow's trainer always has nicknames for dogs in the class, and she often called Bow Minxy which I rather liked as well.

Now that I have Shaka and Audrey (who came to me named Shacka and Cry Baby) are part of my household, nicknames keep coming up. Shaka is often called Prince Shaka, on his good days at least, or Shaka-Doodle.
Audrey's trainer has tendency to call her Bug, and I often call her that or Audrey Bug. When a friend in New York saw a picture of me holding Audrey he asked, "Is that a baby kangaroo?" One of my Australian wines is called Little Roo with a picture of a young kangaroo on its label which, the more I look at it, sort of looks like Audrey. So I have come to call Audrey Little Roo more often. We are only a little more than three months into our adventures together, and I am sure more names will emerge on our path together. There are times I have come close to calling them Roy and Helen, my parents names, since their relationship so often reminds me of them.
I have yet to call Audrey Lucy,but maybe because of the centennial of that other famous redhead mischief maker, I have lately I have noticed that after catching Audrey being naughty that I take a deep sigh and say, "Audrey, you got some 'splainin' to do!"

6 comments:

  1. Wow, Greg, they really look SO much better than the first pictures you posted of them 3 months ago! They are healthy, look happy, and look like basenjis rather than the poor mangy dogs they were when you got them. Wonderful, wonderful job!

    And yes, most basenjis have some 'splainin' to do, but of course they'll just cock their heads from side to side and give you that look that says, "who, me?" :)

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  2. Our dogs all acquire nicknames as well. Pharo is BRAT or Baby or many of my friends call him Twitch. My Lance is Pretty Boy and Kyrie is Sweet Girl. I like Bomba's name too much but he is frequently called Bomba Boy. Our 1st Basenji Cleo, would come to Princess just as easily as her real name.

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  3. Kristen, they have both come so far in three months, but especially Audrey. She was so thin and had such an uneven, mangey coat. She was also so frightened and uncertain. It is a thrill to see her emerge as a well fed, confident little beauty.

    Lori, I should have also mentioned that I often call them the Prince and Princess!

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  4. Gregg, you're two are looking gorgeous, they're coming along wonderfully! My two BRATs have many nicknames. Among Jello's are; Mr. Boy, Salad Boy (he likes to eat grass), Tall,Dark & Handsome (he's a large trindle), Slick. When anyone else here is getting attention and he butts in, I assign him the middle initial C. (say it aloud--Jello C--jealousy -groan). Leeny's nicknames include Miss Supermodel (she's a tall, leggy, rangy r/w, with a slender build), Miss Turtledove, Miss Creaky Door (she has a broad vocal range). Collectively, they're the kittydogs ( and Echo the WonderCat is a puppycat), and when we're out for one of our frequent walks and they're moving along nicely, I refer to them as Mr. & Mrs. Trot-Trot. Thanks for bringing up the subject, and sharing your B's nicknames!

    Vicky Locke

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  5. I should have added that two of Shaka's nicknames are Shak (pronounced shock, and he does shock me now and then) or the Shakmeister.

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  6. OMG! I love the nickname "Bow Jangles". So cute!

    My senjis (aka, the "Cuddle Munchkins" tend to end up with less than flattering names such as "Chicken Lips" (cause they keep stealing chicken from the trash) and "Stink Bomb" (self-explanatory). Oh, and I can't forget "Rigga-Toni Baroni Pepperoni"!

    Shaka + Audrey look basenji-riffic!

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