What's in a name?

We had another euthanasia today. But I promised a couple of my friends that my next post would be happy. So I had to find a different, less-sad topic.

This morning we were all having a conversation about different names that some pets have, and how they can sometimes be ironic. Some examples:
A very aggressive cat named Happy.
A Saint Bernard named Poco (Spanish for little).
A sweet little tabby kitten named Diablo.
A yellow lab named Cocoa.
A dog named Lucky who had been shot twice, was blind in his left eye, and had a chronic case of hookworms. (Then again, I suppose he was lucky to be alive.)
A dog named Teddy who is...let's just say less cuddly than a teddy bear.

And then there are those names that are super predictable, like:
Numerous black and white cats (and dogs) named Oreo.
A pomeranian named Pom Pom.
A black and white tuxedo cat named Tux.
An orange tabby cat named Garfield.
A chihuahua with any sort of Spanish name.
Black labs named Rocky (yes, I have seen more of these than you can imagine.)

And then there are more creative, interesting, and just off-the-wall names:
Tootdahls (pronounced "Toodles")
Amidala Sparkles
Bruno Von Axel
Puffles with Socks
LB (short for Little Bastard)
Moondancer
Snapdragon
Jefferson Starship

Some names are just all too common. The names I probably hear the most often for girl dogs are Bella, Lily, and Lucy; most common for boy dogs are Rocky and Buddy.
At any rate, names are important. Some better than others, but you can usually tell the owner's personality based on their pet's name. Not always, but most of the time. (Once we had a dog named Barbie, I walked into the room and the lady was putting on makeup.) I have seen a lot of good names and a lot of bad names. I've even helped name some puppies and kittens. Honestly, picking out names is one of my favorite parts of being a pet owner. It lets me show some of my creative side. I have a huge list of names for my potential future pets, now I just need pets that fit those names. Someday.