His Name Is Isaac

I am so excited!  I just got an email from the director of the service dog program and she's received all my paperwork.  Everything has been approved.

The dog that will be placed with me is a yellow lab named Isaac.  I could change his name, of course, but I think I kind of like Isaac.  I'll have to see if it suits him when I meet him, though.  Isaac is a Hebrew name and means "laughter."  I think it's kind of neat for someone with severe depression to have a dog whose name means "laughter."

I'm not sure how old he is, exactly.  She said he is young and energetic.  I'm guessing that means something like a year or 18 months, but I emailed her back to ask for more information.

I'm not sure when I'll get to meet him.  She is getting ready to go on vacation for a couple of weeks and after that will schedule my home visit and I guess then I'll get to meet Isaac.

She said he should be ready for placement in a few months, so I'm thinking that means by the end of the year.  What a nice Christmas present!  (If anyone wants to know what to get me for Christmas this year, how about a donation to cover the cost of my service dog?  Or some dog toys, food, treats, etc.  Hint, hint!)

I assume I will be starting the part of Isaac's training that involved me fairly soon, if he is to be ready to be placed with me in a few months.  I guess that will start after the home visit.

I'm just so happy to hear this!

More Names for a Service Dog

I have some more ideas for names for my service dog.

Gavrilla – this is a Hebrew name that means “strong woman.”  I’m thinking I would call the dog Gavi for short.

Liberty – could be a girl or boy, I guess.  Because a service dog would give me so much more freedom.

Saffron – could be a girl or boy.  For a golden retriever, because of the color.

Amelia – for a girl, of course.  It means “industrious.”  I like the name and the meaning is OK, but I don’t love the meaning.

Maya – for a girl.  It’s a Hindi name that means “the divine creative source in everything.”  That’s pretty awesome.

Truth – for a girl, I think.  Although I guess it could be for a boy, too.

Adrienne – for a girl, of course.  I found it on a list of names inspired by writers, for Adrienne Rich (do you love her work?).  It is French and means “dark one.”  I think I would call her Ren for short.

Faith – for a girl.

Naomi – also for a girl, of course.  It’s a Biblical name.

Unity – could be for a girl or a boy.

Some “nature names” I found on this site http://www.babycenter.com/0_baby-names-inspired-by-nature_10305329.bc that I kind of like: Winter (could be a girl or boy), Stone (for a boy), Solstice (could be a girl or boy, I think), Sage (for a girl), and West (for a boy, I think).

I found a neat website for helping you choose pet names.  You can look for names under all different categories.  Let me just say, some people name their pets weird things.  Also, Max is the most popular name for a dog.  And Bella is popular for both cats and dogs.  I wonder why.  Anyway, here’s a link to the site if you want to check it out: http://www.petbabynames.com/index.php

And here’s another neat site for finding baby names.  You can look under lots of different categories: http://www.babycenter.com/baby-names-ideas

Does anybody else look at baby name dictionaries for help choosing a name for a pet? 

What names do you like?  What are your pets’ names?

Naming My Service Dog

I’ve been thinking lately about a name for my service dog.  

My plan is to adopt a dog from a rescue group, a dog that is preferably between one and two years of age.  I wasn’t sure if I would be able to name the dog myself, because a dog that age would surely already have a name and be used to its name.  Even if the rescue group didn’t know the dog’s name when they took it in, the dog would have spent time in a foster home and certainly the foster family would have named it something.

But I’ve always enjoyed naming my pets, choosing names that mean something, names that fit them  just right.  I’d really like to be able to name my service dog.

So I asked about this issue on an internet forum for people that rely on service dogs, ServiceDogCentral, and was told that it might work out all right for me to change the dog’s name when I adopt it.  I was told that dogs don’t get attached to their names the way people do, but that dogs are often trained to respond to their name along with certain commands.  For instance, a dog might know that “Rover, come!” means he is supposed to come to you right away, but if he just hears “Come!” he might not know that means the same thing.  You can teach dogs to respond to a new name, but it can take a lot of time and effort.  Since I will not be getting a dog through a service dog program, though, chances are my dog will not have had a great deal of training using its name.  If that is the case, it should be easy enough to change its name.

I don’t know if I’ll be getting a male dog or a female dog.  I also don’t know for sure what kind of dog I’ll be getting, but I am leaning toward either a golden retriever or a Labrador retriever.

Here are the names I’m thinking of so far.

Sacha – pronounced “sasha,” it’s a Greek name that means “helper.”  It could be used for a boy or a girl.  I think this is my favorite name so far, but I’d have to see the dog to decide if it fits.

Sanders – this would be a boy’s name.  It also means “helper.”  I was thinking it might be a good name for a golden retriever, because it sounds like “Sandy” which would fit the coloring of a golden retriever, but it’s not my favorite name.

Madeline – this would be a girl’s name, of course.  It means “strength.”  I would actually call the dog “Maddie,” though, not Madeline.

Miles – this would be a boy’s name.  I’ve always liked the name Miles for a boy.  If I had a son, I would consider naming him Miles.

Randi – I like this name for a girl, although of course it could be a boy’s name, too.  Maybe I would spell it “Randy” if I was going to use it for a boy dog.  It means “shield.”

Logan – this would be a boy’s name.  It means “helper,” which seems fitting for a service dog.

What names do you all like for a service dog?  Got any other ideas for me?