Fit to a 'T'

In the early years of our marriage, we had two Yorkies.  For me, they are the most wonderful breed of dog.  Some of my friends have sweet little Yorkies and I have contemplated on several occasions out and out dog theft.  I restrained myself…

Currently, we have a different breed of small dog – a Papillion/Terrier mix named Trixie.  She was so named for two reasons: one, she tricked us into keeping her.  She was an eight-week-old puppy.  I had never had a puppy.  I was nervous about a puppy.  (The kids begged, they made promises, blah, blah, blah.  She was REALLY cute.  She stayed.)  Two, she had to have a name from a movie character.  Can you guess which movie?  This tradition started with the dog before her.  More about that later.

She is the perfect fit for our family and not high maintenance at all.  Chasing balls?  No thank you.  Play tug of war?  She’ll pass.  Come and pet me?  Depends on her mood.  Haircuts?  Very rare.  Her only demands are her evening treat bone.  Don’t give it to her on time - she will talk your ear off and nudge you until you cave.  

When our family returns home from being away for many hours, she does not run to the door and great us with a happy tail.  She stays put, on the couch, and looks at us with her adorable eyes with an expression that speaks, “Oh, ya’ll are home.  I didn’t miss ya.”  We think this is cat like behavior.  Yet, when we put on our shoes, she is barking happily and fully expecting to go on a car ride, where she hangs her noise out the window with the best of them – all dog!  Visitors – you will get a greeting from her.  Lots of happy barks but she won’t let you pet her until you sit down on the sofa or floor.  After about 10 minutes, you are her new friend.  We love our Trix, Trix.

So it is later ...  Our first two dogs, the Yorkies, came pre-named from the previous owners.  When we rescued a beautiful Border Collie, I realized that the dog needed a name.  I had a four year-old and nine year-old to help me.  How do kids pick out names?  They pull from what is going on around them.  What had they been doing in the hours before we found the dog?  Watching a movie, titled “Because of Winn Dixie”.  The movie is about a girl who adopts a stray dog that she found in a Winn Dixie store.  So in their mind, the obvious name was ‘Winn Dixie’.   “NO!” was my reply.  “And we are not naming her Kroger, Publix or Ingles.  However, if you want to name the dog after the movie, pick a different character, like the little girl – Opal.”  They smiled from ear to ear.  And Opal it was. 

Not long after we adopted her, a tropical storm came through – it was named Opal.  What are the odds?

So when it was time to name the rescued puppy, it also had to be a character in a movie.  My son was into Speed Racer.  Speed’s girl in the movie is named Trixie.  Ta da!  It fits her to a ‘T’!  

How did you decide on the name of your pet?