A Dog Named Pyg

While waiting for my foster dog to make his way to Minnesota, I began to think about names. I knew it was foolish to name a dog I’d never met and who was supposed to be only temporarily mine, but deep down, I knew he wouldn’t leave.

His rescue name was Han Solo. Now, as much as I love that character in Star Wars, it’s a bit of a mouthful for a dog. I thought about what I wanted in a name. Something with two syllables, but that can be easily shortened to one. I prefer names that sound in an “ee” sound, but Maisy isn’t very good at verbal discriminations, so I decided to avoid that. I also decided to avoid anything starting with M or with an “ay” sound in it. A shortened version needed to both be distinct from “Maze” and not sound dumb.

I began making a list. Wanting to keep with the Star Wars theme, I initially thought that perhaps Jedi would be a nice name. That was what my boyfriend and I called him during the week we waited for him to arrive, but I also kept a list of names I liked. I’ve since lost the list, but among the names I remember are Pilot, Flyer, Carbon, Ewok, Wicket, Crumpett, and (awful best friend’s contribution) Pollo.

When I picked him up, I took one look at his so-ugly-it’s-cute face and said, “This is not a Jedi.” He did, however, look an awful lot like an Ewok, that helpful alien race in Star Wars, so that’s what I called him… except it didn’t stick.

This is not unusual for me. At the risk of sounding a bit new age-y, my pets often choose their own names. Maisy was just Maisy, right from the start. My ex-husband’s cat originally had a different name, but one day we suddenly started calling him Malcolm. It just fit.

And so, when I started calling the new pup in my house Pyg, I knew that was his name. I originally thought it would be short for “Pygmy,” but it’s not. It’s just Pyg. I’m sure this is not the exciting tale some of you were hoping for- I know there’s been some excitement about learning the logic behind his name- but there you go. His name is Pyg.