communication technology: Pets with pleasingly boring names ? Exotic Maypole

23 Aug

Naming an animal is incredibly hard. When we got our first dog in 1990, a pedigree golden retriever who would later turn out to be the most allergic animal in Britain, we had to name her something beginning with an F, as though she were a newly-minted Volkswagen instead of a fluffy little ball of carsickness.

I chose Flora. My younger brother chose Frank Bruno. Sadly for Flora, I won.

Last week I named my future cat Colonel Aurelio Buendia on the basis that I can call it Cab for short, and Ted Bundy when it behaves like an utter bastard. I am terrible at naming animals. Sometimes, simple is best. Like Steve. Or this lot.

I just met a terrier called Philip. Philip is a MARVELLOUS name for a dog.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 00:26:30
@katbrown82 I viewed a flat last night and the flat have a cat called Bertie. So exciting!

Wed, Aug 22 2012 01:04:56
@katbrown82 I know! Also his former owner raised him on worthers originals and Ribena and he can?t mew properly. It?s love.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 01:09:49
@katbrown82 we had a cat called Clive in the other day with a big pink heart name tag on his collar

Wed, Aug 22 2012 01:28:11
@katbrown82 our builders dog is called Alan ? I love it (name!)

Wed, Aug 22 2012 10:40:53
@goodallsix @katbrown82 a friend of mine once encountered a tiny kitten called Alan.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 10:46:49
@goodallsix @katbrown82 It?s also a long-term ambition of mine to name a pet ?Carol?.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 10:48:20
@katbrown82 My friend had an African bullfrog called John.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 12:46:31
@katbrown82 met a kitten called Jeff once.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 12:48:02
@JessyCritical My colleague has a cat called Jeff. A favourite game is creating new Jeffnames. Jeff by chocolate is a fave.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 12:52:30
@katbrown82 a friends cat is called Ian. Magnificently anthropomorphic.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 12:53:19
@katbrown82 Someone I know has a cat called Steve, and my other friends? recently deceased dog was called Liam.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 12:54:25
@katbrown82 Please allow me to introduce you to Rodney. http://pic.twitter.com/5mWmAhKu

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:03:07
@katbrown82 my friend has cats called Terry and Roy

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:03:55
@katbrown82 I have a signed statement from my boyfriend that we can have a mini schnauzer called Gordon

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:05:58
@katbrown82 My cat is called Omar. We call ?Omar comin?? as he prowls the hood (aka suburbia)

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:06:23
@katbrown82 my friend Liza has two cats called Winnie and Gregory.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:06:35
@katbrown82 My first cat ? c1984 ? was a russian blue called Boris. My father named him after Karloff. Ridiculous name.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:07:21
@katbrown82 tried to convince my sister to name her dog Bruce, then at night dress him up as batman so that he can fight crime?

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:08:23
@katbrown82 when I was at uni we had a hamster called Colin who unfortunately died by falling out of a window

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:08:34
@katbrown82 my friend Charlotte has a cat called Alan and once dressed him up as a wasp.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:08:46
@katbrown82 My cat was called Pete. My mum had vetoed Marvin so we went with Pete.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:09:45
@katbrown82 A friend of mine has a spaniel called Dexter. Don?t think they?ve seen the TV show.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:09:52
@katbrown82 Our two dogs are Chloe and Faye! Two Old English Sheepdog sisters named after two English sisters we knew as kids.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:10:27
@FitzBowden @katbrown82 Our dog is called Omar, & we quite often say ?Omar?s comin? too, to?sheep, rabbits, and the like, when out & about

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:12:46
@katbrown82 Our family Yorkie was named Leonard (by me). My brother disapproved, and on walkies would only refer to the poor dog as ?John?.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:15:21
@thenozzdogg @katbrown82 My family cat is called Dexter. However, what makes it remarkable is that Dexter is female.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:15:31
@katbrown82 My cat is called Trevor. He has personality issues.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:15:44
@CorrinneBurns @katbrown82 my family dog was named Humphrey by me at 7, this was better than the cat we inherited who had been named Satan.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:20:27
@katbrown82 OK: 2 cats. Darcy, as he looks v dapper like Mr Darcy, & George, who was supposed to be his sister Georgiana but fooled 2 vets.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:20:53
@katbrown82 my old football manager couldn?t afford a dog. He bought a cat and called it Fido.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:20:53
@katbrown82 I once knew a big fat tabby cat who went by the name of Bognor Regis. I?m stealing her to put in a book one day.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:22:15
@CorrinneBurns @katbrown82 I once worked with a guy who had two cats ?Bathroom? and ?Binoculars.? True story.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:23:55
@katbrown82 I had a hamster called Veronica. And I know a cat called Dean. They wouldn?t have got on, sadly.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:26:01
@katbrown82 hairdresser has kitten called One, as people kept asking him if he would get a pair of kittens and he said ?No, One?s enough?

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:28:40
?@TweeterofWit: ?@Mr_Fitzgerald: @katbrown82 a friends cat is called Ian. Magnificently anthropomorphic.?Next door?s dog was Neil?

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:30:08
@katbrown82 my parents have two insane burmeses called Bertie and Lily. Aptly middle-class north London cat names.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:31:25
@jenbradly @katbrown82 I think Carol would need to be a cat! My springer?s name is Otis as I wanted to call fourth child but husband said no

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:31:32
@katbrown82 A friend of ours has a Maine Coon called Sir Anthony Flopkins. Everyone calls him Tony for short.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:50:23
@katbrown82 you?ve namechecked Colin the cat, I trust? http://twitpic.com/amkkpj

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:54:38
@katbrown82 I saw a man shouting after a dog called Atticus in Stoke Newington.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:57:16
@katbrown82 our dogs are called Bernard and Mr Chips. Bernard is a girl.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 13:58:15
@katbrown82 I have a hamster called Claude. He isn?t French.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 14:01:43
@katbrown82 meet Dean http://lockerz.com/s/237305583

Wed, Aug 22 2012 14:01:59
@katbrown82 and Dean?s best feature http://lockerz.com/s/237305687

Wed, Aug 22 2012 14:02:33
@Brandux @katbrown82 Ha! What kind of woofer is he? Our other cat is called Moomintroll. I get funny looks when I call for her

Wed, Aug 22 2012 14:45:08
Wed, Aug 22 2012 14:56:52
@katbrown82 oh how i wish my childhood dog Edna was alive today to meet all these suitably named animal friends.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 15:03:18
@katbrown82 (except clearly not in zombie form. that would just be wrong.)

Wed, Aug 22 2012 15:03:39
Wed, Aug 22 2012 15:14:09
@katbrown82 My sister had a goldfish called Sarah. At the time it was also her lifetime ambition to become a white rabbit called Sarah.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 17:01:50