Getting children involved with pet care sounds like it should be a great idea, filled with warm and fuzzy memories and golden bonding moments.
In practice, some parents come to regret this decision, as children say the darnedest things.
‘Ruby’ is a very common dog’s name. It’s short, sweet and easy to call.
So when I met ‘Ruby Flower’ I couldn’t help but remark on the unusual name. I thought it was cute.
“Yeah,” the client admitted with a tired sigh, “We let the kids name her. Her full name is actually Ruby Flower Starlight-Starbright.”
At which point I was immediately compelled to change the dog’s name on the computer to her full, glorious name.
A few years later, I was introduced to their new dog. I asked, perhaps overly keenly, what name had been chosen for Ruby Flower Starlight Starbright’s new brother.
The owner sighed, tiredly, with resignation.
“The kids named him too.”
My fingers hovered over the keyboard, anticipating a mammoth name to type out.
“Greg.”