Tag: interesting

If I Could Name All the Guide Dog Puppies | A List of Names Beginning with “C”

If you’re a dog-lover like me, you might consider naming your canine pal to be a pretty weighty task. This is especially true if the pup in question will be a working partner, as well as a best friend. The following is my third post in a series dedicated to listing some of my favorite potential dog names. As a service dog handler myself, I’ve chosen names that I think are particularly suited to give to a working dog, taking the length, ease-of-pronunciation, meaning, and associations all into account. Check out my list of A names or B names for more ideas.

Dog Names Beginning with “C”

Cruise (Masculine): I like this one for a guide dog particularly because “cruising” is such a great way to describe what it feels like to walk freely with your guide. It is also clear, short, and distinct from most English commands that I can think of 

Callum (Masculine): Scottish derivative of “columba”, meaning dove

Clemintine (Feminine): these little citrus fruits are bursting with flavor. Good for a little girl with a lot of personality.

Conan (Masculine): this comes from an Irish word meaning little wolf, which seems appropriate. It is also the name of a U.S. special forces military dog who was awarded a medal of honor at the Whitehouse in 2019. Notably, Conan was named after TV personality Conan O’Brian.

Chloe (Feminine): I think this name is fairly widely-used for dogs already. It is a Greek name that means “green shoot”, and refers to Demeter, goddess of aggriculture and fertility. Appropriate for a dog with a youthful attitude.

Corin (Masculine): containing the Latin route for “heart”, this is the name of a prince from C.S. Lewis’ The Horse and his Boy.

Coco (Neutral): the delicious stuff we put in cakes.

Clodagh (Feminine): a popular name in Ireland associated with a river in County Waterford as well as a saint.

Chico (Masculine): meaning boy in Spanish. I just think it’s cute.

Ceili (Feminine, pronounced “Kay-Lee): a social event or step dance traditional in Scotland and Ireland. I attended a Ceili with my friends for my 16th birthday (I know, make fun of me all you want) and had a blast! Great memories associated with this word and I think it makes for a great name.

Cooper (Masculine): an English occupational name associated with those who made buckets and barrels 

Chapel (Masculine): this one could maybe go feminine too. Just draws to mind beautiful places with stained glass and I liked the sound of it.

Cherry (Feminine): as in the fruit. Might be a good one if your dog’s coat has a reddish hugh.

Cheer (Masculine): a similar one for a male, denoting happiness.

Chess (Masculine): as in the game. Good for a clever or somewhat mischievous dog.

Chesapeak (Neutral, Chessie for short): a similar sound, named for the bay on the east coast of the U.S. between Maryland and Virginia. 

Chaucer (Masculine): as in the English author, for a scholarly type.

Coral (Feminine): a lovely shade of orangey-pink, the tiny sea creatures that grow in reefs, and the mother from Finding Nemo.

Calypso (Feminine): from Greek mythology, meaning “concealing the knowledge”. A nymph who kept Odysseus prisoner on her island for 7 years.

Celtic (Masculine): beginning with a hard “C” sound, this refers to a cultural and linguistic group of the British isles. Use with caution if you plan to spend any time in the UK, though, as it is also a football (soccer) team and could get you into some trouble.

Cove (Neutral): a small inlet or bay in a larger body of water. Might be associated with peace and calm as a more sheltered place along a coastline.

Clue (Feminine): only thing with this one is you could never say “I have no clue” without lying 🙂

Castle (Masculine?): I just think this makes for a cool name

Carolina (Feminine): a region, but also a wild dog breed 

Chip (Masculine): reminds me of the little china cup from the Beauty and the Beast 

Camberra (Feminine): the name of my stuffed koala bear growing up, and the capital city of Australia.

Cornflower (Feminine): a European bloom associated with growing in aggricultural fields. Blue, white, or pink in color. Can be used medicinally for various ailments.

Do you have a dog with a name beginning with C? What would you add to this list?

See you next time for “D” names, and don’t forget to check out the “A” and “B” lists if you haven’t already.

April Showers

This is a story I wrote down a year ago that I never got the chance to post. I figured since it’s April again, it would be an appropriate springy thing to share.

 

I can’t drive, and I don’t have buckets of money to pay for Lyfts everywhere I go, so generally whatever the weather is, my guide dog and I are out in it, getting where we need to go.  That is why, one April Saturday, Prim and I ventured out into the pouring rain to head to a friend’s recital at my old university.  Neither of us were excessively pleased about the damp; I shivered, and Prim did her best to avoid puddles as we set out on the mile walk.

We were standing at a street corner waiting for the light to change.  I was listening to the traffic on my right to know when it was safe to cross when, suddenly, a car approached quickly from my left and a massive wave of water struck us.  I squeaked and leapt back, shocked by the cold and completely soaked waist down.  Prim shook it off and we stepped back up to the curb to wait once more.

Not thirty seconds later, a truck came barreling through the intersection.  Before I could react, I was engulfed from head to toe in a six foot high tsunami of street water.  The frigid liquid left me breathless, and poor Prim was completely disgruntled.  I laughed ruefully and turned to go home, blinking away the water dripping into my eyes.  There was absolutely no way I could walk into a recital looking like I’d just fallen into a pool.

“Ma’am!” a voice called from a car at the gas station behind me.  I paused, glancing in his direction.

“Ma’am do you need help? I have a towel.” He approached and pushed a towel into my hands.

“Thank you.” I said, surprised.  I took the towel and mopped my face.  I was just going to believe it was a clean towel, and not something this friendly samaritan had just used to clean greasy hands after working on his engine or something.  I vainly tried to dry my clothes with the towel too, but only semi-successfully.  I was at least grateful to have dry face and arms.  As per my request, the man kindly helped me across the street.  I’ve probably asked someone to do that a grand total of two or three times in my life.  Contrary to popular belief, I don’t normally need help to cross the street, dog or no dog, but I was not in the mood to be hit by yet a third surge of rainwater.

Upon reaching the other side of the street, I expressed my appreciation to my benefactor, then was promptly dragged by my indignant dog to the nearest door.  I was planning on walking the rest of the way to the recital, but clearly Prim had other ideas, and she wasn’t afraid to tell me.  She absolutely refused to leave the shelter of the overhang in front of the business.  I was trying to reason with her when another voice called from a car in the street.

“Shea!”

It was a friend from college.  He offered a ride to our destination, and Prim and I gladly accepted.  We arrived just in time for the performance.  I sat through the whole thing shaking in my soaked clothes, and winced at the strong smell of wet dog radiating from my poor unhappy pup, but man am I glad we made it, and honestly, it was kind of an exhilarating experience.  Who says Nashville doesn’t have a good waterpark?