When Pearlie heard this she was not pleased. "That's a stupid name for a dog! You should call him Prince." She had a dog called Prince at one time. Bert told her she could call him Prince Charles if she liked but we would call him Charlie.
When her sister Lizzie heard the name she wasn't impressed either. "I don't like dogs having people's names. You should call him Rex. He's the image of a dog I had called Rex. It's a terrible nice name for a dog." I pointed out that I liked people names for dogs. After all, since I've known Lizzie, we've had dogs called Danny, Polly, Rosie, Molly, Paddy, Bonnie and Judy. And Rex is a people name. She was having none of it. "He's that like my Rex, it would be a great name for him." she said. I said, "Well maybe so but Charlie he remains until such times as a new owner might rename him." She pursed her lips.
Later on we were looking at an old photo of Lizzie and Rex. "I don't think they look alike," I said. "Rex has a big broad muzzle and Charlie's is much finer." "Huh!" says she, "He's young. It'll grow."
I said to Bert later, "Charlie's nothing like Rex." Bert says, "Sure he is. Black and white, four legs, two ears."
Charlie is making slow and steady progress. As the week has progressed he has learned to trust people more and he gets on well with other dogs. He wagged his tail for the first time yesterday. This evening he has been playing with my brother's Jack Russell terrier. He is still very timid and terrified of sudden noises. I think he is going to be OK.
Lizzie and Rex sometime in the 1940s.
5 comments:
I like people names for my menagerie too. Sam, Boris,Willy, Martha & Charlotte - all dearly loved over the years.
Had a good giggle at your newly named"Charlie". We had an in-law in our family named Charlie Collie!
anne
Hope your Charlie was as nice as our fellow. Hope, too, that he wasn't as niffy!
Our Charlie was a sweet old guy - Auntie's fourth husband. When she passed on, he became disconsolate.
Is that anything like "niffy'?
I think your Charlie has a good chance of growing out of his niffyness with your guidance!
Niffy means smelly. If your Charlie was sweet then he wasn't that. Charlie Dog needs a bath but I've been waiting until he's more settled. It will be early this week as he is now settled enough to be taking prime position on the sofa. It's amazing how quickly I can train dogs to be sofa-hounds!
Charlie sounds like a fine name. We've had so many over the years...Buckshot, Slim, Ernie, Sally, Bay, Pumpkin, Katie, Maxwell...and a bunch of "Get Out" the corrals.
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