Choosing the name of your puppy can be sometimes easy, but more often surprisingly quite difficult. For all of my cats, hamsters, goldfish and childhood rabbits I would choose a name almost instantly. It’s as if the given name would find me, rather than me find it. But with a puppy, I found it surprisingly alot more difficult. I don’t know why?! Maybe because I was aware my puppy would have the name for around fifthteen years- unlike my childhood goldfish, that would be potentially lumbered with a silly name, considerably less. Maybe because in naming a puppy, I was naming a companion, so there is more presence and character involved. Maybe because a puppy is expected to be with you quite prominently in your life. After two weeks I had toyed with the names; Luna, Betty, Fannery, Schicklas. I found myself looking through baby name books, literary novels, pop groups.

A few of the names lasted longer than a day, some were tried for less than five minutes. When people would stop me on the street, to give her a pat or a smooth, or a ‘oh she’s beautiful,’ they’d ask what I had called her, and if a smile was the result it was a name that was kept in the ‘options list,’ but when a name we met with a poorly hidden grimace or frown, the name would tend to get dumped straight to junk mail.

In the end I settled for the name the Lady I had bought her from had named her…Daisy. That’s what she came too, and I thought ‘why confuse pup, when it’s a sweet name afterall.’ After all the fuss, but as well all of the excitement of exploring the world of names available, I went back to square one. So Daisy it was, and Daisy it is. And to be honest, she suits the name so perfectly.