02/06/2022
What is your dog's name and how did you choose it?
FINLAY: I put a lot of thought into Finlay's name, after all, he was our first "adult dog." READ: Not a family dog, our first dog as two independent adults. Since border terriers come from the border between England and Scotland, I wanted a name that payed homage to the area. I was also reading the Outlander series (this was 18 years ago and WAY before the TV show!), a huge fan of the Scottish band Belle and Sebastian, and working as a receptionist at a job where I was basically at a desk in a lobby by myself most of the time and quite frankly, had a lot of time on my hands. I went through all sorts of names and we decided on Finlay (pronounced Finlee), choosing the spelling because it was the Scottish way (see my infatuation with Scotland above).
RILEY: As our second born, we admittedly didn't put quite as much thought into Riley's name, but it's a name I've liked ever since I saw some random show with the Olsen twins and one of them was named Riley. Don't hold it against me! ;) As a matter of fact, Riley was not our first choice of names. Sadie was the front runner and Riley's breeder called her Brassy because of her personality. Brassy wasn't going to be it and after we met her, Sadie wasn't a fit either. Since our breeder lived in North Florida, we had the drive back to Atlanta to decide on a name. We picked Riley up on St. Patrick's Day, so we agreed that due to her personality and the date we got her, Riley was a much better fit...and it was perfect!
DANSBY: The rescue group called Dansby, Sawyer which is a fantastic name, but we weren't sure it was *his* name. Michael and I went through all sorts of names and since I like something with a little meaning, we discussed things that we liked and that related to our both being from Atlanta, the place where Dansby was also born. As lifelong Atlanta Braves fans, we discussed names like Murphy, Ozzie, and Dansby. One name I liked for Finlay was Bowie, but we didn't think that fit Dansby. We knew for sure that he was handsome and dapper, thus deserved a name with dignity. We gave it a couple of days because Dansby was very shy and had just gone from being a stray to living with a great foster family, to our house. As his personality started to show through, we saw that in addition to his handsome, dark, scruffy features, he was also VERY playful and especially loved to play ball. He was fetching and returning the ball from the start and just LOVES to play ball. If you don't know, Dansby Swanson is the shortstop for the Braves, has longer dark hair, dark beard, is super cute (my mom calls him "cutie pie"), is a great ball player, and has a fun-loving spirit. Dansby was the perfect choice!
Tell me about your dogs and how you came up with their names! Do you put as much thought and meaning into it as we do?
