Why, thank you! But enough about me--it’s Thursday, and that means it’s time once more for The World’s Greatest Waste of Resources, the Axis of Weevil Thursday Three!
Today, we take a tip from Weevil Ambassador to Memphis Mike Hollihan, who suggested yesterday that it would be interesting to find out about the odd names people give their pets. A fine idea, indeed, given that until then I’d not figured out anything to ask.
SO, take a moment, grab your fluffy white Persian up into your lap and stroke her while pretending to be Blofeld, and answer the following three questions either by leaving your answers in the comments or a link to your bloghouse.
1) What is the most unusual name you ever gave one of your pets, and why?
2) Forget names--what’s the most unusual pet you’ve ever owned?
3) And last but not least, the age old question for all you dog and cat fanciers out there--which one is the better pet, a marmoset or a piranha?
Now scamper off and come up with your answers, and I’ll do the same.
1) I guess probably Booger, my beloved cat that my dad brought home from US Steel before he got laid off way back in the day. The kitten was nearly feral, and he looked for all the world like a rat. He was an ugly little booger, and the name stuck. He grew up to be a fine looking cat, though, similar in looks and color to a Russian Blue (not to be confused with a Norwegian Blue). He was one of the best cats I’ve ever had. He was affectionate to a fault, yet was also one of the most muscular, meanest tomcats I’ve ever seen. Full grown, he looked like some kind of miniature panther and could leap from the rail of our back deck to the kitchen window with the ease of someone tossing a ball. ANYway, his name of Booger was a source of much amusement to everyone when it came time to take him to the vet.
2) I never really owned anything unusual. I did have a box turtle for a while, and somehow in the distant past we managed to catch a raccoon that one of our dogs had cornered in the garage. But neither of these stayed around long enough to be named. Or eaten.
3) Oh, I’m a big marmoset fan. Nothing like ‘em for fun and friendliness.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at May 3, 2007 08:00 AM1. I give all my cats odd names. My first one was Wildman. Then came Dirtbox, who became Mom when too many of my friends complained. Mom gave birth to Sir Richard Francis Burton (first one of the litter to go exploring), Black Diamond (KISS, yeah!), Petey Wheatstraw (the devil's son-in-law) and Gigantor (twice as big as the smallest of the litter).
Nowadays, I have Bennie. Her story is here.
2. I once caught a garden snake (pencil sized) and kept it in a glass jar with lots of twigs and dirt. It only lasted a week or two.
3. I've heard that baby raccoons make smart and curious pets. Just let them go before they hit adulthood; they turn nasty.
Posted by: mike hollihan at May 3, 2007 11:16 AM1) I guess I'm sort of prosaic. Probably the most unusual name I ever gave a pet was "Bandit" for a Siamese cat I had in the '80's. And that is not exactly unusual.
2) On the other hand, the most unusual pet I have had was a Jack Dempsey fish that I named "Oscar" (simply because that is another name for the species). It looked very much like the picture on Wikipedia and was very aggressive towards other fish. As a matter of fact it cleaned out the fish tank I had it in with several other fish, using them as appetizers. But it seemed to know me and I could actually feed it hamburger. And it got to be about ten inches long during the several years I had it.
3) Well, see my answer to question 2. That fish I had was close enough to a piranha, without being illegal. No way would I have a marmoset, though; I'd probably rather have an actual piranha.
Posted by: Stan at May 3, 2007 11:30 AM1. As I mentioned yesterday, I had a yellow tomcat that adopted us in Louisiana that I named Motorhead for his supervisory skills whenever I had vehicle hood raised. My dad named another grey tabby that adopted us in Florida- Lizpa, which was short for Lizard Patrol. That kitty loved to catch salamanders and bring them in for consideration. I had a cat named Smudge- for the thumbprint sized patch of grey hairs on top of her head. She was otherwise completely white. My current cats are Wasatch and Uinta, named for the local mountain ranges here.
2. I had a rabbit once that was litter trained and loved to watch tv and eat popcorn with me. I also raised a cage full of gerbils for a couple years.
3. Marmoset or pirhana? Give me the mammal anytime. Pretty tough to pet a pirhana. As for domestic critters, I'm a feline preference person over the canine type.
Posted by: Nate at May 3, 2007 11:50 AMHey, I've been poring over the WSU catalogs, and I have not observed one offering for Ambassador Training. Is this by appointment only?? Do you need to obtain certain credentials and accomplishments before you can even be considered for the title of Weevil Ambassador? Or is it just by whim of Head Weevil and Grand Poobah of Possumbloggery?
1. The funniest pet name was Ambassador - just kidding!.
Actually, we had a stray dog show up one day and he was kind of chunky, so we called him "Tubby". He unfortunately got caught in the middle of a thunder storm. First time I've seen a critter freeze-up dead from a lightning strike.
2. As far as unusual, we've owned a few naked-neck chickens as well as a peacock. He ran away first chance he could and made a nice snack for a fox. We've also had a bald eagle live in our back yard, but we never got to pet him.
3. Piranha - marmosets are too stinky.
Posted by: Marc V at May 3, 2007 12:45 PMMere whimsy. You TOO can be a Weevil Ambassador!
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at May 3, 2007 01:06 PM1) George the pigeon.
2) My grown-up children had an accidental pet spider that lived on the clothesline for several months. I forget the name.
3) Piranhas, but they're rare here; being found only in the Tax Office. A better choice would be koala or lyrebird. Both have their good points and their bad points.
I hear that a school of koalas can strip a victim to the bone in mere minutes.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at May 4, 2007 09:07 AMThey play hell with gum trees.
Posted by: kitchen hand at May 6, 2007 07:01 PM