So Much for a Unique Name

SUMMARY: Which Tika?

When I was trying to think of a name for my newly adopted dog, formerly known as Savanna, I eventually came up with the name Pika (pronounced PEEK-a). Short, sharp, related to her proclivity for standing on her rear legs to get a better view of what was going on in the world. But turns out that two friends had possibly-large puppies that they had named, at the same time, Pic (PEEK) and Peak. Gak!

I tried a whole lot of other names, including Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, which I think is what eventually led me to making a name up out of whole cloth: "Tika."

Then, naturally, the first USDAA trial that I attended after choosing her name, I discovered that an Australian Kelpie named Tika was entered in the Masters classes. Who'd-a thunk it?! I introduced myself and my Tika and asked where the name came from. She said that her Tika already had the name when they met, but she thought it was from some children's storybook about a princess named Tika. Wow--a whole book about a Tika! Who'd-a thunk it?

Then another friend told me that she has a cat named Tika--except I believe it's spelled Tica--which is Puerto Rican slang for a girl, if I remember her explanation correctly. Who-d-a thunk it?

Today I was just browsing around randomly in the USDAA's history of awards by breed and decided to see who the first Australian Shepherd ADCH was--and, lo and behold, wayyyy back in 1997, it was a dog named Tika! (From Mesa, AZ.) Who'd-a thunk it?!

What does one have to do to get an original agility dog name around here, if making one up doesn't work?

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