The Crazy Dogs of Winter

We wrote in a Twitter/Facebook post last week that our cocker spaniel Leaf is going bonkers with all this cold weather. He likes snow but below-zero temperatures make it too frigid for us to walk him for a long time. So he's not getting enough exercise.

We take him for a couple hours to doggie daycare, but that can be expensive if we do it too often. So we asked people what they do. Here are some of their responses. They may help those of you who are coping with the winter crazies.

Mary T.: I have just trained my dear darling beagle on the treadmill. She happily sits and waits for me to put her collar on and then trots for 20-30 minutes. Has made ALL the difference this winter!!!

Richard O: Live in Vermont with 3+ feet of snow on the ground right now. In 2004, I put in a big doggy door leading to a covered porch, leading down 3 steps into a BIG fenced yard. Even when I'm off at work, the dogs can come and go as they please. I keep a wide path shoveled in their yard. They both love to bound around in the snow.

Bob D: We're taking Mabel (rat terrier; no fat, little fur) to Petco and PetSmart for walks around the store and a little socialization. The staffs are very friendly and accommodating. Doesn't replace chasing squirrels outside, but better than nothing.

Judy M: If I get desperate, I'll do some "living room rally" and set up a few cones. Or figure 8's using one dog as a post, and a cone as the other.

Jennifer W: My Hearing Dog, Hattie has numerous interactive toys, which I give her to play with. Sometimes I give these to her or a special chew bone, perhaps a stuffed kong. Other times we do training work indoors to keep her busy. We work on obedience and other commands. I also work on teaching her new things, so the usual commands don't become boring. It's a win-win situation for both of us and helps pass the time on these cold winter dreary days.

How do you help your pets keep exercised and stop boredom in beyond-cold temperatures?

Allen and Linda Anderson
Angel Animals Network
www.angelanimals.net

Note: To subscribe to the Angel Animals Story of the Week Newsletter, send a blank message to AngelAnimals-on@mail-list.com

The Case of the Missing Glasses

The other day Linda couldn't find her glasses. Unfortunately this isn't an unusual occurrence, as she often absentmindedly takes them off and forgets where she put them. On this occasion, she searched all the regular spots.

Running out of time, without Allen at home to aid in the reconnaissance mission, Linda looked at Leaf, our black cocker spaniel with a nose for adventure. He had been following her from room to room and stood watching her meltdown. In exasperation she asked, "Leaf, where are my glasses?"

Linda took one more sweep of the dining room area rug. Sometimes, if she leaves her glasses on the dining table, our cat Cuddles will decide they make a great toy and sweep them onto the floor with her little white paw. But this time, there were no glasses on the rug.

Then Linda went into the kitchen to finish making breakfast without the glasses she needed to enjoy reading the morning paper. When she returned to the dining room, in exactly the spot she had just looked, Leaf stood over a slightly mangled pair of glasses. He appeared to be mighty proud of himself.

Sure enough, those were the missing glasses. Linda still doesn't know where they were, but Leaf did. We're thinking of opening a doggie detective agency.

Have you ever had a pet find something you lost?

Male Cat Baldness

We receive many letters and emails from people who have learned other important lessons by observing animals in their homes or in nature. Here are a couple stories that might cause you to wonder who is teaching whom in human-animal relationships.

Lynn Hewitt says that her cat Poog has the kind of expressive green eyes that convey his intelligence and gentle heart. She writes about an experience with her brother-in-law, Ron, Poog's favorite houseguest.

"Ron has a calm and determined manner. What Ron says and does, reflects his inner feelings with a consistency and integrity that Poog obviously understands and respects. Whenever Ron visits, Poog behaves as if a royal prince has entered his realm."

Ron customarily wears a baseball cap. It covers his shaved, bald scalp. On one occasion, Ron took off his cap when he came into the house. This was the first time Poog had ever seen him without it. Since the cat always paid the most worshipful attention to Ron, it was with great dismay that Poog observed the change in his friend's demeanor.

The sight of hairless Ron caused Poog to begin moaning. He circled Ron slowly and jumped up on the chair to look more closely at the disaster that had been visited upon his hero. Poog's sad eyes told the story of his empathy for a fallen prince who had obviously endured a great disaster.

Lynn writes, "Poog clearly communicated horror and sympathy for Ron's 'furless' head. It brought tears to the eyes of several humans in the room as Poog slowly crept respectfully up the arm of this honored guest and gently licked and kissed his scalp in obvious sorrow and sympathy. There are greater tragedies in a cat's world, but the shaving away of fur was certainly a calamity Poog recognized. His sincere and gently offered condolence remains a lesson in the innate character and virtues of our animal friends, especially when their unique gifts of individuality are consistently honored and nurtured with love and respect."

Has an animal expressed his or her sympathy toward your physical or emotional situation?

Have You Thought about Spiritually Connecting with an Animal?

Animals play such a key role in the lives of those who value them as family members. They offer companionship and affection. They keep us interested and engaged in life. They nudge us to play and exercise. But did you know they can also be a catalyst for your spiritual growth?

We're excited to announce that the spiritual community of Beliefnet, composed of millions of visitors each week, asked us to write about ways that people and animals assist each other spiritually. The website has posted a beautiful and uplifting photo-journal on its site. We wrote the text and the Beliefnet editor selected outstanding photos to accompany it.

We encourage you to visit the site and try out the various techniques presented there. It is called "10 Spiritual Ways to Connect with Your Pet." Go to http://tinyurl.com/5v57jx

NOTE: If you visit this site and don't see the photo journal, come back the next day. They are alternating our journal with another one.

What do you think about the journal and these techniques? How have you spiritually connected with animals?

Stupendous Cool Cats

From time to time there is a special story we want to share with our blog readers. This is one of those special stories!

STUPENDOUS COOL CATS
By Kathe Campbell

While I fold laundry he leans in hard, flicking his ringed tail, encircling and caressing my ankles. He curls up close, watching me nap until I wake with tears blanketing my eyes.

"Poor kitty, my poor sweet old guy," I sigh.

One of my kitty's nine lives had begun months before after which some heartless person tossed him out into our forest. I've seen dozens of the frightened things, mostly kitten litters, standing bewildered at the edge of the dusty road; defenseless dump-offs. They rush into the woods, innocent victims of someone who most likely has no use for cats.

My neighbors and I spotted this big, yellow feline who now offers his companionship to me. We watched him throughout his harrowing journey, his fear and doubt ruling. No amount of enticing could corral him.

The kitty may well have been a sweet guy, good with kids, probably used his kitty box faithfully, and purred sweet love songs on every lap. But now the wilderness echoed unfamiliar sounds, thrusting him at tree trunks, sending him clambering high until there was only the sound of the babbling creek.

Sprawling over a large limb or hunkered in the crotch of a fir, he waited for dawn's pink glow and safe flight. But safe flights were rare. Coyotes, badgers, foxes, weasels, even owls and raptors had him on their short list.

Winter came blustery and white, and the cat looked to be eternally, deep-down frozen and shivery, but he held his ground, refusing tossed kibbles until the coast was clear. Gimping along on cracked and sore paws, he made his way through thick underbrush where the ground laid barer. Sometimes gigantic fir boughs loosed their great snow loads in the wind, plunging heavily atop his hiding places, nearly burying him alive.

His coat was losing its luster and thick mantle; his only belongings were tangled masses of rangy clothing protruding down his back. Tree saps fused his carcass together into stiff, hairy spurs, seemingly pulling and stretching him with every move. Listening to his own purr must have been his only comfort, but the freeze cruelly shattered anything more than a small, raspy yawp as he fled our mercy.

After months of wandering and rustling up his own pitiful grub, dwellings suddenly appeared in our mountain valley. The cat had made it through winter on his own -- scrawny, but intact, with new zest in his gait. His wilderness plight said much about never losing heart.

Dump-offs usually pose an edgy, woeful presence at places they encounter, and this kitty was no exception. Still guarded, the sorry old guy moved from one barn to another. Despite unwanted intrusions into the local feline establishment, his grit became the subject of rural gossip.

A kitty should be fit for productive hunting, so folks began tossing scraps from behind small cracks in their doorways. Competing with dogs and raccoons, he gobbled up anything, for his mousing days had become few.

Like clockwork, I retreated from my log dwelling to feed my donkey herd every morning. The cat watched, clearly in need of a kind word but leery of the dog who romped at my side. I bent low for him to eat from my hand, but he was terrified to venture close.

Quieting his fears, I left an old, woolen army blanket and daily bowl of chow and milk atop the tallest bale in my hay-room. He seemed almost content in the place if his matted coat hadn't finally overwhelmed his tongue, even in the warmth of spring.

If Mother Nature were an actress, autumn would be her finest performance. Orangey leaves and cooler nights warned cat he wouldn't survive another winter as he dared peek over the hay bales with his hackles up -- just in case.

Murmuring soft kitty sounds while at my daily chores, I reached up to touch his head just once before he panicked and fled. Then one afternoon, with all the courage he could muster, he thrust out his claws and climbed down into my lap to let me stroke his chin. Pent-up emotions finally gave way, releasing his burden and my tears.

"It's okay fella, it's okay. I've got you now. I won't rush you. Take your time dear old thing," I said, as my crippled fingers nuzzled the cat's neck.

He was home.

I called him General Sterling Price after the big yellow cat in the movie, "True Grit." The Keeshond he had feared quickly welcomed him. My dog followed the General around for days watching him roll in delicious green grass, obviously fascinated by his gamy and bizarre self. I wondered how old the General was. He was surely in his teens, looking grizzled after losing an eye, various teeth, and another of his nine lives.

He curls up in front of the fireplace lest an occasional stroll into the barn where the mice have his number. After rugged exploits on our Montana mountain, he's old, thin, and tired. Often I carry him to his bowl of milk and special supper that puts a dent in my monthly check. I dare not complain, for I, too, have been in the fight.

His dauntless spirit teaches me courage daily -- not to whine over my own big stuff, but to have the patience to endure it. So we joyfully pursue our antiquity together, while the General longingly eyes the cedar chest at the foot of our bed. After awhile he works his way up where, at long last, a wee purr thrums its sweet love song in my ear.

There, I remind him: "We're not so bedraggled, my sweet General. You have one eye and only a few teeth. I have one arm and only a few teeth as well. We're survivors, and that makes us a pair of stupendous cool cats."

BIO:
Kathe Campbell lives on a Montana mountain with her mammoth donkeys, Keeshond, and a few kitties. She is a prolific writer on Alzheimer's, and her stories are found on many ezines. Kathe is a contributing author to the Chicken Soup For The Soul series, numerous anthologies, RX for Writers, Daily Devotionals, and medical journals. Email her at kathe@wildblue.net

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:
Who are the animals who parallel your life's journey?

Why do you call animals, angels?

Radio and television hosts and newspaper reporters frequently ask this question when we do interviews for our books. Sometimes it is accompanied by a snide comment such as, “My pet isn’t an angel!” Then they go on to report all the behavior that drives them crazy. Usually they end their tirade by saying, “But he’s family, and we love him.”

Over these many years, we have come up with answers to the question about animals as angels. We explain that our definition of an angel animal springs from the Greek derivation for the word angel, or angelos. This word literally means messenger. We believe (and have thousands of stories to back us up) that animals serve as divine messengers who bring assurance to people that yes, indeed, there is love in this world.

Then we get into the thornier aspect of the question: Is every animal an angel? This question is usually asked with a certain animal in mind who has done something humans don't consider to be angelic. How could such an animal be called an angel?

Mother Teresa once compared herself to a pencil God used for writing a love letter to the universe. Love letters, unfortunately, don’t always bring happy news. Love letters might convey a desire to end the relationship. They could strike the wrong note and fill the receiver with discomfort.

Messages can be joyful, sad, protective, or hurtful. Messages might not be deciphered for many years as life goes on and time does its duty of bringing perspective. On the other hand a message of love might make the beloved’s heart sing.

Because both animals and humans are souls, or divine sparks of God, clothed in physical form, they can serve as divine messengers. As with humans, some animal messengers are better than others. Some dilute the message with their own fears or destructive tendencies. As spiritual beings, animals vary in their states of consciousness. Yet they, too, serve as instruments, pencils in the hand of a loving God. More often then not, their messages uplift rather than destroy and turn our faces to the divine sender.

Do you think animals are angels in furry or feathery bodies?

The Bonds of Divine Love Between People and Animals

As we write, we're being watched (coached?) by our rescued cat, friend, and co-worker Cuddles. She curls up and observes with her loving eyes gently focused upon us. Throughout licking her paws and stretching, Cuddles continues to be steadfast in her presence. We dearly love her.

Is part of her spiritual mission in this life to support ours? We believe it is.

We, as do others, have important messages to bring to a world where there is so much suffering, turmoil, and loneliness. We long for people to understand that the bonds of divine love between people and animals, and among animals for each other, transcend fear, anger, rivalry, and isolation. Repeatedly, it is the animals who teach a better way to all of us. We recently visited New Orleans to give a presentation about Angel Animals and the heroic efforts of animal rescuers on the Gulf Coast after Katrina.

We gave our talk to the veterinarian technicians for whom we have the highest regard and respect. They were attending a reception at the American Veterinary Technician Association's annual conference. Our talk was meant to be a reminder about the necessity of cherishing the spiritual connection with animals.

In our book "RESCUED: Saving Animals from Disaster," excerpted below, we tell the story of a man who witnessed the heroics of an animal during the worst conditions. This man marveled at a dog who loved his mate more than he valued his own safety and comfort. His story sets the tone for our book. With the retelling of this heart-opening experience, we pause to remember that animals often fulfill the spiritual mission of showing people how to be more compassionate human beings.

"Days after the levees in New Orleans broke, Chris Cutter, communications director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, worked on a boat that maneuvered through toxic water. No one, human or animal, would have wanted to spend a minute more than necessary in it. Chris recalls, 'We saw a dog swimming in the muck.' Chris's boat steered toward the dog. Instead of allowing the rescuers to help him into the vehicle, the dog turned around and swam away from the boat. That is when they heard barking coming from inside a house.

"The rescuers steered to follow the dog. He led them to the back of his house where a female dog, 'his girlfriend,' as Chris calls her, was trapped inside. Only after the rescuers freed the female dog did this big, shaggy husky allow the rescuers to haul him into the boat.

"As the boat moved away one of the rescuers petted him, saying, 'You're such a good boy.' Her hand jerked suddenly off the dog's head, as if she had touched a sizzling stove. 'My hand is burning,' she told Chris.

"'The dog could have saved himself,' Chris says. 'Instead, he swam off so we would find his girlfriend. When you are dealing with things like that, it is hard not to think that there is a validity in what you are doing. That there is something bigger going on.'"

This dog made a conscious decision and was acting with purpose to save a life. Thank goodness for Chris and the animal rescuers. They listened to their intuition and inner guidance and decided to follow this brave dog back to his barely surviving mate.

A Camel's Gift of Grace

As we have done from time to time, we would like to share a story from our Angel Animals Story of the Week. "A Camel's Gift of Grace" was fist published in the weekly newsletter on July 26, 2008. It is a lesson in acceptance from a very wise camel.

A CAMEL'S GIFT OF GRACE
By Damaris Miller

I was at the Greeley Stampede working as a wrangler one beautiful day in June 2008. This is our yearly celebration with lots of things to do for the kids. When my shift was finished, I walked through the park area. I noticed a large camel waiting to give rides. As I watched him, I started to talk to him on the inner, soul to soul.

Being an animal lover, I said, "I am so sorry you have to do these things with all the noise around."

With such grace he said to me, "Acceptance means for now, this situation, this moment, requires me to do it, and so I do it willingly."

The camel's communication reminded me of an important quote from the book A NEW EARTH. I had been reading it at that time.

A quiet went through me. I felt no one around, just the camel and me. He had no anger in him, only love for what he was doing.

What a lesson for us all. It doesn't matter whether you are human, horse, dog, or a huge camel. The lessons are the same, because we are all soul learning the same lessons on our road to God.

The camel's grace was so evident. It made me realize that our teachers are all around us. We just have to be open and listen.

Thank you for the gift from a very special camel.

BIO:
Damaris Miller's story "Dreaming My Farewell to Springer" is featured in ANGEL ANIMALS: Divine Messengers of Miracles. She has two children, three grandchildren, and one great-grandson. Her passions are horses and going to the mountains. She lives on a ranch in Colorado, where she takes care of horses. Damaris also works as a medical receptionist.


SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:

When you observe animals doing less than pleasant work, what lessons in graceful acceptance could you learn from them?

A Service Cat to the Rescue

An article caught our attention this week because it's pretty rare to hear something about a service cat. In a February 4, 2008 article by Theresa Campbell for the DAILY SUN, a newspaper in The Villages, Florida, Campbell writes about Dusty. He is a Persian cat who belongs to Kathy McDonald. She has had seizures ever since being a teen. Although she takes medication, sometimes the seizures still occur. That's where Dusty comes in.

Before McDonald is about to have a grand mal seizure, Dusty alerts her by licking her face. That's how she knows to sit down in a safe place where she won't be hurt.

Dusty is a registered service cat. Trained to walk on a leash, the cat wears a badge and accompanies McDonald everywhere. Dusty sleeps by McDonald's head at night, ever vigilant. In the article she says, "I heard about a lady who has a bird that can tell when she's going to have a seizure. The bird can talk and he says, 'She's doing it again.'"

McDonald calls Dusty her "feline angel." We agree.

Have you heard of or experienced animals, other than dogs, who perform healing services for people?

Leaf and the Enormous Black Crow

Part of being a mother, whether to an animal or human, is to teach our young ones how to protect themselves. Our rescued cocker spaniel Leaf reminded us of that responsibility this week.

Now that it is spring, the crows have returned to our neighborhood. Since this is our first spring with Leaf, we hadn't thought about how these enormous black birds might view our tiny new family member.

One morning we let Leaf out in the backyard to take care of his bodily needs. Linda suddenly had an inner nudge to go out and check on him. Linda stood on the back deck, watching Leaf sniff and enjoy spring dew on green grass. Then she noticed a huge crow, the size of a hawk, perched on a high branch of a tree overlooking the yard. The crow focused silently and ominously on Leaf. He seemed to be thinking, "Breakfast!"

Linda immediately called to Leaf and brought him back in the house. Our little guy remained oblivious to the fact that he might have been tempting a predator with his small body. So as good "pet parents," we had to sit down to have a talk with Leaf about the facts of life in a neighborhood with crows.

Ever since hearing our parental admonitions, Leaf has become more aware of his surroundings. Before venturing to the backyard, he stands at the top of the steps on the deck and surveys the sky and tree branches. After he is certain there are no crows around, he enjoys his outing. We have been pleased to see that our little dog is a quick study in the ways of a world where danger lurks in unexpected places.

What does your love of animals reveal about you?

Question: Why would the University of Oregon College of Business Administration be profiling 667 pet owners?

Answer: People with pets are major players in the world of business.

The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association reports in its 2003/2004 National Pet Owners Survey that 62 percent of U.S. households now welcome at least one pet into their homes. These humans are fueling $31 billion in pet products, more than people spend annually on human toys or candy. Add to products the popular pet services – massages, chiropractic, acupuncture, liposuction, gourmet dinners, and hotel accommodations – and you get an industry that is vitally interested in what will make you buy that designer dog dish or French day bed. (“New Survey Shows America’s Love Affair with Their Pets Stronger than Ever” by Tierra Griffiths and Julie Rowe)

So Oregon’s College of Business Administration graduate students, under the leadership of Lynn Kahle, head of the marketing department, tried to figure out what your choice of a pet tells about you. With that essential information, marketers can appeal to your sensibilities and convince you that Precious really does need a plastic bowl with a lid that doubles as a Frisbee.

Here’s what they found with their questionnaire:

--Dog owners tend to be more honest and forthright than most other people. They are loyal and religious;

--If you consider yourself to be a cat person, you probably are a bit of a loner yet have fairly high job satisfaction. You tend not to toe the line when it comes to the rules and rituals of an organized religion;

--People who are primarily attracted to fish as pets are more optimistic than most and not as materialistic or concerned about social status.

Kahle concludes, “A more thorough understanding of the motivations, values, and lifestyles of pet owners can help marketers design more effective advertising approaches, both for pet products and in advertisements for nonpet products.” (“We Lavish Love, Money on Our Pets Study Reveals Psyches of Animal Owners” by Ranny Green, Seattle Times, 1993)

So the gathering of this kind of data is how pet commercials are targeted directly at what excites and interests you – not your animal companion.

Well, we have a slightly different take on the subject. We think that not only do animals often reflect a person’s psyche, they also mirror their souls, or the amount of love in their hearts. It’s our opinion that a person who says, “I don’t like animals,” is experiencing a disconnect between the heart and the mind. Ask any animal lover and they will tell you: Animals are our hearts.

In our book, God’s Messengers: What Animals Teach Us about the Divine, we write, “Sometimes before we speak at a book event, we say to the bookstore manager, ‘Watch the people who come in the door. Animal lovers are the most compassionate and generous people on the planet.’ We speak about you with confidence because we know that when you relate to animals in a loving and respectful way, you have the opportunity to learn from some of life’s wisest teachers and to be restored by its most skillful healers.”

What might a hidden camera reveal about animal world in your home and yard?

The Washington Post's David A. Fahrenthold recently wrote an article that ran in our Minneapolis Star Tribune on Wednesday, November 14, 2007. It was titled, "What Wild Animals Do. . .When Humans Aren't Looking." The article reported on a Smithsonian Institution project in which fifty motion-triggered cameras were placed strategically along the Appalachian Trail for six hundred miles.

Everyday life in the forest turned out to be both fascinating and funny. Scientists who collected and studied the 1,900 digital photos found out that black bears have increased in numbers greater than anyone knew.

Deer stared into the camera like, well, a deer caught in headlights. Bears attacked or scratched the cameras. According the article, the bears' relationship with the cameras were "producing some extreme close-ups that were hard to decipher. Eventually, researchers realized that they were looking at fuzzy posteriors." Take that, you scientists!

This article made us speculate about what hidden cameras might pick up in our "forest" while we are away. Would a camera find the cats with their arms lovingly around the dog? (Wishful thinking.) Would the bird shout out things we've never heard him say?

What might a hidden camera reveal about animal world in your home and yard?

The Act of Surrender

The subject of how to know when an animal is ready to leave came up last week. As we talked with a distraught person who had to face that most painful decision, we told her something that we want to share with you.

We've noticed over these many years (since 1996) of hearing people's stories that there is an essential element to making the tough choices. It can be summed up in one word - surrender.

Surrender with its twin sister, trust, are undoubtedly the hardest things you'll ever do. This means accepting that you will know when it's time to let go of your beloved pet and that you'll do the right thing.

We mentioned to our friend that we'd seen the act of surrender have various outcomes.

For some people, when they truly released the situation to divine guidance, they had a peaceful knowingness that the animal needed to be released from a debilitated physical body. This usually was accompanied by some type of outer confirmation from the pet, the veterinarian, or from life.

Making the true and selfless act of surrender allows the animal to choose whether to stay or go. At times, the pet who seems about to die, instead, rallies and recovers. Perhaps because the animal has been holding on to life out of love for a human, this effort has taken energy away from his or her own recovery. Now the pet can focus on
getting well.

In the case our friend's beloved pet decided to live. This has been a journey with a happy ending. But it did take her act of surrender. She had to say to her animal friend, "It's your choice. Don't stay only for me."

What have your experiences been with surrendering and accepting whatever outcome is truly best for the animal?

The Giving and Receiving of Animal Names

What names have you given your animal companions?

When we do our workshops or book events, we always ask the participants to introduce themselves and tell us the names of their animal companions. This exercise gets a lot of laughs as people share the creative names they have given their furry friends.

Diana, from Australia, says that the impulsive adoption of two pullet hens caused her to name these new members of their family, Spon and Taneous. They joined Diana's other two hens, Little Red and Riding Hood.

Literature often provides the inspiration for animals' names. Janice says that she and her husband named their five puppies after characters in THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, a book Janice had loved to read as a child. They called the pups Christian, Purity, Chastity, Tenacity, and Charity. Another woman re-created her childhood by naming her new kittens Papa Bear, Mamma Bear, and Baby Bear. They joined Bear, the adult cat, who already ruled their household.

Beverly says that Shana Punem, in Yiddish, means "beautiful face." The name had special significance to her because this is what her father used to call his niece when the girl was little. Beverly says, "He would cup her face in his hand and say, 'Shana Punem.' It was such a sweet gesture." When Beverly adopted a dog nine years ago, she named her Shana Punem.

Lisa wrote to tell us about her dog, Trouble. He got that moniker because when Lisa adopted another dog in addition to the two she already had, her sister-in-law predicted that Lisa's husband wouldn't be very happy about it. "You're going to get in trouble," was her admonition. As it turned out, according to Lisa, "Trouble was never any trouble at all. My husband and I both adored him." She says that Trouble was a dog who never did live up to his name.

An orphaned kitten named Gabriel was so sweet that his new human companions named him after the Archangel Gabriel. They write, "It backfired! We've found out that feline angels can be very mischievous!"

Although people get very creative about giving names to their animal companions, some say that the animals have let their humans know what they want to be called.

Melodie writes about the adoption of her tiny, juvenile green iguana. She says, "For a week, I tried many names that seemed perfect for her, but none of them were right for this little creature. During the second week of having her, a strange name was just in my mind. I truly believe that Eeghana-guana told me her name."

Our beautiful golden retriever, Prana, chose us from a litter of adorable puppies by coming forward and untying Allen's shoelace. On the way home, she seemed to whisper her name in Linda's ear. Later, we found out that "prana" means "breath of life." Prana surely was a breath of life for our family during the years we were blessed with her presence.

What names have you given your animal companions? Did you choose this name or did the animal choose it for you?