I just have to comment on how Pretinha got her name. I wanted to name her something in Portuguese. Grandmother actually is the one who came up with that name one day while we were eating lunch at the mall. Pretinha is a Portuguese word for something that is little and black.

In naming Pretinha I wasn’t thinking about people asking me, “What’s your dog’s name?” only to hear them say, “What??” or a very chopped up version of “Pretinha”.

We walk the dogs a lot while at the Ridgecrest Conference Center and people are always coming up to pet the dogs and inevitably they ask, “What are their names?” One day my dad and I were walking them and someone asked the question. My dad told the lady Ellie’s name and then quickly mumbled out “Pretinha” since even he has a hard time saying it right. The lady said, “Virginia?” and my dad said, “Yeah.” as he gave me a look that said, Why did you name her Pretinha?

I am seriously considering answering “Virginia” to the next person who asks me what my dog’s name is. Especially if I’ll most likely never see them again.

AND…

When we go to name our children we are using names that are easy to spell and easy to pronounce! :)

But I still like the name Pretinha. Even though for some reason she usually just goes by “Puppy” - even by me. Maybe I should just say that is her name when people ask!

- Elaine