A rose by any other name

I was recently on a forum and the question was asked “How did you get your pet’s name?” So I started thinking about names. Lil dog, as I commonly refer to him, name is Jaegermeister. When I tell people his name they usually smile at me with that knowing grin as we all think about the drink. And yes, that was part of it but not the whole reason. My first consideration was that I wanted a good German name for my German breed. Big dog’s name was Max and he was a Weimaraner. So I had a big German dog and a lil German dog.

Translated literally, Jägermeister means “hunt-master,” combining Jäger (hunter) and Meister (master, in the sense of an accomplished professional). If you know the dachshund breed, they are a hunting breed originally trained to hunt badgers. Dachshunds were first bred in the early 1600s in Germany. The goal was to create a fearless, elongated dog that could dig the earth from a badger burrow and fight to the death with the vicious badgers. They can actually dig a foot and a half in one minute with their powerful, spade-like claws and strong feet.

Ok so back to my point of lil dogs name. Even when he was a pup he was an avid hunter. He will search for hours for his “prey” or as we call it “piggy”. When we go out to the field, often only part of him you will see is his tail up in the air as he borrows through the weeds.

The color of his coat is also of similar color as the drink. The reddish brown with the overlaying black coat makes for a nice rich color. Actually when my hair falls over him, our hair is almost the same color (not the black part though).  See the similarity? Yes, I love that dog.

Lil dog is a tough lil fellow. He is a big dog in a little dog body. He is not a yapper but has a strong bark that will have people passing by jump out of their skin (that’s entertainment folks – gosh I need to get out more). His walk is proud with his chest out and his head held high. His determined personality only adds to his likability. I have yet to meet anyone that doesn’t like him or anyone that he doesn’t like.

So there, my reasons for his name and the similarity to the drink (that I somewhat favor – story for another time):

1. German name
2. Master hunter
3. Color
4. Powerful impact
5. Everyone loves Jaeger

One final interesting fact I learned while writing my reasons, it was originally brought back to American from Germany and made popular by Frank Sinatra.

So what about Rosebay? Any guesses? Where did you get your pet’s name? Or better yet, if you are using a name on your blog, where did it come from?

BTW- Rosebay is another name for Oleander which is a very popular plant here in Florida with pretty blooms and is also very poisonous. I thought it fit.