Will the REAL Berkley please stand up!

[wallacethegreat]

So, I don't want to sound racist or anything, but when Berkley (his shelter name) first got here, I tried calling him all sorts of things....he came from an LA shelter after all and I thought maybe he had some sort of Mexican name or something. I called him Juan, Manuel, Pablo, Eduardo, Enrique, Ricardo, etc. He never looked at me. Actually, the name Berkley really suits him. It's rather dignified! But I kept thinking if I could discover his real name, it might help him feel better and would certainly help in getting a response from him when I needed to call him. And, he did get kind of used to being called Berkley anyway.
Well, this isn't any big deal on discovering his real name since many of us use it for our Chows. In fact, I discovered it by accident really...I used to call my Wally this name.
It's just simply "Bear."
I was out in the yard and said, "Hey, Berkley-Bear!" As soon as he heard the "Bear" part, he looked up with the most relieved look on his face! It was as if he realized somebody actually knew who he was!
As with many of us, our dogs have their "official" name, but we end up calling them all kinds of nicknames. I call him "Mr. Berkley, Mr. Berks, Berkley-Bear, Berks-Bear and just plain Bear." He responds to all of them, but especially likes it when I call him anything with "Bear" in it.
Here are some new pics I just took a few minutes ago of his eyes, post-entropion on Day 4. He's doing pretty well, considering all he's been through.
Laura Mac, mama to Berkley-Bear and Oliver Wallace, my angel Chow

[fillyok]

That's interesting. My Bear was known as Bear all his life. His previous owners were located in the aftermath of Katrina so we had some history on him. I always wonder what Samantha's previous name was...I've tried calling her different names, but none of them rang a bell with her.

Maybe Berkley Bear would answer to Oso due to his heritage.

[CoraP.]

I am partial to the name Bear, because that was the name of my chowmix who started this love I have of the chow breed. He looked like a little bear cub when my husband brought him home, and we couldn't name him anything else. Bear is a great name!

[wallacethegreat]

I just tried the "Oso" name...he didn't even look at me, but as soon as I said "Bear", he looked right at me. I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier. I still like Berkley though. Besides, everybody here knows who Berkley is now. He'll always be just Berkley to me.

[Tai's Mom]

I'm glad to hear that Berkley is doing so well, especially post-op for the entropian. Tai had entropian surgery done on his left eye in January. I cried the first time I saw him after surgery. But it sure doesn't take them long to recover and I know his eye has to feel so much better not to have his lashes rubbing against it. Berkley Bear looks wonderful Laura.

[Jeff&Peks]

I just tried the "Oso" name...he didn't even look at me, but as soon as I said "Bear", he looked right at me. I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier. I still like Berkley though. Besides, everybody here knows who Berkley is now. He'll always be just Berkley to me.

Onyx comes from a larger Hispanic community then Berkley so I have been trying names in Spanish, she dosn't respond to any name but for some reason every time I say "Immigration" she runs and hides.

[chow fancier]

Onyx comes from a larger Hispanic community then Berkley so I have been trying names in Spanish, she dosn't respond to any name but for some reason every time I say "Immigration" she runs and hides.

Teddy (a rescue who came with his name and almost no information about his prior life) also answers to Bear. I've often wondered if his original name was Teddy Bear.

[janet]

lmao jeff.

[wallacethegreat]

Teddy Bear. Of course! It makes perfect sense!
Laura Mac

[Auddymay]

It is not racisit to assume a chow rescued from an hispanic community might have a spanish name, we call that common sense yonder here in Michigan. If he had come from a community of Norsemen, I would start out calling him Thor or Erik...if he came from a dutch community, I now know enough to try calling him Beer!

[fillyok]

Maybe his name is Cervezas!!