Where Everybody Buys Your Dog Name
While Clover and Tori may or may not ever compete in various dog sports, we are working on earning some Trick Dog titles. In 2017, when I considered Clover's debut into agility competitions, I did the paperwork for her PAL listing through the AKC. Tori didn't have an official dog name yet, so I just did hers recently so that we could apply for their Novice Trick Dog Titles. Alas, we hit a snag on choosing Tori's "registered" name. Somebody bought some of the words I wanted to use in Tori's official dog name so that no one else can use them for like 5 years. Really. So weird. Usually kennel names are more original than that.
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Official Dog Name? Who Cares?
Because Clover is a purebred border collie, we did the paperwork for a PAL listing. PAL stands for purebred alternative listing, which just means that we don't have an official pedigree to attach to her registration. We provided other proof, including photos and genetic testing, to support our claim for her purebred status.
Not that I care one way or the other about purebred designation, but that's how these things work. I'm thankful that Clover was "well" bred, despite what turned into a hoarding situation. I'm also thankful to have been able to adopt her long-distance from a border collie rescue group in Virginia.
Tori, on the other hand, being a mixed breed dog that we adopted through the veterinary hospital that we use needed a Canine Partners listing instead.
Really the only reason that you get a listing number and choose an official name is so that your dog's titles can be tracked to the right dog.
Apparently, people pay to protect certain dog names. Who knew?
Clover's paperwork went through quickly last year, so I was surprised when Tori's took forever. I could tell that my check had cleared, but I never got any mail or email announcing that her registration was complete. I finally called to find out what the problem was. The conversation went something like this ... after being put on hold for quite a while:
THEM: "Why do you want to use Rocky Mountain in your dog's name?"
ME: "Because we live in the Rocky Mountains and my other dog's name has Rocky Mountain in it."
** puts me on hold again, for a long time **
THEM: "Since you registered your first dog, someone has bought the kennel name Rocky Mountain, so you can't use it."
ME: "I couldn't figure out how to use the name checker tool online for a mixed breed dog, so I couldn't see if the name was available or not. Can we abbreviate mountain to Mtn?"
THEM: "Yes, the database will let that go through."
Me: "Let's do that, then."
So, the girls have a family / kennel name in common. It's pronounced the same abbreviated or not, so that's good enough I guess.
Oooh, Pretty Dog Name Patches!
I even ordered the puppy-girls custom patches for their new-to-us (but hand-me-down) harnesses that we'll use pretty much only to go to agility. Ooooh, pretty!
So one side has their "call names," and the other side has the fun parts of their registered names.
