What's in a Name?

"I named my dog 5 Miles so I can tell people I walk 5 miles every day."

Maizey by any other name is still Maizey

There are 5 daughters in my family. Like most mothers with that many kids to look after,  she often had to run through all our names before getting the one she wanted. LindaJoMaryJudyJean came out as one word. If she was really stressed she’d add pets’ names. LindaJoMaryJudyJeanHappyPepeCherokee. It was kind of funny until I started doing the same thing with my children, and I only had two to remember.  Perhaps it’s just what mothers learn to do. Trying to make everything equal, if one kid’s in trouble, they’re all in trouble. Maybe it's nothing more than a sign that the woman who once walked the floors during midnight feedings, cleaned beds covered in puke, made hundreds of plates of spaghetti, let kids lick the frosting dripping from mixer beaters and kissed too many boo boos to count had grown weary. Names were secondary to what she wanted to say. It was easier to get them out of the way in one breath.

Yesterday I caught myself calling Maizey "DoodleQuesadillaItchetuckneeDoo". Just a few of the names Maizey has acquired  while living with us.  As a puppy Maizey’s original owners named her Marla. During her stay with the Stevensons the kids changed Marla to Maizey because she was the color of light corn. Now, like a person with multiple personalities, Maizey is as Maizey does.

"Bull," for instance, is the Maizey that stubbornly butts her way into or out of any situation. Like bulls running through Pamploma, Maizey squeezes through the tiniest of openings, races across the yard, the street and our neighbor’s yard regardless of who or what is in her way.  It looks like she’s chasing a cat or squirrel. In reality she has heard the call of the wild and is running for the pure joy of running.

After her biopsy, Buddy's cage felt like a safe haven as long as the door was left open.

"Houdini" is similar to "Bull" in that it involves liberating herself from places she deems unfit. An open 2nd story window? No problem, she simply took a flying leap, landed on all fours and took off for parts unknown. A wooden door? A wire puppy cage? No problem. She just head butted and chewed until she saw the proverbial light at the bottom of the stairs and made a dash for freedom.

Although we live within driving distance of fresh water springs rising from the aquifer, where the temperature is a cool 70 degrees year round, Maizey is known as "Ichetucknee" for her constant itching due to undefined allergies. Skin? Grass? Fleas? Food? At any given time one or all of these can make poor "Itchetucknee" scratch and/or chew herself until soars appear and antibiotics are needed. Steroids were the go to cure to get hot spots under control. Unfortunately Prednisone is one of the foods cancer love best. We just have to keep the itching under control by trips to the beach, salt water baths, oatmeal shampoo and antihistamines.

Understandably, Maizey is referred to as "Thumper" because of the sound of her leg thumping on the floor during an scratching spell. If you’ve ever been around an itchy dog, you know there is also a distinctive smell, like Doritos, that goes with the territory. Thus, the name "Stinky.”

Despite of, or maybe because of, Maizey's food allergies and strict “no beef, no pork, no bacon, no fat” diet, she loves cheese, especially wrapped in a warm flour tortilla. "Quesadilla Ellington" has never met a piece of cheese she doesn’t like. She takes it as it comes -- sliced, shredded, cubed, This comes in handy when she has one of those days when she doesn’t quite feel like eating. If I wave a piece of cheese under her nose she’ll usually come around. It also helps in administering her daily dose of pain meds and anti-itch Benadryl. 

I’m not sure where the name Maizey Doodle came from. Doodle Dog, Doodle Doo, or just plain Doodle are varieties of the same. Lately it's been my favorite nom du jour. I lie down beside girl who looks more like freshly picked cotton than corn, put my arms around neck and say, “I love you Doodle Dog.” Like the child that knew who my mother was calling before she even got to the correct name, I’m confident Maizey knows who I’m talking to.