According to Certified New York dog trainer Renee Payne, “Dogs don’t have a concept of identity the way we do.”
For Humans, a name is their identity as an individual and a surname is their identity as part of a chain, a clan and a group. A surname is the foundation of someone’s identity as it gives context to their being, to their existence inside a social circle. It helps an individual build a personality over context. Surnames are associated with social groups, ethnicities, cultures, locations and countries. They help in recognition of someone’s past and the environment they must have grown up in.
Surnames are inherited by offspring naturally as a part of the family but when it comes to adoption, the case is an exception. This exception also applies to animals taken in as pets. Despite surnames having become vestigial to some extent due to the diminishing value of a person’s past origin and caste, there is still a majority of people who consider surnames to be indispensable. When it comes to naming their pets, many are sceptical about whether to share their surname with their pets. There is no correct answer, no guidelines or boundaries but we believe that letting your pet obtain your surname is a way of officially making them a part of your family.
It is prominent with the statements of much of the pet-lover and pet-adopter population that despite the mischievous and playful behaviour their pets exhibit, they act as social support and a booster of dopamine for them. It is often noticed that pets make all the efforts necessary to ensure that they keep their hoo-man parents happy and content. When they see their parents in trouble, they can’t help running towards them.
With this sort of consideration displayed by them, it is obvious to officially make them a part of your family by sharing your surname with them. It adds a sense of closeness and belonging. It is not out of the ownership or a sense of entitlement that one should do this. It is stated in multiple reports by dog trainers that your paw-fect pet learns about his/her name, not by the word but by the tone and feeling with which you say their name. Even if not out of the will of your pet, giving them a surname will not have any negative implications unless they have had some sort of negative association in the past with the surname you give them.
Thus, it shall be in good taste to give your pet your surname to make them not only a part of your family but give them a space of lineage. So go ahead and make that Doggo your pet-bro or your pet-sis!!
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