The Power of Names
The spirit of a being is carried in the name. This is why it is important to choose the right name for the animal who shares your life. There are no bad names, but some names do not support the spirit of the animal to express themselves. In some cases (about 15%) when I work with clients who perhaps adopted a shelter dog with the “wrong” name – and they are curious to discover a better name. When we find the right name, much behavior improves. Dogs can easily learn new names, and when we find their “true” name – their spirit blossoms. In this episode we explore some stories of animals who had a name that didn’t serve them – and what changed in their lives when we found their right name.
Listen to Episode #30 Now:
Transcript:
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Announcer: This is Pet Life Radio.
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Announcer: Let's talk pets.
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Announcer: Welcome to The Human-Animal Connection show, where we believe we can communicate with all animals.
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Announcer: Join us as we explore the 33 principles and healing methods of The Human-Animal Connection.
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Announcer: As animal lovers, we know that you share our commitment to making the world a kinder place for all creatures.
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Announcer: Together, let's embrace the transformative healing power of The Human-Animal Connection.
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Michael Overlie: Hello, everybody.
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Michael Overlie: Welcome to The Human-Animal Connection show.
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Michael Overlie: I am your host, happy to be here, Michael Overlie, and I'm with the amazing, smiling, and happy, Genie Joseph
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Genie Joseph: Yay!
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Genie Joseph: Happy to be here.
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Genie Joseph: Thank you, thank you.
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Genie Joseph: Welcome to The Human-Animal Connection show, and this episode is about the power of names and how important it is because the spirit of a being is carried in the name.
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Genie Joseph: So we're going to talk about naming animals.
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Genie Joseph: Those of us who share our lives with animals, we often are in the position of giving a name, or sometimes we have animals come to us already with a name, and we need to just ask and see, is this the right name, the best name for this animal?
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Genie Joseph: And it doesn't mean that there's some good names and bad names.
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Genie Joseph: It means what is the name that best expresses the spirit of the animal?
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Genie Joseph: So for example, the name Bill might be perfect for one animal, but not perfect for the next animal.
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Genie Joseph: So it's not about whether the name is good or bad.
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Genie Joseph: It's about whether or not the name expresses the spirit of the energy of the animal and allows that animal to express their spirit more fully.
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Michael Overlie: Dana and I were in Wyoming a couple of weekends ago, and there was a guy there, he had a Belgian Malinois and like a border collie.
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Michael Overlie: And I don't know if I can say the names on here, or the nicknames.
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Michael Overlie: One was loco and the other was hole.
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Michael Overlie: And I was like, what is the energy behind that, that you would call your dogs that?
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Genie Joseph: Yeah, because then you're using that word every day.
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Genie Joseph: For many times a day, it's just really an important question to say, does my dog have the name that is the best fit for their development?
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Genie Joseph: And we're gonna talk about that.
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Genie Joseph: We're gonna talk about some stories of some people and some clients.
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Genie Joseph: So we're gonna really take a look in this episode at what the effect is of a name and whether or not the name supports the animal and supports the relationship between the human and animal.
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Genie Joseph: Is this a name that allows the animal to express their true nature and to grow and express themselves?
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Genie Joseph: Or is this a name, a burden, or an undignified name or whatever?
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Genie Joseph: And sometimes in the shelter situation, dogs come in that are strays and the name is not known, and we have 100 dogs a day coming into the shelter, and somebody's gonna very quickly slap a name on a dog to get them into the process, to get them through adoption.
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Genie Joseph: But that person is gonna just randomly kind of pick a name.
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Genie Joseph: I mean, sometimes they'll make a good choice, but sometimes not.
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Genie Joseph: And I've noticed that dogs with a name that doesn't suit them are harder to adopt.
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Genie Joseph: They don't get adopted as quickly as a dog that has a name that suits them.
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Genie Joseph: And every name is good.
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Genie Joseph: It's just a question of, is the right name for that dog?
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Genie Joseph: So we were talking in the last episode about a big old tank-sized pit bull with the name Dante, and it wasn't the best name for him, and it didn't help him get adopted.
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Genie Joseph: And I've seen very gentle dogs with the wrong names, and just the wrong archetypes sometimes.
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Genie Joseph: It's a gentle dog with a tough name or a tough name.
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Genie Joseph: It's just all a mess.
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Genie Joseph: It's a mess.
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Genie Joseph: And so, and dogs can learn a new name.
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Genie Joseph: So if you adopt a dog from a rescue or a shelter, and it doesn't feel like the right name to you, I mean, sometimes my clients will ask me.
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Genie Joseph: I never ask, say, hey, this is the wrong name.
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Genie Joseph: It's just if they say to me, hey, they know my work, and they know that I do this.
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Genie Joseph: So if they ask and they say, is this the right name, I'll ask the dog and say, how do you feel about your name?
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Genie Joseph: And about, I'd say 85% of the time, with a person who's chosen fairly well, they're happy.
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Genie Joseph: But about 15% of the time, they say there's a better name.
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Genie Joseph: And so I only mention this when people ask because it's a very sensitive topic.
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Genie Joseph: A lot of people are not willing to consider that they've given their dog a name that isn't really serving their soul.
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Genie Joseph: But sometimes people really wanna do what's best and they really wanna know.
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Genie Joseph: So I had one client with two dogs, and the kids had named one dog Frank and the other dog Beans, right?
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Genie Joseph: And Beans was, when I asked, was perfectly happy being called Beans.
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Genie Joseph: It didn't bother Beans one bit.
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Genie Joseph: But Frank said, that's not my name.
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Genie Joseph: Sometimes people are willing to hear that and we really listen and we do it.
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Genie Joseph: It's not a simple thing.
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Genie Joseph: I listen sometimes for a couple of weeks to make sure that it's the right name.
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Genie Joseph: Like when Lulu came to us, her shelter name was Canela.
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Genie Joseph: We're still fostering her.
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Genie Joseph: But Canela didn't do anything for her, didn't support her, didn't express her spirit.
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Genie Joseph: But Lulu brings out her playfulness and brings out her tenderness in a way that Canela didn't.
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Genie Joseph: Canela, it's not that it's a bad name in any way.
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Genie Joseph: It's just that it did nothing for her.
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Genie Joseph: It didn't help her to grow into her true nature.
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Genie Joseph: And yesterday, we took her out for the very first time to a pet grooming place, and they were very nice.
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Genie Joseph: I said, look, this is a really scared dog.
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Genie Joseph: I don't think she can do anything yet.
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Genie Joseph: Can I just bring her in and let her experience the place?
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Genie Joseph: And it was the first time introducing her to public as, this is Lulu.
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Genie Joseph: And she acted like Lulu.
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Genie Joseph: She pranced around and played.
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Genie Joseph: It was polite to everybody and made friends with at least the women.
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Genie Joseph: A man came in and she turned to the Godzilla.
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Genie Joseph: But it was really great to see her prancing around as Lulu.
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Genie Joseph: I got her a little tag.
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Genie Joseph: It says Lulu, a little pink heart, it says Lulu.
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Genie Joseph: And it's really good for her.
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Genie Joseph: So it's not that Lulu would be right for every dog.
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Genie Joseph: But I really listened.
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Genie Joseph: It took a couple of weeks.
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Genie Joseph: And I went through a couple of names.
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Genie Joseph: And at first, I thought it was Angel.
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Genie Joseph: It was an angel.
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Genie Joseph: And I forgot the names I went through.
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Genie Joseph: But finally, it was Lulu.
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Genie Joseph: Oh, Luna was one of the names we were looking at.
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Genie Joseph: But Lulu was the name that just seemed to kind of capture her spirit and allow her to express it.
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Genie Joseph: And it's interesting because in the Hawaiian tradition, they don't name the baby when it's first born.
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Genie Joseph: They wait till the baby's first birthday a year.
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Genie Joseph: And that's when they have the baby lua, which is the naming ceremony.
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Genie Joseph: And at one year old, the baby formally gets their name.
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Genie Joseph: And this is something that's not done frivolously.
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Genie Joseph: Like sometimes the grandparents will have a dream and hear the name, or the mother before she gives birth will hear the name or a family member.
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Genie Joseph: But it's a very reverent process to name a being.
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Genie Joseph: And that's why sometimes in Hawaiian, you have these very long names.
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Genie Joseph: I mean, you can have nicknames, but sometimes the ancestors or the amakua, which is a guardian animal, will be in the name.
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Genie Joseph: So different things, because the name is what carries...
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Genie Joseph: In Hawaiian, the word is mana, which is like their spirit or their chi.
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Genie Joseph: In Chinese would be chi, or Japanese would say ki.
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Genie Joseph: It's the life force.
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Genie Joseph: It's the essence that carries their spirit.
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Genie Joseph: And so when you have the right name, their mana is supported.
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Genie Joseph: It's respected because every day I call upon that energy.
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Genie Joseph: Like I had a cat named Seraphina when I adopted her from the shelter, her name was Fluffy.
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Genie Joseph: Fluffy just didn't do anything.
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Genie Joseph: It's not that it's a terrible name or anything.
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Genie Joseph: Some cats would do very well with Fluffy, but she was not a Fluffy.
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Genie Joseph: She was a refined being, and she needed a name that expressed that.
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Genie Joseph: And she became a very fine therapy cat after being a very traumatized cat that spent six weeks under the bed when I first brought her home.
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Genie Joseph: I never saw her for six weeks.
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Genie Joseph: I just changed the cat box and fed her and didn't see her for six weeks, and it was six months before I could pet her.
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Genie Joseph: So she had a long journey, but giving her the name Seraphina was one of the things that helped really allow her to grow and change into that.
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Genie Joseph: And my friend Afton, who has a wonderful horse sanctuary where he takes horses that are headed for the glue factory, Mustangs that can't be ridden and whatever, just terrible.
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Genie Joseph: And so he has a place called Wild Horse Haven Rescue, and he had one horse that his son had named Rowdy, and this horse lived up to his name.
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Genie Joseph: He would pick fights with all the other horses, nothing would be wrong, and he'd just go pick a fight.
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Genie Joseph: He'd just go rattle up the herd.
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Genie Joseph: It was like I had a friend who used to call out, let me go start some fires.
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Genie Joseph: Some people say, let me go put out some fires.
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Genie Joseph: She'd say, let me start some fires.
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Genie Joseph: She just wanted to get some energy going.
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Genie Joseph: So Rowdy would be doing this, and I explained to him about names, and he thought about it.
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Genie Joseph: And he decided to rename this horse, and he called him Ares for the God of War.
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Genie Joseph: It was just a more elegant name.
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Genie Joseph: And he changed this horse's name to Ares.
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Genie Joseph: And as soon as he did, the behavior changed.
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Genie Joseph: He would call Ares, and the horse would lift his head and feel proud.
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Genie Joseph: And he started behaving differently, the other horses saw him differently.
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Genie Joseph: Everything changed in his behavior.
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Genie Joseph: And he was thinking, I don't know if I can keep this horse, it was disturbing to her, but just the name change changed the dynamic between them.
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Genie Joseph: And I have one more story to tell you like that.
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Genie Joseph: So, well, probably more than one more, but one more that I don't want to forget.
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Genie Joseph: So this is a story from Anna Breitenbach, who's a wonderful animal communicator, and she doesn't work with pet animals, she works with wild animals.
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Genie Joseph: But she was working with a sanctuary that had a jaguar that they had.
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Genie Joseph: And this jaguar, everyone was terrified of him, and he did a lot of displays of, stay away from me, and a lot of aggression, just really tough guy, and didn't want to come out of his little, he had a little enclosure that he could be in, and he didn't want to come out, and it was hard to clean and feed and do things.
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Genie Joseph: And his name was Diablo, and she went and talked with him.
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Genie Joseph: And among other things, Diablo explained was he did not want to be called Diablo.
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Genie Joseph: He wanted to be called Spirit.
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Genie Joseph: And they renamed him to Spirit, and everything changed.
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Genie Joseph: His behavior changed, which then changed out the humans related to him.
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Genie Joseph: So they started relating to him as Spirit, not as the devil, right?
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Genie Joseph: And this changed everything in the dynamics between him and his life improved dramatically because people didn't see him as the devil anymore, and he didn't need to start behaving like, you didn't need to continue to behave in devilish ways.
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Genie Joseph: He could begin to express his true energy, his true spirit.
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Genie Joseph: So I've seen that a lot.
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Genie Joseph: So I have a lot of clients who have helped, when they ask, change their name.
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Genie Joseph: It's about 10% or 15% of dogs that say, no, I don't like my name.
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Genie Joseph: I need another name.
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Michael Overlie: Yeah.
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Michael Overlie: I had an experience with a horse.
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Michael Overlie: I would do some energy work on it, and it was literally down the road.
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Michael Overlie: Old, 38 years old.
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Michael Overlie: And her name was Penny.
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Michael Overlie: But it felt off to me.
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Michael Overlie: So I asked the woman, I said, what was her name before?
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Michael Overlie: She goes, oh, she used to be called Lady.
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Michael Overlie: So when I would address her as Penny, I would get nowhere.
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Michael Overlie: So when I would call her Lady, she would just, yeah, she would just love it, and soften, and come right over.
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Michael Overlie: It was fantastic.
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Genie Joseph: Yeah, I know, it's so wonderful.
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Genie Joseph: When I was volunteering at a horse sanctuary, I had the same experience, and I would ask each of the horses about their name.
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Genie Joseph: There was one horse who had gotten kicked out of four barns, because he was too violent.
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Genie Joseph: I mean, I actually had a temporary restraining order against the horse.
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Genie Joseph: And of course, his name was Fire.
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Genie Joseph: So I talked with him, and you couldn't take his mask off.
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Genie Joseph: He was just really intense.
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Genie Joseph: But anyway, I began working with him.
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Genie Joseph: I said, what would you like to be called?
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Genie Joseph: And he said, I'd like to be called Sweetfire.
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Genie Joseph: And so I called him Sweetfire, and everything changed.
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Genie Joseph: I mean, we had just a lovely, lovely way.
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Genie Joseph: He was still very spirited.
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Genie Joseph: It's not like it's going to take away his spirit, but it took off the edge.
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Genie Joseph: He didn't have to pick fights just to pick them.
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Genie Joseph: He could express his sweetness in addition to his fire.
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Genie Joseph: So it's very powerful when you find the right name.
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Genie Joseph: It really changes because it changes our perceptions, how we look at them, how we see them.
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Genie Joseph: I mean, if you name an animal like that story you told in the beginning with a curse word, it's like you're using that word all the time.
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Genie Joseph: It's just sad.
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Genie Joseph: It's just a sad thing.
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Genie Joseph: And people do things like that, and it makes me sad.
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Michael Overlie: Well, it tickled me because it sounded funny.
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Michael Overlie: And then I realized that the energy of that is being given to that dog all the time.
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Genie Joseph: All the time.
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Genie Joseph: We wouldn't want to be called that.
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Genie Joseph: So why would we call being something that we wouldn't want to be called?
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Genie Joseph: Words have power, and names have power.
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Genie Joseph: So choosing the right name is a beautiful thing that a human can do for an animal, is to really take the time to listen and find the right names.
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Genie Joseph: And very few people do this, so I just invite people to consider.
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Genie Joseph: And if you love the name and the animal loves the name, by all means keep it.
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Genie Joseph: But if you feel like maybe it isn't the right name, then listen, listen and see and try some experiments, because dogs can learn a new name in a week or two.
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Genie Joseph: I mean, it does not take long.
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Genie Joseph: All you have to do is use it in a nice way consistently, and especially around food, calling them for food for a treat, and boom, they learn it.
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Genie Joseph: It worked for me.
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Genie Joseph: Yeah, right, right, right.
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Genie Joseph: And it's interesting because we think of dogs or cats or domestic animals, birds, knowing their names.
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Genie Joseph: But a lot of the animals that we've, not myself, but that scientists have researched, find that animals know their names.
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Genie Joseph: Like there was this one sanctuary that had crocodiles.
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Genie Joseph: And in order to feed the crocodiles, they needed some orders.
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Genie Joseph: So they gave them each names, and they would say, you know, Sam.
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Genie Joseph: And Sam would come up and get his food, and then he would slink down, and the other crocodiles would just wait for their name, get their food, come up and get, you know.
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Genie Joseph: And it created a lot of order just by giving them names.
00:14:29.020 --> 00:14:42.960
Genie Joseph: And we talk about this today like it's nothing, but when Jane Goodall began her research and she dared to name the chimpanzees, she was lambasted in the academic circles, because at that time, they would only call it It, not he or she.
00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:44.580
Genie Joseph: And they would not give them names.
00:14:44.600 --> 00:14:48.340
Genie Joseph: They were, you know, R27 instead of having a name.
00:14:48.660 --> 00:14:49.700
Genie Joseph: And she gave them names.
00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:58.260
Genie Joseph: And that's one of the things that allowed her to go where no other man had gone before in terms of her connecting with the animals.
00:14:58.280 --> 00:15:02.600
Genie Joseph: But she paid a very high price in terms of the academic thinking at the time.
00:15:02.700 --> 00:15:07.740
Genie Joseph: And of course, once you name an animal, you see them as an individual.
00:15:07.780 --> 00:15:11.220
Genie Joseph: You're not likely going to want to hurt them or eat them, like on a farm.
00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:15.200
Genie Joseph: If you name an animal, you know, it's hard to eat them after you've given them a name.
00:15:15.220 --> 00:15:17.040
Genie Joseph: So it's a really powerful thing.
00:15:17.060 --> 00:15:29.480
Genie Joseph: And every species that's been studied, pigs learn their names, elephants learn their names, dolphins have a whistle that is their signature name, parrotlets in Venezuela know their names by peeps.
00:15:29.500 --> 00:15:32.300
Genie Joseph: You know, they, so it's not nothing a name.
00:15:32.500 --> 00:15:39.320
Genie Joseph: So that's just something that we'll let people think about over the break to think about whether or not you've got the best name for the animal who shares your life.
00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:40.460
Genie Joseph: Awesome.
00:15:44.920 --> 00:15:49.360
Announcer: Hey, friends, if you like what you're hearing and want to learn more, check out Dr.
00:15:49.380 --> 00:16:03.540
Announcer: Joseph's book, The Human-Animal Connection, Deepening Relationships with Animals and Ourselves, or visit the website, thehumananimalconnection.org, to book an online consultation.
00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:05.820
Announcer: Thank you for loving animals.
00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:07.440
Announcer: Now back to the show.
00:16:09.620 --> 00:16:12.780
Announcer: Let's Talk Pets on PetLifeRadio.com.
00:16:18.476 --> 00:16:20.236
Michael Overlie: Hey, folks, welcome back.
00:16:20.376 --> 00:16:21.916
Michael Overlie: Oh, my God, the power of names.
00:16:21.936 --> 00:16:25.176
Michael Overlie: Now, I want to call my mom and say, did you give me the right name?
00:16:27.036 --> 00:16:35.256
Genie Joseph: Yeah, well, a lot of people on the spiritual path go through a cycle where they'll find another name that expresses their spirit more, and maybe they change it legally, or maybe they don't.
00:16:35.276 --> 00:16:37.916
Genie Joseph: But it's something, you can ask that question for yourself.
00:16:38.316 --> 00:16:47.436
Genie Joseph: Is this name the name that best supports you, and whether or not you choose to decide to change it legally, just, you know, having people that love you call you by the name that you like, or whatever, you know.
00:16:48.756 --> 00:16:51.456
Genie Joseph: It's a worthy question, and not everybody needs to do it.
00:16:51.656 --> 00:16:57.776
Genie Joseph: Many people are fine with the name that they were given at birth, but some people realize that it isn't the best name for them.
00:16:58.276 --> 00:16:59.916
Genie Joseph: So it's just something to play with.
00:17:00.516 --> 00:17:00.836
Genie Joseph: Yeah.
00:17:01.436 --> 00:17:03.156
Michael Overlie: What about kids naming animals?
00:17:03.176 --> 00:17:04.536
Genie Joseph: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:17:04.796 --> 00:17:09.756
Genie Joseph: And sometimes, you know, I knew one little girl named her dog Peaches, and that was fine for that dog.
00:17:10.496 --> 00:17:14.576
Genie Joseph: But not all dogs want a silly little funny little name, and some do.
00:17:15.356 --> 00:17:16.576
Genie Joseph: It just depends on their spirit.
00:17:16.596 --> 00:17:23.156
Genie Joseph: If they're a playful, happy, that every time you hear the name Peaches, it makes you happy, it's fine, it's good, good energy in the house, great.
00:17:23.496 --> 00:17:30.836
Genie Joseph: But if it's like Frank and Beans, where Beans liked his name, but Frank didn't, it really helps this Frank was a very profound being.
00:17:30.856 --> 00:17:35.136
Genie Joseph: I think he was a human, because when he looked at you, you felt like you were looking at a human.
00:17:36.076 --> 00:17:37.336
Genie Joseph: And Frank just didn't do it.
00:17:37.416 --> 00:17:39.576
Genie Joseph: Frank just didn't convey who he was.
00:17:39.616 --> 00:17:41.816
Genie Joseph: So that's what happens sometimes.
00:17:42.476 --> 00:17:51.096
Genie Joseph: Yeah, well, we were talking about Karl Berg, who was a researcher in Venezuela, and he spent decades, actually, studying this one species of parrotlet, which is a small bird.
00:17:51.676 --> 00:17:55.336
Genie Joseph: And parrotlets are very interesting, because they actually...
00:17:55.416 --> 00:18:00.036
Genie Joseph: He's proven that, because he's analyzed their sounds on a computer, they actually have conversations.
00:18:00.196 --> 00:18:01.156
Genie Joseph: I mean, not just like...
00:18:01.276 --> 00:18:04.056
Genie Joseph: I mean, they, you know, like, what you say determines what I say.
00:18:04.076 --> 00:18:07.656
Genie Joseph: You know, I mean, it's really amazing what he's discovered about these little wild birds.
00:18:08.356 --> 00:18:10.896
Genie Joseph: And he discovered that each of them has a name.
00:18:11.456 --> 00:18:18.856
Genie Joseph: And it's really important, because it's very dangerous, like when the female has the babies and she's nesting, she's tucked under and can't see.
00:18:19.196 --> 00:18:23.676
Genie Joseph: She has to know when the husband comes home, he calls her by name, and she can then stick her head up.
00:18:23.956 --> 00:18:30.336
Genie Joseph: If she sticks her head up for the wrong guy, these little parrots do some nasty things, should I tell you?
00:18:30.356 --> 00:18:35.996
Genie Joseph: You know, they steal babies, and they steal wives, and sometimes kill them.
00:18:36.896 --> 00:18:40.436
Genie Joseph: So they can only pick their head up for the husband.
00:18:40.756 --> 00:18:45.096
Genie Joseph: So they have to recognize the call of their name and the call of their mate.
00:18:45.156 --> 00:18:46.076
Genie Joseph: This is in nature.
00:18:46.156 --> 00:18:51.436
Genie Joseph: You know, in nature, animals have ways that they call each other by name.
00:18:51.436 --> 00:18:55.216
Genie Joseph: It's not necessarily a name, not necessarily a sound we can hear.
00:18:55.356 --> 00:18:55.876
Genie Joseph: You know what I mean?
00:18:55.896 --> 00:18:56.576
Genie Joseph: It's not that.
00:18:56.596 --> 00:19:01.156
Genie Joseph: But they have a way that they can indicate, I'm talking to you, dolphin.
00:19:02.036 --> 00:19:02.716
Genie Joseph: You know what I mean?
00:19:03.056 --> 00:19:03.996
Genie Joseph: Not you, Pelican.
00:19:04.356 --> 00:19:06.516
Genie Joseph: So they need to do that.
00:19:06.536 --> 00:19:10.836
Genie Joseph: And it's funny because cats sometimes will pretend like they don't know their name.
00:19:11.076 --> 00:19:13.636
Genie Joseph: There was this one guy, this is in my book, he'd tell this story.
00:19:13.976 --> 00:19:20.336
Genie Joseph: And he was like what he calls a foster fail, meaning he would foster cats and just keep them, which is great.
00:19:20.876 --> 00:19:29.936
Genie Joseph: Okay, so there's one cat named Heidi, and Heidi would refuse to respond to her name, but a dozen cats would be sitting there watching TV, and he'd go, Heidi.
00:19:30.276 --> 00:19:33.576
Genie Joseph: And Heidi would ignore him, but all the other cats would turn and look at Heidi.
00:19:34.876 --> 00:19:38.716
Genie Joseph: They knew who he was talking to, but Heidi was not interested in.
00:19:40.336 --> 00:19:42.636
Genie Joseph: It's funny, it's just a good thing to think about it.
00:19:42.716 --> 00:19:52.696
Genie Joseph: It increases our awareness to recognize that names have power, and given that, why not have the name that serves us, that expresses our spirit?
00:19:52.896 --> 00:19:53.896
Michael Overlie: Yeah, that's fascinating.
00:19:54.116 --> 00:19:58.936
Michael Overlie: So for those who have a hard time with that, though, can they reach out to you for help?
00:19:59.196 --> 00:19:59.516
Genie Joseph: Sure.
00:19:59.536 --> 00:20:01.636
Genie Joseph: This is one of the things that we do.
00:20:02.256 --> 00:20:07.456
Genie Joseph: And there are horses that I met a racehorse, and his name was Ralph, a former racehorse.
00:20:07.876 --> 00:20:13.556
Genie Joseph: And Ralph, nothing wrong with the name Ralph, but it didn't really suit him, is he had another quality.
00:20:13.576 --> 00:20:18.696
Genie Joseph: Now, I told the owners that his name was Romeo, and that was too big a stretch for them.
00:20:18.716 --> 00:20:20.716
Genie Joseph: So they continued to call him Ralph, and that's okay.
00:20:20.996 --> 00:20:25.896
Genie Joseph: But when I see him, I call him Romeo, like kind of like what you did with Lady with the horse.
00:20:26.456 --> 00:20:34.196
Genie Joseph: So yeah, so our book, The Human-Animal Connection, goes through this in a lot of detail, helps people understand this in more detail.
00:20:34.216 --> 00:20:41.696
Genie Joseph: And it's available on Amazon, and it's also now available as an audiobook, so people can listen to it as an audiobook.
00:20:42.136 --> 00:20:44.116
Genie Joseph: So that's really exciting.
00:20:44.296 --> 00:20:45.656
Michael Overlie: Oh, I didn't know it was out.
00:20:46.916 --> 00:20:49.196
Genie Joseph: And they can also call me, and we do consultations.
00:20:49.216 --> 00:20:54.876
Genie Joseph: And that's one of the things that people often are interested in, is just my animal have the right name, and I do not do this casually.
00:20:54.896 --> 00:20:58.516
Genie Joseph: I mean, sometimes I will take a couple of weeks and just really listen.
00:20:59.276 --> 00:21:12.856
Genie Joseph: And some animals, like if they need more grounded energy, they'll want a longer name or a name with more consonants, and some animals need more yin energy, more feminine energy, they want more vowels or a name that ends with a vowel or different things.
00:21:12.876 --> 00:21:15.276
Genie Joseph: But there's no like right or wrong name.
00:21:15.276 --> 00:21:19.756
Genie Joseph: It's just what is the name that best expresses the spirit of the animal.
00:21:21.016 --> 00:21:30.416
Genie Joseph: Yeah, like I have a friend, and this was all new to her, all this stuff about animal communication, but she wanted to do a communication session with her cat named Jupiter.
00:21:30.856 --> 00:21:35.796
Genie Joseph: And one of the things she wanted to know was, did Jupiter, a shelter rescue, have the right name?
00:21:36.136 --> 00:21:39.396
Genie Joseph: And yes, Jupiter was very happy with this name.
00:21:39.416 --> 00:21:40.476
Michael Overlie: I like that.
00:21:40.736 --> 00:21:41.076
Genie Joseph: Yeah.
00:21:41.436 --> 00:21:43.316
Michael Overlie: Yeah, the energy of it, right?
00:21:43.336 --> 00:21:45.796
Genie Joseph: Yeah, it's a good feeling to know that when you're...
00:21:45.816 --> 00:22:03.356
Genie Joseph: Because you're using it so many times a day, it should evoke a sense of that being's solar essence, and it should inspire good feelings when you say the name and just the energy of the name because names have energy.
00:22:04.356 --> 00:22:05.356
Genie Joseph: How do you feel about your name?
00:22:05.596 --> 00:22:06.356
Genie Joseph: Do you like your name?
00:22:06.636 --> 00:22:12.496
Michael Overlie: Oh, I joke about it a lot because it's pretty common, but yeah, I think it suits me.
00:22:13.676 --> 00:22:14.876
Michael Overlie: Yeah, that's good.
00:22:14.976 --> 00:22:18.696
Michael Overlie: I wouldn't do well as Romeo or Tank.
00:22:19.136 --> 00:22:19.736
Genie Joseph: There are some...
00:22:19.756 --> 00:22:22.176
Genie Joseph: Like some dogs can have an absolutely...
00:22:22.436 --> 00:22:25.756
Genie Joseph: Like Henry, there's one donkey...
00:22:25.776 --> 00:22:27.156
Genie Joseph: I forgot his name.
00:22:27.256 --> 00:22:36.496
Genie Joseph: I forgot his name, but he has a donkey sanctuary, I think, in Spain, and he has this beautiful white donkey named Steve, and it's the perfect name for this donkey.
00:22:36.676 --> 00:22:39.776
Genie Joseph: So it doesn't have to be a fancy name to make it a right name.
00:22:39.796 --> 00:22:42.156
Genie Joseph: It doesn't have to be a spiritual name or an exotic name.
00:22:42.396 --> 00:22:43.236
Genie Joseph: It can be Steve.
00:22:44.036 --> 00:22:49.436
Genie Joseph: You know, for that donkey, it's perfect because he's kind of playful and goofy and dorky.
00:22:49.436 --> 00:22:50.736
Genie Joseph: And I shouldn't...
00:22:50.736 --> 00:22:53.996
Genie Joseph: I mean, I don't mean to say that the name Steve is all those things, but it just...
00:22:54.296 --> 00:22:55.076
Genie Joseph: It fits him.
00:22:55.276 --> 00:22:55.776
Genie Joseph: It fits him.
00:22:55.796 --> 00:23:03.696
Genie Joseph: You can see when he calls him Steve, there's love, and he feels the love in his heart when he's calling Steve, and Steve feels that he's loved by being called Steve.
00:23:04.076 --> 00:23:09.516
Genie Joseph: You know, having a more ordinary or common name is just what's right for him.
00:23:09.516 --> 00:23:17.956
Genie Joseph: So it doesn't mean that every dog has to have a name you can't pronounce or something, or, you know, six syllables or something, some Hindu name or...
00:23:18.536 --> 00:23:18.876
Genie Joseph: Yeah.
00:23:19.196 --> 00:23:20.356
Michael Overlie: Or Mestris Magistus.
00:23:20.576 --> 00:23:21.156
Genie Joseph: Yeah, right.
00:23:21.236 --> 00:23:23.276
Genie Joseph: A Hawaiian name Kalani Anioli.
00:23:23.276 --> 00:23:26.476
Genie Joseph: You know, it's like, yeah, no, it doesn't have to have that.
00:23:27.236 --> 00:23:29.356
Genie Joseph: But yeah, so it's just something to play with, you know.
00:23:29.376 --> 00:23:29.696
Genie Joseph: It's just...
00:23:29.996 --> 00:23:31.376
Genie Joseph: This is just food for thought.
00:23:31.436 --> 00:23:37.016
Genie Joseph: And maybe your dog has the perfect name, not saying that they don't, or your cat, but it's just something to consider.
00:23:37.016 --> 00:23:40.436
Genie Joseph: It's just say, you know, ask your animal and just listen.
00:23:40.816 --> 00:23:44.036
Genie Joseph: And when I say listen, I don't mean necessarily that you're going to hear it in that moment.
00:23:44.436 --> 00:23:47.076
Genie Joseph: Just muse on this and see what happens.
00:23:47.716 --> 00:23:52.356
Genie Joseph: And you might try another name if you get another name, and you might say, you know what?
00:23:52.576 --> 00:23:54.276
Genie Joseph: Darby's just the right name for my dog.
00:23:54.576 --> 00:23:56.376
Genie Joseph: I don't want to change my dog's name.
00:23:56.416 --> 00:23:57.376
Genie Joseph: Darby's just fine.
00:24:00.636 --> 00:24:06.156
Genie Joseph: And guess next episode, we're going to be talking about power animals and spirit guides.
00:24:07.756 --> 00:24:09.296
<v SPEAKER_1>Ooh, I'm excited.
00:24:09.356 --> 00:24:11.256
Michael Overlie: I miss Ted Andrews.
00:24:11.276 --> 00:24:12.816
Michael Overlie: You remember Ted Andrews?
00:24:13.016 --> 00:24:13.456
Michael Overlie: Yeah.
00:24:13.476 --> 00:24:13.896
Michael Overlie: Yes.
00:24:14.596 --> 00:24:14.896
Michael Overlie: Yeah.
00:24:14.916 --> 00:24:18.016
Genie Joseph: Yeah, he's been at it a long time.
00:24:18.136 --> 00:24:18.476
Genie Joseph: Yeah.
00:24:18.656 --> 00:24:18.996
Genie Joseph: Yeah.
00:24:19.236 --> 00:24:23.556
Genie Joseph: Well, we'll say aloha for now, and thank you for joining us at The Human-Animal Connection.
00:24:23.676 --> 00:24:28.856
Genie Joseph: And feel free to get in touch with us on our website, thehumananimalconnection.org.
00:24:29.556 --> 00:24:33.456
Genie Joseph: And if you'd like a consultation, you can book one there and get in touch with us.
00:24:33.516 --> 00:24:38.276
Genie Joseph: And we'd love to see you again, hear you again, feel you again in our next podcast.
00:24:43.293 --> 00:24:46.173
Genie Joseph: Thank you for tuning in to the Human-Animal Connection show.
00:24:46.513 --> 00:24:50.793
Genie Joseph: Please visit our website, thehumananimalconnection.org.
00:24:51.233 --> 00:24:57.753
Genie Joseph: There you can sign up for our free email newsletter, book a consultation, or check out our blogs and resources.
00:24:58.093 --> 00:25:02.813
Genie Joseph: Our best-selling book, The Human-Animal Connection, is available on Amazon.
00:25:03.113 --> 00:25:09.053
Genie Joseph: And your donation of any amount keeps our non-profit organization providing life-changing services.
00:25:09.533 --> 00:25:21.593
Genie Joseph: You can reach Michael Overlie, author of Let Your Dog Lead, musings on how to create an exceptional life on his website at dogsandmen.com or email michael at dogsandmen.com.
00:25:24.753 --> 00:25:30.753
Announcer: Let's Talk Pets, every week on demand, only on PetLifeRadio.com.