Etymology of our "Duchess"

Although you will rarely hear me say "Duchess" as I prefer to call her simply "Dutch" in public, her proper name is in fact Duchess.

And though most people close to me and Heather are very familiar with Duchess, few know how we came to name her such a girly, Hollywood-esque doggy name.

The summer prior to my proposal to Heather and the acquiring of Dutch my roommate and I had a little beagle mix come stay with us for a few days. We didn't know who the owner was or the name of the puppy, so we just called him Duke. Duke is a large part in the transformation of Heather into a dog lover. She would come over and fawn over Duke and talk about wanting one just like him. Well, when I found Dutch, a little beagle mix, Heather knew right away that Duchess was a perfect name as a counterpart to little Duke.

Here are some pictures of when Duke lived with me. Duke and Wheeler played like they were old friends.