Ugh. That’s the part I don’t like. On the way home, we stopped at the vet’s. My son and I stayed nt the car while my husband went inside. When he came out, he said they’d asked for a name, and because the dog was mostly white, he said, “Whitey.” I groaned. He said we could always change it. I said, “You wait. It’ll end up being permanent.” Every name one of us suggested, the other vetoed.
The name stuck.
I did that once, called a puppy Midget meaning to just use it as an affectionate nickname, but it stuck as her actual name.
She was a German Shepherd/Airedale cross. 
We had a cat named Whitey, for the same reason. Dumb name but a good cat.
I adopted a kitten many years ago when I drove past a house with a “Free Kittens” sign. As I carried my wriggly little fur bundle back to my car I said “Stop struggling, you little Muffin. [pause] Oh, my, I think I named you.” And so it was.
Oh, that gave me a good laugh. Thanks!
I love this!
To continue the name saga about 5 years after we got the white dog, I pushed for getting a second dog. W. was 10, and the average lifespan of an English setter is 10-12 years. (Who knew he’d live to age 17?) I thought a second dog would soften the blow for the kids.
Well, another teacher had a dog he planned to shoot. His son had given a black lab puppy to his girlfriend as a gift a year or so earlier. They broke up, and she brought back the dog, which they didn’t want. The poor dog had had and weaned a litter of pups before she was a year old. She was tied up outside within snacking range of the trash, so she had worms (two kinds). And she had a gash on her shoulder which had been stitched with 20 lb. test fishing line. She was a gentle, loving, smelly soul, who I think saved my life. Her name was Sadie.
For no good reason, I didn’t much like that name, either. I tried to get the hubs and kids to call her “Shady,” thinking that might make “Whitey” sound better, but it was a no-go. There’s more to her story, but it doesn’t fit the topic, so I’ll shut up now.
I love reading all these pet stories!
My wife and I have had a number of cats over the past 40+ years, all except my very first (a calico Angora named Princess Alexandra of Denmark, or Sandy for short) adopted as strays or from friends/relatives who couldn’t keep them any longer. There have only been brief periods where we were catless, and we had 6 for several years. Our current cat is apparently a pure-bred Siamese who my sister-in-law found in her back yard and was unable to find anyone in the nieghbourhood who had lost her.
Namewise, when I was a teen, the rest of the family went down East to a family wedding and came back with a tuxedo kitten who had been hanging around their motel. He stayed for 16 years as TC - short for The Cat - because my sisters couldn’t agree on a name for him. Another stray kitten acquired a few years later became LC - for Little Cat.