My best friend Gus, the incredibly handsome and awesome-in-every-way white lab, overheard Jane and I talking about names. He was interested in all the different things she calls me besides Cody, such as Codus. Coco,.Kookaburra , Mischief, Trouble, Licorice Stick, Chocolate Cake and many other dessert type foods that don’t make much sense like Pumpkin Pie, and, of course, Cody The Wonderful Dog. There are songs she sings, too, but we won’t go into that because, well, she’s not a very good singer.

Gus also heard Jane talking to someone whose dog’s name is Taj Mahal but who goes by Taj. Jane told them that Gus is really St Augustine but he goes by Gus.

Gus pulled me aside and asked me to ask her if it were true. He said he’d always suspected he was a saint but wasn’t for sure.

Jane said she believed that’s  who he’d been named after but didn’t know if it was, in fact, his formal name.

Gus said he is pretty sure his ” actual formal name” is  “Gustopher Todd” because he and Todd are, you know, related. 

Jane said she was pretty sure it’s probably Gus Evans, but I said I think Gustopher Todd has a nice ring to it.

Gus says that in dog land, you get to call yourself anything you want, so that’s what I call him. Jane said she would call him that, too, if that’s what he wants. He said he likes it, but that it’s also fine to just call him Gus if we want, but that Saint Gustopher Todd is also acceptable, for example, if other dogs and people visit and introductions are being made.

We agreed. And told him we’d pass it along. So, consider yourself formally introduced.