What To Call a Pig
I found as I was writing about Beorn last week that I struggled with what to call him.
Not his name, obviously, but “pet” felt a little too… owner-ish. He lived in my house. I paid for all of his care and upkeep, but in the end, I didn’t own him. I couldn’t force him to interact with me or give affection back. He wasn’t an object. Calling him a pet felt wrong.
I’m not really a “fur baby” sort of person, though he was definitely my baby. I would swaddle him and carry him around the house like a baby and tell him he was my baby. He was an enormous priority, though there was a difference between Beorn and the twins. Calling him my fur baby felt wrong, too.
His big personality transcended the impersonal “animal,” and he was so much more than your run-of-the-mill “guinea pig.” I wish there was a better term out there to describe our relationship or how he fit into our family and what I lost. Because that’s the sentence I’ve had trouble completing, “I’ve lost my…” My heart? My comfort? My emotional support? My soft, sweet boy?
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I usually refer to my dogs as “the boys.” But they’re ornery little jerkfaces, so I call them that too. The one we got as a puppy is still “baby dog,” while the senior we adopted is sometimes my “old man.”
I don’t think anyone has just one name for their animal family members.
This is such a perfect description. When I had to tell people our cats were gone, I didn’t feel like I was accurately conveying our huge loss. Except to the others who feel the same about these tiny creatures that become so central to our lives. My then-10 year old came right out and said our cat was her best friend and that broke my heart but also was so spot on and honest that I was a bit envious she had the words I didn’t.
Your buddy? He was always there to hang out with you and support you and snuggle and interact and be there. He was a companion. A big part of your life and it hurts when that goes.
Sometimes language is just so limited. Maybe this is why people express their love and loss in poetry – it goes so much deeper than just words.
In Russian, the term for pet is домашний любимец, which sort of means love of the home. Or domestic favorite. All translations are kind of awkward and still do not perfectly represent the connection and the relationship.
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