Dogs bring so much to our lives - from boosting our mental health to increasing our physical fitness and sparking our creativity. Most dog owners have nicknames for their pets inspired by their real name or their appearance, hobbies or behaviours.
That's exactly how one man started calling his dog Onion after slipping up saying her real name. Taking to Reddit, he said: "This is a bit of an inside joke with my family. I have a dog named Anya. One day when I was calling her inside, when she was still a young puppy, I said onion by mistake, and she came running.
"It's kind of been a running joke in my family that we call her Onion instead of Anya - she responds to both." His dog's nickname was nothing more than a family joke until a woman took personal offence to it when he visited a pet store to pick out new toys for his precious pets.
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Getty Images)"I was in Petco with my dogs picking out toys and getting some kitty litter," he said.
"A kid maybe about 14 came up and he was picking out a toy for his dog.
"He saw mine and asked if he could pet them. I didn't mind and let him pet my dogs.
"He asks their names and I say, ' Oh the black one is Onion ( just let it slip out of habit) and the black and white one is Pippin'."
The child couldn't help but laugh at the dog's name, saying "Onion? That's a weird name for a dog".
In response, the man said: " Did I say Onion? Her name is Anya, when she was a puppy I called her Onion by mistake it just became a running joke."
After correcting himself, the man heard the sound of a woman clearing her throat before starting up a conversation about his dogs.
He said: "She was nice, at first, and she asked about my dogs and we just chat for a minute, and then the kid tells her about how I call Anya, Onion.
"The Karen said, 'Why would you name a dog after a vegetable? That is inappropriate! And what kind of name is Anya? Wouldn't Princess do better?"
The man politely told her "Anya is Anya" before walking off to continue browsing the pet products.
But as he was walking away, he heard her shout: "No, you will name your dog Princess! It's a good dog name!"
"I turned back and Karen continued to whine about how Princess was such a good name for my dog and how she deserves her more than I do because I named her a horrible Russian name. I paid for my things and left," he added.
Commenting on his post, one user said: "I named a dog Pizza... no name is stupid for a dog."
Another user added: "Name her Nunya, as in 'business'."
A third user said: "I have a cat named Cpt Jack but he has so many nicknames that if you say anything he just assumes you're talking to him."
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