Naming the Spaniel - It's Toller Related!

Finding the right name for a dog is very important to me, and for the first time in over 25 years I was tasked with naming a dog that was not a Toller. Angws's puppy name was Tommy, and we thought about keeping that but Tom was my father-in-law's name, and he was still with us when we brought Angws home earlier this year. I thought a WSS pup deserved a good Celtic name and I did quite a lot of research before settling on Angws. My studies revealed that Angws means "one choice", "superb" or "unique" and I thought this was a very fitting name for a singleton pup. 

The registered name was more challenging. My breeder's kennel name is Wyndyn. Because Angws was a singleton, she asked that I use "one" as the theme. So many choices! But I didn't want to make an obvious choice like "one in a million", "one for the road" or "one and only". I would run an idea past George, only to have it shot down. At one point I said, a little sarcastically, "How about, Takes One to Know One?" He said "yes!" and as I said it out loud, I realized how fitting it was. Koan is also a singleton. So it takes one to know one. Emphasis on our two ones vs. the catty way this phrase is usually delivered. Angws's breeder approved and he was registered as Wyndyn Takes One to Know One.