My middle name is Marie. This name has been carried down from my mother all the way up to my great-grandmother. Just like it is a legacy in my family being passed down, it is also a legacy in my kennel names and everything I do in my kennels. All my dogs’ names carry a piece of me in special ways.
A perfect example is Avenger’s Waylon Da Glacier N’ Granite Griot Bluez. The name Avenger honors the breeder that bred him, Avenger Danes, showing respect to their kennel and where he came from. I chose the name Waylon because one of my mentors from Jazzy Boxers had a male dog named Waylon, and I wanted to honor that. I also chose it because Waylon sounds like wailing, which means to sing.
He is singing about the Glacier and the N’ Granite that passed through here in Michigan. I use the N’ in all my dogs’ names to honor my dog Duty Danes Wadin’ In The Dead Pool, who passed away. You can see this same tribute in the names of Ragnar Chasin’ Faith and Sapphire’s Breezy Rhythm N’ Blues. By including the N’, he is always with us.
In the blues tradition, a Griot is a storyteller. Because he is blue in color, he is the storyteller, singing the blues of depression and the story of Duty Danes to everyone. He is trying to take the blues of depression away and put in a special kind of blue, healing hearts one paw at a time.