Dog Names Ending in q

Coming up with a dog name that ends in "q" is hard enough, but how do you go on to explain how the name came about? If it relates to a dog in pop culture - such as a celebrity dog, film, or TV, then it makes the process so much easier.

Take the dog Raq, for example. Raq was a blue roan English Cocker Spaniel owned by the famous George Bramwell Evens. George went by the pseudonym of Romany or The Tramp and was a British Radio broadcaster and countryside writer. He wrote and spoke of natural history matters and was also a minister of a Methodist Church.

Raq had a prominent role in Romany’s life, who took on his pseudonym because of his mom’s upbringing as a gypsy - born in a gypsy wagon (vardo). Raq appeared in all of Romany’s books and broadcasts and got his name from the Romani language. Raq means beloved dog.

Romany chose an English Cocker Spaniel because he believed the breed was the most sensible and lovable thing on four legs. He was right, for Raq was his shadow on every country walk he took and was his most constant companion.

We talk about Raq as one dog, but he was several. Romany called every male dog he owned Raq, but his one female dog was Ruin. Romany’s last dog Raq came from an internationally famous line of English Cocker Spaniels that won ‘best in show’ at the Crufts Dog Show for several years during the 1930s.

Many of Romany’s listeners loved Raq as he would often be in the studio during his famous Out with Romany programmes. Every time Romany would mention his name, Raq would bark. Sometimes, he would make a noise when there was no cue for him to do so and Romany would have to try and add it into the conversation.

It may be hard to understand the extent of the love that Romany had for his dogs, but if you were to see the kennel plans he sketched out, you would know. Instead of Raq’s kennel being a small box for shelter, it was more like a small house. Most dog owners would not go to the same trouble as Romany did every day - ensuring he included Raq in everything he did.

Romany’s final dog outlived him by four years, and children of the Romany Society made a badge to commemorate this lovable dog that Romany loved with all his heart. Raq now rests by Romany’s vardo.