Dog Names Meaning Angel

Dogs often play the role of the furry guardian angels in our lives, and it is not uncommon for us to give them a name that reflects this. Leland Dirks, an author who lives off-the-grid in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, employed this method when he named his Border Collie Angelo. When Angelo disappeared for forty days and nights in 2010, Leland was inspired to write the fiction novel Angelo’s Journey followed shortly by Seven Dogs in Heaven, both of which he credits as collaborative efforts between himself and the canine. Angel was also the name of the Golden Labrador guide dog that was matched with Kathy Champion, a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the US Army who lost her sight due to a virus she contracted in Iraq. Angel gave Champion the independence and the freedom that she thought had been lost forever and the two became inseparable, visiting the Grand Canyon, touring the studio of NBC Nightly News, and Angel even became the first dog to attend Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, where she experienced the effects of zero gravity and flew in fighter jet simulators.

The Foreman family in western Canada also went this route when naming their dog, a name which the eighteen-month-old Golden Retriever fully lived up to when she put her life on the line in defense of her young charge 11-year-old Austin Foreman. The two went out to gather firewood from their backyard where they encountered a predatory mountain lion who charged the boy. Angel intercepted the much larger cat and proceeded to fight the animal, enduring violent bites and scratches to the face and neck until a nearby constable was able to kill the cougar. Although she had several deep gashes and bites, overall Angel was remarkably undamaged from the encounter with the hunter and was later rewarded with a huge steak.

Angel the therapy dog in Houston, Texas was different from the beginning; she was born in nearby Porter, not only as a singleton, with no other brothers or sisters in her litter to grow up with but also missing an eye and a leg. The breeder, Barbara Shapely went against veterinary advice and chose not to euthanize the little Golden Retriever, instead finding her a home with Trish Herrera, the co-founder of the Golden Retriever Rescue in Houston, where the bright and active young dog began her training. She has since received several awards and certifications including Canine Good Citizen, AKC Therapy Dog Advanced, and Faithful Paws Therapy Dog, among others, and regularly visits several local hospitals and assisted living residences, and even works with students at the University of Houston. Angel also received the honor of being named Houston’s Official Therapy Dog on July 21, 2015, chosen to represent all of the therapy pets in Houston at an event held at Houston City Hall, and a stuffed dog with three legs and a missing eye modeled after her.