Star Inspired Dog Names

In the modern era, the name Sirius has long since departed from its historical origins in mythology. It’s now more well known as the name of satellite radio or the name of a prominent character in the Harry Potter series — likely a purposeful decision since the character transforms into a black dog. 

But before the name was popularized to the point of mainstream recognition, it also existed as the title of a science fiction character during a politically turbulent time in world history. In 1944, philosopher and author Olaf Stapleton penned a book that took a unique look at the life of a hyper-intelligent dog amidst the throes of World War II, titled Sirius: A Fantasy of Love and Discord. 

In the book, Sirius is a dog with humanlike intelligence thanks to being raised by scientist Thomas Trelone, whose experiments center around using steroids and other chemical substances to expedite the cognitive power of dogs. His efforts are initially aimed at creating super sheepdogs, but as Sirius develops, Trelone realizes he’s more akin to the average person, eventually developing the ability to speak English words, even though it takes a while for others to understand his pronunciation. Strangely enough, Sirius is born at the same time as Trelone’s daughter Plaxy, who is raised as the dog’s sister. Their early bond is strong, but lessens with time as Sirius is more in tune with sound as Plaxy is stimulated by visual aesthetics and eventually attends a series of schools of which Sirius can not. In the meantime, Sirius is submitted to a farmer as a super sheepdog, his intelligence kept quiet. After returning home for the holidays, Sirius finally describes his difficulties to Trelone whom eventually decides to show his academic colleagues his canine experiment, thus turning him into a pampered lab animal.

But the new scenery also takes a toll on Sirius and he begins to decline thanks in part to the environment and the waning care of his human sister Plaxy. Through his struggles, he ponders the hypocrisy of mankind, a path that leads him first to scent, then to a spiritual epiphany that turns him to search for a god. His foster mother eventually takes him to a priest, but Sirius soon discovers that human religion is often lost in doctrine and mythology and becomes disheartened. 

Depressed and confused amidst the war, Sirius eventually turns against his human-like upbringing in favor of a more wolf-like existence, a similarly irrational and destructive existence. By the time Plaxy recognizes the deep bond they had, she finds him feral, running from the persecution of religious zealots. In the end, he is shot fleeing for Scotland with his beloved sister, telling her in his dying words that despite the intensity, difficulties, and constant existential questioning, her love made life worth living. 

As deep and poignant as the book gets, it is one of few works of fiction to take the perception of a dog and infuse it in a historical context to find a profoundly meaningful look at human existence from both the inside and out. In turn, it also encapsulates the intense bond formed between two unlike species whose existence is cemented in seeking and experiencing the beauty of universal love.