When I was searching for a business name the play on words of my dog
biting (which he doesn't do because he's too friendly), using the computer
term 'bytes' instead of bites, seemed just right, so Gizmo Bytes was registered.
It turned out that he was preceded by six previous dogs, that had run
away from next door and one that the brats had killed the first day they
had it. The father unashamedly explained that, "the kids just hit
it with sticks"! The ages of the sons were about 7, 5 and 3 years
old when the dog moved in with us. As a result a new name had to be found. The dog is a 'Bengi' size mutt,
wheat coloured, very cute, affectionate and 'talks' a lot via a combination
of whines, grumbles, moans and almost cat-like purrs. I was reminded of
Gizmo's crooning from the 'Gremlins' movie and he also had similar ears.
GIZMO he became and he loved both the new name and his new home and people. There were not the expected problems in changing his name. It was as
if he felt I loved him more by giving him a new name. Now he doesn't even
respond to Sam. He does respond to 'Gizmo' and to 'do you want... :
car; walk; dinner; or cuddle' and the other boring day to day stuff. I have no idea of his parentage but I am reasonably sure he has Australian
Terrier, Maltese Terrier and Whippet in his gene bank. He is only small
but loves to run almost as much as he loves to sleep (especially under
the doonas of the bed). I have clocked him running for fun beside the
car (safely about 30 metres to the side) at 35 km/hour running with ease,
with bursts of up to 40 km/hour for short bursts. Along with being a very social dog who loves practically ALL people,
he thinks all other dogs were placed on this earth to play with him. He
is a very strong part of my sanity, as a dog always understands when you
need some love and affection. A house is never empty when it has a dog.
So that is the background to the name!
Gizmo Bytes - the
name
I had my dog
Gizmo adopt me as his owner after he decided the abuse he suffered from
the brats next door was too much. When he started to move in, by sleeping
on my front porch, I left an old sheet out there for him and gave him a
bath. After about four weeks of that, I asked the father of the kids next
door if I could keep the dog that had moved out of their house. With his
agreement the little dog moved in. At first his name remained as Sam, but
when the kids next door got another dog, that they automatically named Sam,
I could see confusion in the future.
Gizmo
loves to go anywhere in the car and always want to be near his 'people',
especially me. This is why, when I started sailing,
I made him his own dog lifejacket. Not only does he gain some floatation,
he is also easier for me to possibly rescue, should he ever fall overboard,
as it gives me a handle by which to lift him back into the boat. He
also considers it somewhat 'cool' to have his own sailing jacket. I
have a very fashion conscious dog who considers anything that draws
attention from people to be great. Attention increases his chance of
increased cuddles, pats and affection — all very important to him.
Last revised 15 November, 1997.