My Gold Medal Pooch

My tiny dog, Soji, a pure-bred Chihuahua, started out in life as a Christmas present, given to a three-year-old girl by her (monumentally stupid) grandmother. The child’s lack of responsibility toward her pet, not to mention her habit of manhandling the little puppy, led her family to insist the dog be surrendered to the local humane society. That’s where I adopted her when she was nine months old, which was nearly 12 years ago.

I have been asked if my tiny dog was named after Sochi, Russia, where the Winter Olympics are currently underway, and, if so, does she like vodka.

The name given to her by her previous owners was pronounced the same way as the Russian town but spelled Sochee. I didn’t much care for that, but I knew someone named Soji, which I did like and which sounded the same to the dog, so I ran with it.

Information about her original name is a bit sketchy, but it is apparently a common girl’s name in Mexico, although it is actually spelled Xochitl, or sometimes Xoche. Sochee is a phonetic spelling and might also not be the only pronunciation. Xochitl is the Aztec word for flower and also the name of an Aztec goddess.

As for Soji, it appears to be a common boy’s name in Japan, although the man I knew named Soji was from India. In Hindi and/or Sanskrit, soji can mean sharp or pointed, and there is also an ingredient in certain Indian dishes called soji, which is sort of like semolina.

So, after all that, God only knows what my tiny dog is named after, but as to the second part of that question – no, she prefers tequila.