Adopting a new pet is a huge responsibility.
They become your companion, and it’s up to you to make sure they are comfortable and you’ll see their personality flourish.
That’s why picking the right name can be a challenge. But, since you’re the owner, it is your choice.
Redditor aitadognamekuci encountered this very issue with their parents. So they turned to the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit for moral judgment.
They asked:
“AITA for naming my dog Lucifer?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“I just got a puppy. Originally he was sexed as female, and the shelter given name was Lucy.”
“He replied to it so I kept it. A few weeks later I found out he was a boy, but he already responded to his name, so I jokingly just lengthened it to Lucifer and I call him Luci.”
“He’s a GSD/Rottie mix, so he sort of looks like what you’d expect hellhounds to.”
OP’s issue is their parents.
“The issue comes in with my father; he is a priest, and has been since I was a kid.”
“He doesn’t like dogs anyway. In his opinion dogs are the devils animal. I grew up with cats (as the opposite of dogs they were obviously the opposite of hell, so, heavens animals) and so when they found out I was getting a dog, he prayed for me, yada yada.”
“I never really believed in all the Jesus stuff, and if you ask anyone my dog is named after Lucifer from the show, not the literal devil, because to me he doesn’t exist.”
“Plus my girlfriend is a witch, so I’m basically as far from Christianity as one can get.”
OP’s sister found out.
“Anyway, my sister saw a post on Instagram where I used his full name. No big deal. Well, I thought it wasn’t.”
“My mom called me, sobbing, saying I’d been preyed upon and I needed to get rid of my dog immediately. After a while I explained he hadn’t forced me to give him that name (because he’s a dog. All he knows is poop on mom’s floor and eat her expensive shoes) and I chose it for him.”
“Since then they have been begging for me to change it. It’s a name, so I’m thinking it’s pretty funny. Besides, satanism doesn’t sound that bad.”
OP doesn’t know what to do.
“Jokes aside, it’s getting really serious. Like, my dad showed up to baptize my dog kind of serious.”
“I told him to f*ck off, and told them they were all blowing it was out of proportion.”
“My girlfriend thinks we should just change his name to appease them, and I am thinking we may have to, but I really don’t want to. He’s my dog, and I should be allowed to name him whatever the f*ck I want.”
“Am I the asshole?”
“Changing his name wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but it almost feels like I’m letting them win again.”
Redditors gave their opinions on the situation by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Most Redditors agreed OP was not the a**hole.
“NTA”
“Just change his insta name to Lou C. Fur.” ~ Stabmesomemore
“That’s a good one.” ~ aitadognamekuci
“Make your parents happy and tell them the dog’s name is Louis Christian Fur 👼“ ~ DerLyndis
“I had a cat named Lucifer. He was pure black and an absolute demon when we got him as a kitten (he once demanded to be picked up for a cuddle and promptly bit my arm hard enough to break the skin).”
“It was the perfect name for him but we ended up calling him Lucy most of the time. But the shelter we adopted him from was very unimpressed with the name. We just shrugged it off since it wasn’t their cat anymore.” ~ Without-Reward
“Huh I have a rescue we named Lilith due to her being an unholy terror. Nah, she was just a hyper baby who was screaming outside my spouse’s work for hours until they ended their shift and could bring her home just being a hyper little handful. Just a baby being a baby.”
“She’s over a year old and she has her moments. Recently I was talking very softly/sweetly about being nice and she tried to claw my eye. I was not amused. Like she’s loving and sweet 99.5% or so of the time, but when she’s bad she’s terribly so.”
“Currently she’s sleeping on my lap and is going to be very cross with me and fuss at me when I have to move her to go to the bathroom and then go to sleep.” ~ ChaosAzeroth
Some were confused.
“Cats have been associated with the devil and witchcraft for a very long time. OP’s dad is probably just an extreme cat person who is using religion to justify his preferences.”
“NTA” ~ Waury
“Right?? I thought cats were the evil ones??”
“(I love both cats and dogs, but from having both cats are more evil for sure hahahaha)” ~ ooiprocs
“Same I love both a lot but my kitties definitely cause more problems on purpose than our dog.” ~ Elegant-Espeon
“Thought that was strange as well for a Christian, cats should be the evil ones there.
Perhaps he should convert to Islam. At least there dogs are the devil and cats are the good ones.” ~ IzzyTheFox
“That’s what I’ve always read and heard. When the witch trials were going on in England, they not only burned men and women (primarily women) at the stake, but also cats. Cats suffered the same fate that humans did.” ~ PatrickRsGhost
“Sorry but you lost me at ‘dogs are the devils animal.’ NTA but maybe just keep it to Luci to keep the peace.” ~ NatZaJu
“Also, both US President John Adams and polar explorer Ernest Shackleton had dogs named Satan, so he’s actually in good company with the devil theme.” ~ neurealis
Redditors want OP to go all out!
“Screw that. Go full out.”
“‘Lucifer Beelzebub, Heraldic dog of Satan himself, 5th in line to inherit the dark throne.'”
“Give the dog a proper name.” ~ UWillDoWhatICouldNot
“Or, to quote (the book) Good Omens, the dog’s full name could be Lucifer ‘Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called Dragon, Prince of This World, Father of Lies, Spawn of Satan, and Lord of Darkness’.” ~ Charliesmum97
I think it’s safe to say all dogs belong in heaven, regardless of their name.