A Pug Named Toast and How He Got His Name

A long time ago I wrote a post about the new addition to our family– a little boy that just happens to be a black pug.  We named him Toast!  There is a story behind this of course. So, this is the story of a pug named Toast and how he got his name. P.S. Toast has his own Instagram account. You can follow him or see all his photos there. His handle is @apugnamedtoast (click HERE to get there).

We actually had the name before we had the dog.  It was something Matt and I had talked about, laughed about and dreamed about for years.  We got the idea for a pug probably over a decade ago when we were watching one of the Men in Black movies together.  Matt got a kick out of the pug in that movie and he said he wanted one someday because pugs are hilarious (that is so true by the way!).

My parents had an Australian Shepherd named Kassie and she was very stubborn about coming when she was called.  Mom would let her out to potty at night, open the back door to call for her , but she wouldn’t come.  There was one thing Kassie really liked though. That thing was toast. She LOVED toast.  Mom discovered that yelling “toast!!” out the back door would get her to come in.

Matt and I used to hang out at my parents house a lot when we were dating and it became this ridiculous thing we would laugh about.  We’d be watching a movie and hear my mom outside late at night in the pitch dark screaming “TOAST!!!!!”  I’d laugh and say, can you imagine how crazy that must sound to the neighbors?  A woman screaming about toast outside in the middle of the night? That is when it hit us. We had to have a dog named Toast one day haha.

We were trying to think of what breed of dog would most look like a piece of toast.  Putting two and two together, I remembered the pug Matt wanted and said , “Perfect! We will get a pug and name him Toast”.  That was over a decade ago, but it was decided right then and there.  The timing was never right to get a dog, as we needed a house first and we had too many cats.

Fast forward to the last couple of years when two of our beloved cats died and we were now home owners.  The search for our own little piece of Toast began 🙂 .  I had it in my head that it for sure had to be a boy, because we could call him Mr. T for short.  I envisioned him wearing a little t shirt with a capital T on the front, like he was some kind of super hero.  (and of course named after the tv character Mr. T). I also wanted a traditional fawn colored pug, because that coloring would most resemble a piece of toasted bread , being light brown with maybe some black around the edges 😀 .  Can you tell how well thought out this was?!

It didn’t quite happen this way because there were only black male pugs available and no fawn colored male pugs.  When we saw the photo of Toast though, we knew he was the one.  We decided he could just be burnt Toast instead , ha!  We DID call him Mr. T for short for awhile, but that nickname didn’t stick.  I found myself calling him “The Toastman”, which is still super hero like in my opinion. One day I will get him a shirt with a capital T on it, but for now he sports a bow tie that he likes to wear at a rakish angle (to quote my friend Barb).

The Toastman evolved out of my frustration with how much of a hyper wild man he can be at times.  When trying to get him to be patient for his food for example, I would sing my own version of Please Mr. Postman to him!  “Oh wait a minute Mr. Toastman, waaaaaaaiiiit, Mr. Toastman!”

Speaking of Toastman, who remebers the Ren & Stimpy Show character called “Powdered Toastman”?

Matt sometimes calls Toast just plain “T” for short. Toast, the Toastman, T, however you slice it (pun intended hehe), he is one cute little boy!

Toast and I together last Fall. He was only a few months old. This was his first little harness and his first time taking a walk. Isn’t his tweed vest so adorable?!

Reader Question ( I really wanna know! So come leave a comment if you feel like it 🙂 ) :

1. Does your dog or pet have an unusual name? Is there a story behind it?

2. What is your favorite breed of dog?

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