Popular Dog Names

The name Buddy perhaps owes its popularity to the 1997 film Air Bud and the following series of family films about a cross-bred Golden Retriever that has a peculiar talent for an array of sports – basketball, American football, volleyball, baseball, soccer, and hockey. What is even more interesting, the actual dog that stared in the first movie was given the most amazing moniker you can imagine – the Michael Jordan of dogs, and also appeared on the Letterman Show several times. His life story shares a number of similarities with the storyline of the movie in question, and besides its thematic focus on the dog-boy bond and the narrative structure that on face value lacks profundity, this story does point out some issues that all too many dogs are facing even today.

At the beginning of the story, a man that works as a children’s entertainer harasses and incessantly degrades his dog during numerous birthday gigs. It is more than evident that this dog is more than accustomed to his owner’s impatient and bad-tempered remarks and acts. Even though this is obviously a family movie, the clown’s disposition borders on violent and disturbing as he doesn’t show any remorse whatsoever. Fortunately, Buddy manages to run away from his violent owner, and luckily enough, encounters a boy playing basketball all alone on a secluded, run-down basketball court. The boy accidentally figures out that Buddy possesses an extraordinary talent to shoot hoops, and that becomes the building block of their friendship as they practice together days on end. Josh, Buddy’s new owner, is mesmerized by both Buddy’s talent and his good nature, as Buddy is infinitely loyal, friendly, and well-behaved. Josh manages to make the school basketball team, thanks to the new strength and courage his new best friend instilled in him, and Buddy becomes the team’s mascot.

However, Buddy’s previous owner manages to trace his runaway dog, and Josh’s family and the clown battle in court for custody over Buddy. It is clear that the clown is unsuitable to keep the dog as he displays frequent and psychotic fits of rage, therefore, the court grants Josh custody over Buddy, while the clown is locked away. And this is why this movie became a classic - it portrays how touching and healing a friendship between a man and a dog may be, but even more importantly, it deals with and provides a comment about the issue of animal cruelty.