Speckled Dog Names

Have you known people, either male or female, who seem to have it all together, careers peaking, among the rich and famous with perfect-appearing homes and families?  Have you ever wondered how they do it, or what sacrifices were made and by whom, for them to get where they are? For those of us who are more common, everyday sorts, we would probably be surprised at how many toes stepped upon, how many lives changed and how many of their son’s baseball games or their daughter’s dance recitals they missed.  You might not even consider the number of wedding anniversaries, birthdays or date nights that were pushed aside as they climbed the ladder of success. Sometimes, it takes a significant event in their lives - maybe even death - to get them to see the value of what they’ve missed and whom they’ve hurt.

Our pop culture spotlight is Fluke, a golden-brownish mutt with just a few speckles who has quite a story to tell and this is done in the movie of the same name, Fluke.  You see, he is a Golden Retriever puppy who isn’t very golden and he has flashback memories of a past life of being a human being!  As a pup, he finds himself in a pound, from which he manages to escape, and is found and taken in by an old homeless woman, named Bella.  She gives him the name of “Fluke” because she says he is “a fluke by nature and a fluke by name.” After Bella dies from poor living conditions, he is befriended by Rumbo, another stray dog, and Bert, a man who feeds and cares for them into Fluke’s adulthood.  Fluke eventually finds out that he was a man named Thomas P. Johnson, killed in a car crash. After Rumbo passes, Fluke searches for his wife, Carol, and son, Brian, to reconnect with them. Here’s where it gets fascinating - Fluke discovers that his wife, Carol, is dating his former partner, Jeff Newman, who Fluke believes is responsible for his death in the car crash. Fluke eventually causes a near-fatal car crash, nearly killing Jeff, when he finally remembers more of the details of the collision - recognizing that it wasn’t Jeff who was responsible but instead resulted from his warped values and ego.  Fluke eventually gets through to Carol his identity before leaving them in the trustworthy hands of Jeff. It took death and life as a dog for Fluke (Thomas Johnson) to see that he ignored and took for granted the most significant people in his human life.