Stephen King Inspired Dog Names

Dogs appear in several Stephen King books, but few are as well known as Cujo. Owned by the Camber Family, Cujo is the gigantic Saint Bernard in the novel, Cujo. He was once a playful, friendly companion, but a bite from a bat turned the once loveable pooch into a nightmare. The bite infected the dog with rabies, and over the course of a few days, Cujo kills two characters.

When a woman and her son visit the Camber’s farm to have their vehicle repaired, they are attacked by the dog and are forced to spend the next three days trapped in their vehicle. The mother is forced to escape to save her son, but the bloodthirsty dog outside does not make it an easy task.

The Cujo novel was adapted into a movie of the same name. The dog was mentioned in several other Stephen King works, including The Tommyknockers, The Body, Needful Things and Pet Sematary.

Another well-known dog from one of King’s novels is Kojak. Originally known as Big Steve, Kojak is an Irish Setter in The Stand. After the superflu wipes out most of Woodsville, New Hampshire, Kojak is adopted by one of the city’s survivors, Glen Bateman. Bateman recognizes the dog from around town, but decides to “rechristen” him as Kojak instead of using his previous name. When Bateman and Stu Redman begin their journey west, they abandon the dog. However, he turns up later in the story when his loyalty drives him to follow his master across the country.

A flashback reveals that the dog faced many dangers on his journey, including being attacked by wolves set upon him by Randall Flagg, the novel’s antagonist. He survives, though, and later helps Stu after he breaks his leg and falls behind. In the end, he returns to Boulder, Colorado with Stu and lives to an extreme old age.

Though described as an Irish Setter in the novel, Kojak is a Golden Retriever in the 1994 TV miniseries based on the book. Stephen King’s success as a novelist has made him a pop culture phenomenon, and the many dogs present in his works have made their mark on pop culture as well.