HELOISE What's in a name? Imagination to spare

Dear Readers: Well, it's time for the last installment of fun -- and we think special -- pet names. We have so enjoyed reading all the letters and people's suggestions. Maybe you'll see a favorite name for a new pet:
URhoda, via e-mail, has a beautiful blue point Siamese cat named Blue Beau Thai.
UBoyd Ferguson of Jacksonville, Fla., had two black Scotties with the names Charcoal Cassidy Lee and Bonnie Briquette McGee. They are called Charcoal and Briquette.
UPaul Moenickheim of Belvidere, N.J., had two black labs called Skillet and Griddle.
UJo Ann Hester of Jacksonville, Fla., said her mother has a cat named Kajen, named after two granddaughters, Katie and Jennifer.
USue Price of Springfield, Ill., had two dachshunds named Shorty Long and Long John.
UMrs. Barbara Kimbrough of Kane, Pa., has a cat named Shakespurr and a dog named Lady Macduff of Kane. (These made me chuckle. Heloise)
UKathleen Condon of Faribault, Minn., has a big, fat cat named Jelly Bean.
UCarol E. Johnson of Robbinsdale, Minn., says, "My cat was the last of the litter, and no one else wanted him, so I took him (happily so) and named him Moses, because I was the princess who saved him."
UJanet Hagen of Glendive, Mont., says: "I have an orange-and-white cat named Lasagne. When he was a kitten all curled up, he looked like a plate of lasagna."
UBarbara Budd, via e-mail, says: "In our home, Steve, our sun conure, is formally known as Steven SpielBIRD. His cousin, a cockatiel, is Vinnie TestaBIRDIE." (I'm laughing. Heloise)
URamona (Ball) Jamison of Nashville, Ark., says: "My two cats were born in the barn during a severe thunderstorm. I named them Stormy and Windy. We love both of them."
It was hard choosing which letters to print, and if space were available we could have printed thousands more, because readers sent in lots of cute and unusual names. Again, thanks to all who took the time to send in a pet name. Heloise
Dear Readers: Bill and Paula Snow of Rosemount, Minn., sent in a picture of their cat, Hershey Kiss, along with her four adorable kittens. They are all just posing pretty as a picture. If your newspaper doesn't print the pet photo, visit my Web site, www.heloise.com, and click on This Week's Pet to see this adorable photo. Heloise
Dear Heloise: My daughter has a guinea pig, and she's supposed to make sure it always has water to drink. However, it's difficult to see how much water is in the white-plastic bottle attached to the side of the cage. So, when we fill it up, we put a drop of food coloring in the water. It's easy to see exactly how much water is in the bottle. We called our vet first to make sure that the food coloring would be safe for the guinea pig. Susan Humphrey, Lakeside, Calif.
XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000; fax to (210) HELOISE, or e-mail heloise@heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate