She's a lucky dog, whatever her name

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Ah, if only that little Taiwanese dog could talk, all the things she could tell us, like how to say her name.

Forgea?

Foge?

Fou gei?

The dog, left stranded on the derelict refueling tanker Insiko 1907 more than three weeks ago, was the focus of an expensive search-and-rescue effort by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Hawaiian Humane Society, which calls the dog Forgea.

A Honolulu translator who interviewed her owner in Taiwan by telephone said it might be "Foge."

And a University of Hawai'i professor of Chinese languages, Jim Landers, said it could be "Fou gei," which means "lucky dog" and is a common name for Taiwanese dogs.

Landers cautions that he isn't sure about this because he doesn't know the dog's owner and has never met the pooch.

But he is sure of one thing: the "r" is wrong.

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.