Ms. Pac-Man Dog Names

Many people try and hide the fact they gave their dog a Ms. Pac-Man dog name. Because it’s an arcade game, you run the risk of people thinking you’re a bit silly or childish! If you’d rather avoid talking about Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-Man with strangers, then come up with a “cover” story. That fib might be linking your dog’s name to a famous dog in pop culture. The name can still connect to Ms. Pac-Man, but you’re creating a plan B.

Two dogs that fit that bill nicely are Inky and Pretzel. Inky is the cyan ghost in Ms. Pac-Man. He’s bashful and always in a fickle mood. Inky is also unpredictable and chases Pac-Man around aggressively, sometimes jumping ahead of him. Like another Pac-Man ghost, Clyde, Inky sometimes wanders off too. Inky is the “youngest” ghost in Ms. Pac-Man.

Inky is also the name of a police dog that starred in the British police Drama called Softly, Softly: Taskforce. The show ran from 1969 until 1970, showing different policing plots to explain the complexities and challenges of working for the police.

Inky and his handler PC Snow (played by Terence Rigby) appeared in the show from 1969 until partway through 1970. The writers then wanted to show audiences that unfortunate things could happen in the police force. Rather than killing off a character, they showed a gunman shooting and killing Inky. There was outrage, and Inky then appeared on Blue Peter, a child’s TV show to reassure any kids watching that Inky was okay. Inky’s on-show handler then got a new dog called Radar.

Another dog to appear in pop culture and Ms. Pac-Man is Pretzel. In Ms. Pac-Man, Pretzel is a fruit point value, worth 700 points in level four. Pretzel is middle-of-the-field regarding points, appearing after cherry, strawberry, and orange, but before apple, pear, and banana.

Pretzel is also the name of a fictional dog in a book series of the same name. The author, Margret Rey, wrote the children’s book in 1944. It follows five Dachshunds born in May, with one called Pretzel. Pretzel doesn’t appear to be much different from his brothers and sisters, but then starts growing far longer.

He grew so long that he won ribbons at dog shows and could contort his body into the shape of his namesake. He also used his length to help in some terrible situations, such as pulling another dog out of a well who had fallen in. The book was that popular that Houghton Mifflin republished it in 1997.