A longtime Fort Davis resident told me recently that the

Jefferson Davis matter never comes up in the mountain town she loves . “ We ’ re not honoring him with the name ,” she said .

“ Nobody ’ s walking around dressed like Jefferson Davis at the fort .”

were taking up positions on courthouse squares . Buildings , public schools , and thoroughfares were being named for Davis , Robert E . Lee , and other iconic symbols of Southern defiance . At least 10 American military installations , including Fort Hood , were named for men who fought to tear the nation asunder . ( A Senate committee at last has voted to explore changing those names , despite President Donald Trump ’ s outspoken opposition .)

Davis and other Confederate luminaries were losing their place of prominence even before the current effort to relegate them to history ’ s shrouded basement . In 2015 the University of Texas at Austin removed a Davis statue from its highprofile position on the South Mall and placed it inside the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History . Schools throughout the South , including in Houston , have erased the Jefferson Davis name , realizing the importance of aspirational resonance for their students .

A longtime Fort Davis resident told me recently that the Jefferson Davis matter never comes up in the mountain town she loves . “ We ’ re not honoring him with the name ,” she said . “ Nobody ’ s walking around dressed like Jefferson Davis at the fort .”

Back to Davis the dog . Even before the Zoom meeting , we considered other names – Ranger or Cowboy or Chisos ( alluding to his Big Bend origins ) or Trace ( our current street ). Our Marathon neighbor Russ Tidwell suggested Sully , for Sul Ross State University in nearby Alpine . It was a tongue-in-cheek suggestion since Russ knows that monuments to the old Texas Ranger , Indian-fighting rescuer of the didn ’ t-want-to-be-rescued Cynthia Ann Parker , Confederate Army general , Texas governor , and Texas A & M president may soon meet the fate of his Confederate cohorts .

Aggies , including Aggie football players , are marching . Obviously , a rose is a rose is a rose ( or a dog is a dog is a dog ), and yet a name can be a weighty matter . Think about the decades-long insult of Dowling Street ( now Emancipation Avenue ) or a Missouri City residential street named after the founder of the Ku Klux Klan . While our pup was already responding to the name after a couple of weeks of hearing it ( particularly when he heard the simultaneous rustle of the dog food bag ), we felt a lingering regret about the selection .

To me , the lively fellow who loped after balls in the backyard , sat on command after a few days and tirelessly tried to befriend Bo has nothing to do with a traitorous Confederate president . Our Davis represented the ruggedly beautiful Davis Mountains that rise up behind the shelter where the pup spent his first few weeks . The name recalled the two chattering roadrunners that scurried back and forth across the open field within a few yards of where I socially distanced while waiting for his release into our care . The name reminded me of the good people of one of my favorite Texas towns .

And yet , can a distinction be drawn between a good place and the troubling reverberations of history ? Sooner rather than later , I suspect , that ’ s likely to be an issue for the people of Jeff Davis County .

It ’ s not going to be an issue for the dog , however . We made our decision about a name change the same day the New York Times featured a graffiti-splattered statue of Jefferson Davis lying face facedown on a Richmond , Virginia , street . We realized that about half the time , without really thinking about it , we called the little guy Buddy . Buddy ’ s not all that original , but our flop-eared , long-legged pal doesn ’ t mind . His nickname sort of trips off the tongue in a way that Davis doesn ’ t .

“ Hey , Buddy ,” I called this morning , “ let ’ s go for a walk !” Tail wagging , he was right behind me as I headed out the door . Davis he may have been , but Buddy ’ s what he is to us . Buddy Holley , if you will . �