People have the right to name their pets whatever they want, sure — but that hasn't stopped one woman from being shamed for giving her rescue pup a... peculiar name.

A woman took to Reddit explaining she named her dog COVID as she rescued him during quarantine.

"We found a stray puppy during the start of our lockdown. It started by feeding him scraps in the back garden where we were spending so much of our time," she wrote, according to the Mirror. "Now he's moved in and is probably going to stay unless someone comes forward to claim him."

She detailed that after taking some time mulling over names she decided on "COVID because that's why we found him — spending all our time at home."

The woman claimed that people have taken offense to the name, however.

"We have now started taking him out for walks — which he loves. But yesterday a couple heard us calling his name while playing by the beach," she wrote, alleging she was then confronted by people who were upset about the dog's name.

Anna Dudkova via Unsplash
Anna Dudkova via Unsplash
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"They came over and told us that it's insensitive as they lost an uncle to the virus," she continued. "They said how would we feel if they called their pet cancer or death?"

The woman asked Reddit if the name was "offensive" or if the couple "overreacted."

"I mean, use practically any other example and it looks really bad really fast," a user scoffed, according to the outlet, while another commented: "I mean if nothing else, running around on the beach shouting 'COVID! COVID!' could be construed as yelling fire in a crowded theater — just not smart any way you slice it."

"Despite your story, I still have no clue why you would name a pet after a virus that has killed thousands of people," a third wrote.

However, another user sympathized with the woman as they, too, named their pet after the novel coronavirus.

"We named our kitten Corona but call him RowRow," they wrote, adding: "I do feel like a bit bad but since he was born in March we figure he’s a little brightness in all this darkness."

According to the CDC, as of March 2022 there have been over 969,000 deaths caused by COVID-19 in the U.S.

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