When adopting a rescue dog from a shelter, owners often have the opportunity to change its name if it isn't to their taste.
And one couple who decided to change their pet's name after taking it home have shared the hilarious story of how they found out what its original moniker truly meant.
Currently living in France, the pair adopted an older pooch and named it Herbie, taking it home to live with their other two rescues.
But they decided to look up its old name after their vet kept laughing at it in the paperwork, and were left stunned.
The Mirror reports that the 12-year-old dog's official title translated to 'Thug Life' on his paperwork.
Sharing the discovery on Reddit, the owner said: "Adopted this dude, named him Herbie. We didn't know why the vet laughed at his French name, so we finally translated it."
In the comments section, the owner said his official name is "La vie de voyou - or Voyou for short".
They explained: "He came with a lot of paperwork and has been through multiple homes - and names - over the years. We just never looked that closely at it all until today."
The couple assumed that the rescue centre had named him as a joke because Herbie is apparently a "little, gentle old guy" and "the least intimidating dog ever."
In the comments, other Reddit users have also been left in stitches, with one person saying: "Absolutely the best name ever!"
A second said: "He didn't choose the thug life, the thug life chose him," and another joked: "What an adorable little thug."
But some agreed that the bizarre name actually suited the cute dog perfectly.
A user said: "Voyou is often used in an endearing way as in 'aaw ya little thug' / 'aaaw petit voyou'. He's so so cute, both Herbie and Voyou suit him I have to say."
Later on, Herbie's owner added: "All our dogs are rescue pups and they've all been so grateful and loving, but Herbie even more so somehow, he's just come out of his shell so much over the months we've had him.
"He's living his best life for sure. He is OBSESSED with my wife. Definitely some separation anxiety there but fortunately our life means we never have to leave him alone so he just gets cuddles all day every day and that's never gonna change!"
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our newsletter here.
