Blame language
barrier for ‘Forgea’

The dog's name is pronounced
"Hok Get," her owner says

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By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.com

Forget "Forgea"; get set for "Hok Get."

Chung Chin-po, highest-ranking officer of the drifting ship from which the dog was rescued Friday, has written a letter: "Forgea's name is really pronounced 'Hok Get' in Taiwanese, meaning happiness, good fortune, blessing -- all that is good."

Forgea -- as put out by the Hawaiian Humane Society and pronounced "for-gay" -- is expected to arrive in Honolulu tomorrow.

The shipwrecked pet is really Hok Get? Why did they say her name is Forgea?

"That was our best shot through a Taiwanese interpreter," answered Pamela Burns, chief executive officer and president of the Humane Society.

Mandarin is the official language of Taiwan, but most people speak Taiwanese, also called Hokkien, said Chung's Honolulu friend Michael Kuo.

"Hok Get was only 2 weeks old when she was given to me," Chung wrote. "I bottle-fed and raised her on board the Insiko 1907."

"It gets very lonely at sea, and Hok Get was a precious and happy diversion providing great companionship to the entire crew," he wrote.