Dou appearing in American pet licensing data is most plausibly a data artifact — either a phonetic rendering of "dew," a truncation of Dougie or Douglas, or a non-English name from a Chinese, Japanese, or other East Asian tradition entered as-is by the owner. At 27 records across a gender-neutral classification, a single deliberate naming origin is unlikely.
The Artifact Reading
Pet licensing fields capture names as typed, without standardization. Short ambiguous strings like Dou, Bou, Kou often represent phonetic transliterations, nicknames typed informally, or names that were autocorrected from something else. Browse names with clearer provenance at pet names.
If It's a Chinese Name
In Chinese, dòu (豆) means "bean" — a common term of endearment in Chinese and Taiwanese households, used for small, round, adorable things. A pet named Dou by a Chinese-heritage owner is likely in this affectionate food-diminutive tradition, similar to how Mochi functions for Japanese-heritage owners. Shih Tzus and Pomeranians suit this reading well.
The Counter-Reading: Pronunciation Barrier
English speakers have limited consensus on how to pronounce Dou. The resulting friction in daily life — vet visits, dog parks, boarding — makes this a name that works best in bilingual households where the intended pronunciation is obvious.