Back then, the Endeavour crew was known as "Dog Crew 3", a tradition started by the crew of a Discovery mission. They were known simply as the "Dogs of War". Two of those Astronauts later flew together on a second mission together, where all of the crew took dog nicknames as "Dog Crew 2".

Sturckow and the Endeavour crew continued the gag with their mission, where the rookie pilot took on the name "Devil Dog" and Commander Bob Cabana was "Mighty Dog". Astronaut Nancy Currie was "Laika" with a nod to the female dog sent up by the Soviet Union on Sputnik 2, and Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev was the most creative with his dog name of "Spotnik".

NASA reportedly frowned on the "Dog Crew 3" idea, which occurred on the eve of the launch of the International Space Station. No official references to STS-88 as a Dog Crew can be found on NASA websites, except for an informal crew photo with the Astronauts in their space suits, posing with a bulldog.