New York Goes to the Dogs

In its dogged pursuit of the most important stories in New York, WNYC has fetched the dog licensing records of the City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and produced an informative map of the most common names and breeds by zip code.

1 minute read

January 26, 2013, 7:00 AM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj

Stephen Reader parses the results of WNYC's investigation into the most popular dog names and breeds in New York, and the findings are actually quite revealing.

"The first thing you notice is the names," says Reader. "The most popular ones in the city hew pretty close to the most popular names across all English-speaking countries: Max, Bella, Lucky, etc. But this is New York, so there have to be some named Jeter (40 dogs) and Carmelo (7). In a town also known for its fashion, that explains the prevalence of dogs named Chanel (44), and Dolce (39). There are 83 dogs named Gucci. We've come a long way from Rover."

"Mixed-breed dogs are the most popular, but Yorkies, Shih Tzus, Chihuahuas, and Malteses round out the top five," he notes. "Nearly 5,000 Yorkies are licensed in the city, and more than 4,700 Shih Tzus. Neighborhood by neighborhood, these are usually the most popular dogs. The East Village doesn't buck the trend; Yorkies are most popular. But English Bull Dogs seem to be more popular in lower Manhattan, and Pit Bulls are all over Bed Stuy."

"But the Health Department estimates that only one in five dogs are licensed, so that's hardly the whole story. Four out of five dogs are undocumented."

FULL STORY: NYC's Top Dogs: Mapping Names & Breeds in the City

Wednesday, January 23, 2013 in WNYC

Humor Social / Demographics New York Dog Breeds Dog Names New York City View More

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