When it comes to naming dogs, Dunedin's dog owners are apparently happy to follow worldwide trends.
According to some rudimentary research, Max, Molly and Bella are at the top of the list of dog names across the planet, and information from the Dunedin City Council shows they were also the top three names in Dunedin.
Senior animal control officer Jim Pryde yesterday released figures following the annual dog registration drive.
They showed 13,875 had been registered, 92.5% of the "known dog population".
With 1150 reminder notices due to be sent to owners who had failed to register their dogs, that took the total to 15,025.
Those figures have been increasing in the last few years, from 13,537 in June 2008 to 14,131 a year later, and 14,775 at the end of the last financial year.
Mr Pryde put that down to a combination of people in Dunedin being "passionate" about their dogs, the work the council had done to remind people to register them, and a zero tolerance approach to registration.
From the information collected, Mr Pryde said Max was the most popular name, with 209 people calling "Here, Max" at dinnertime, Molly second with 169, Bella with 161, Jess 160 and Jack 150. Labradors and retrievers generally were the most popular breeds.
There were 12 dogs in the city considered "dangerous", and 188 in the "menacing" category, meaning additional rules, and fees, for their owners.
Dogs were categorised dangerous after they had behaved in such a way, while they were categorised menacing usually based on their breed.
Owners who had not paid their registration - the standard fee is $82 - would face a $41 penalty, and if they still did not pay, the penalty would rise to $300.
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