My Friendly Pets

Statistics are great!!! They give us more information than we ever wanted to know. But when trying to strike up a conversation with a stranger, think how cool it is to be able to give some truly startling statistics. Of course first I would determine that the person you are talking with is a dog lover, or at least interested in dogs…if not, oh well, it may be time to speak with someone else. But if you find someone who you want to dazzle with some numbers, check these out:

According to the AKC (American Kennel Club), the ten most popular dogs in the United States are:
Ten most popular breeds in the US

1.
Labrador Retriever
2.
Yorkshire Terrier
3.
German Shepherd Dog
4.
Golden Retriever
5.
Beagle
6.
Dachshund
7.
Boxer
8.
Poodle
9.
Shih Tzu
10.
Miniature Schnauzer

Now you know the most popular dogs from top to bottom. How about some other stats to sparkle that conversation?

According to www.dogfriendly.com, the following is true of dog ownership in this country:

There are approximately 68,000,000 owned dogs in the United States.
- Four in ten or 40,000 households own at least one dog.
- Most owners own one dog (63%)
- About 1/4 of dog owners (24%) own two dogs.
- 13% of dog owners own three or more dogs.
- On average, dog owners have almost two dogs (1.7)
- There are an equal number of male and female dogs owned in the U.S.
- 20% of owned dogs were adopted from an animal shelter.
- On average, dog owners spent $196 on veterinary related expenses in the past 12 months.
- Seven out of ten owned dogs are spayed or neutered.

These figures are about 5 years old, so I think you could inflate them slightly to get some 2007 statistics.

Now that I have your attention, I want to provide you with some statistics which you may not be aware of or want to hear. According to a variety of sources including the Humane Society of the United States, Cornell University and PetSmart Charities, approximately 3,000,000 - 4,000,000 dogs each year are euthanized because they are born, don’t have homes, are taken to shelters, and if not adopted some shelters have little choice, but to kill the animals. Horrible you say? Yes, it is, but it is the responsibility of pet owners to insure that they care for their dogs so that unwanted puppies are not brought into this world. This includes spaying or neutering your dog. When I say this, I mean that pet owners need to make responsible decisions regarding their pet and the breeding of that pet.

In California, a bill named AB 1634 was proposed that would mandate the spaying and neutering of all dogs and cats over 4 months old. Failure to do so could result in substantial fines for pet owners. The bill has been shelved since July 2007, but looks like it may come up again for examination in January 2008. This is totally wrong. No one wants to see the overpopulation of animals continue as too many suffer and die. However, to legislate limitations on breeding and reproduction to pet owners takes away basic ownership rights. This is an instance where government is much too involved in the rights of the people. To help this problem, education is needed to develop responsible pet ownership, but to take that decision away from pet owners and perhaps end a bloodline of a particular breed makes no sense and will lead certain animals on the path to extinction. It sounds like science fiction, but it can happen if we give too many people too much power to make decisions that should not be in the hands of legislators.

Get involved so bills like AB1634 doesn’t come to your state. Make sure you are aware of what’s happening in your town, your state and your country and keep ahead of current events by checking out www.currenteventswatch.com