LI dog owners' best buddies usually mutts
Peter Granath, 19, of Mineola is the quintessential Long Island dog owner. His beloved mutt was adopted from the North Shore Animal League America and he named it Buddy.
Mixed breeds are the most common dog licensed on Long Island -- 35 percent of the close to 34,000 registered canines are a mélange -- and Buddy is the most popular name with 420 on record, according to data collected by the Island's municipalities from dog licensing applications in 2010.
Granath was 12 when his parents gave him a dog for Christmas. "He looked at him and said, 'This is the best buddy I could ever have.' And that was it," says Granath's mom, Laura. The Granaths celebrated Buddy's seventh birthday on Saturday, presenting him with doggy ice cream and a giant chew toy.
The dog licensing data showed other trends in Long Island dog ownership. For instance, the most popular purebred is the Labrador retriever. That doesn't surprise Roy Gross, chief of the Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "It's been that way for years," he said.
In Nassau County, the most dogs are registered in the 11050 ZIP code in Port Washington; in Suffolk, Lindenhurst is tops. And as for what owners are naming their dogs, the data show an affinity for candy, with names such as Reeses, Gumdrop and Skittles; a fascination with weather, with names such as Stormy, Thunder and Lightning; a nod to festive beverages (think Martini, Tequila, Merlot), and a love for cartoon characters such as Mr. Magoo, Nemo, and -- of course -- Scooby Doo.
