Item Photo By OWEN O’ROURKE
Stella, an English Bulldog, after finishing a walk at Breakheart Reservation in Saugus with owner Patti Bright.
By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
SAUGUS — The Town Clerk’s office is now renewing dog licenses for 2016.
“Last year, we registered nearly 1,800 dogs,” said Town Clerk Ellen Schena.
Bella, Buddy, and Max were among the most popular dog names in Saugus, she said. The majority of the dogs were mixed breeds.
“Shih tzus are definitely our number one (most popular breed),” said Liz Witunsky, owner of Poochies Dog Grooming, located at 371 Central St. “We see a lot of poodle mixes, goldendoodles, and anything mixed with poodle. We see a lot of regular poodles too, shedding breeds, pit bulls, labs, chihuahuas.”
Witunsky said the most popular dog names at her shop include Maggie, Max, CoCo, Bentley, Bella, Bruin and Brady.
“Yorkies are pretty high up on the list (along with) any teeny tiny dog (breeds),” said Linda Kay, owner and groomer at Paws for Applause on 312 Essex St. “We get a lot of labs because we do a lot of special shedding work and they are champion shedders.”
“We had three dogs named Bruno scheduled for one grooming day last week,” said Kay. “They were three different breeds. We have a number of Bradys and a number of Bruschis and we know where those names come from.”
“The names we see the most are Buddy, Bella, and Sophie,” said Lisa Geif, owner of Beauty in the Beast, 463 Essex St. “The dogs we have the most are bichons, maltese, yorkies, shetland sheep dogs, and golden retrievers. Those are the top of the pack for what we see.”
To register a dog, it is necessary to provide a copy of the animal’s Rabies Certification, Schena said. Dogs must be up to date with rabies vaccinations to renew a registration and to be registered for the first time.
The town will not renew a dog license without seeing a valid Rabies Certification, as per MGL Chapter 596 Section 1 & 2, said Schena.
The Town Clerk’s office is located at Town Hall, 98 Central Street, Suite 7.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on twitter @BridgetTurcotte
