October is (was) National Dog Adoption Month

Okay so I almost missed it. But it's not too late.You can still adopt a nice, furry friend, from the adoption facility of your choice (go ahead, I'll wait).

Excellent.

Here is a graphic with lots of cool information, compiled by the American Veterinary Medical Association's 'U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographics Source book.' Among other things, it tells us that Arkansas is the number 1 dog ownership state in America. Ohio is not in the top 5.

Also, the top names are Max (male) and Bella (female). When I mined my own database a couple of years ago Max was number 1 but Bella (and it's variations) were number 6, and was the number 3 female name behind Maggie and Molly. But my database lags behind the newly named dogs and also accounts for a lot of dogs who are very old and passed away.

I can almost guarantee the number 1 name for a chocolate lab is Hershey.

Another fact the graphic pointed out is that Hispanics have a higher rate of dog ownership than any other group.

So enjoy even if you don't celebrate Dog Adoption Month by getting a dog, consider making a donation to a rescue facility near you. But if you do get a dog, I predict you will name him Max. Go ahead, you know you want to. It's a pretty great dog name.