"We get an awful lot of Chihuahuas," said Ed Boks, general manager of the city's Department of Animal Services. "The big concern is that Disney is coming out with a movie called 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua' . . . . It will just encourage the breeding of Chihuahuas when we've already got too many out there."
However, Boks reports that the Chihuahua is second on the list of most-adopted dog breeds in the city's six shelters; the pit bull is first.
Boks says the city holds 120,000 dog licenses out of a dog population that, by some estimates, could be as high as 900,000. Boks said a contributing factor to the low rate of licensing was the shortage of canvassers (he has only seven) to catch scofflaws. Boks also said his department was working on a better calculation for the dog population, which he believes is below 900,000.
As always, the local animal agencies suggest people spay and neuter their dogs -- to avoid unwanted Princesses and unlucky Luckys overpopulating the shelters.
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carla.hall@latimes.com
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
L.A. County top dogs (Part A Edition)
The Times' new database, drawn from pet registration records, amounts to a canine census of sorts. The top three breeds and the most popular names for each are shown above. To search by ZIP Code and see where your pet ranks, go to latimes.com/dogs.
1. Chihuahua
59,684
Favorite names
Princess 1,262
Chiquita 1,138
Lucky 819
2. Labrador
retriever
58,071
Favorite names
Shadow 763
Max 756
Buddy 745
3. German shepherd
51,782
Favorite names
Lucky 862
Max 784
