As 2025 wraps up, the Dunedin City Council has released what names the city’s residents are dishing out to man’s best friends.
A council spokeswoman said the name Bella came in at No1, with 192 dogs in the city claiming the name.
Bella is a long-standing favourite for dog owners and has taken the top spot multiple times over the past eight years.
Luna and Charlie came in at Nos2 and 3 respectively — with 179 and 177 each.
Rounding out the rest of the list were Ruby, Poppy, Daisy, Molly, Max, Buddy and Millie.
In terms of dog breeds, Dunedinites love their labrador retrievers, which take first place, the city being home to 2351 of them.
A distant second is the trusty border collie with 1549, and third place goes to the Staffordshire bull terrier with 922 dogs registered.
The rest of the list, in order, consisted of huntaways, shih tzus, cocker spaniels, Jack Russell terriers, golden retrievers, Malteses and miniature schnauzers.
This year proved to be a busy year for the council animal services team, who helped find homes for 30 dogs who found themselves at the pound.
They were helped by Dog Rescue Dunedin to rehome them.
Their highlight however, was holding 105 dog safety sessions in Dunedin schools and kindergartens — up from 96 sessions in 2024.
"[The sessions give] kids a great chance to learn about dog body language, what to do if they see a dog out, how to ask an owner before patting, and what to do if a dog is aggressive," the spokeswoman said.
