Where’s My Princess?

If I hear “Shoomy shoomy pwetty Princess” one more time, I swear I don’t know what I’ll do:

Max, Lucky, Princess, Rocky and Buddy were the five most-popular dog names in 2005, according to a Health Department review of dog licenses that was released yesterday. The same names took thetop five spots the previous year.

Mixed breeds came out on top of the list of popular breeds, followed by Labrador retrievers, pit bulls and Shih Tzus.

Although the Health Department issued 101,274 dog licenses last year, that figure represents only a small portion of city dogs. Many owners never bother to get their dogs licensed, even though that’s required by state law.

In other dog-related news, Councilmember Peter Vallone, who is good at proposing excessive and/or unconstitutional legislation, is now looking to crack down on one of those top breeds:

Pit bulls will be an endangered species in the city if one lawmaker gets his way.

Calling them potentially lethal weapons, City Councilman Peter Vallone renewed his call yesterday to ban pit bulls from the five boroughs.

“I am an animal lover,” said Vallone (D-Queens). “But I have always thought they should not be allowed on our streets. They have been bred to be violent.”

. . .

Vallone, whose two daughters own a Bichon Frise, pointed to several incidents in which children suffered serious injuries after being attacked and bitten by pit bulls.

He wants the state Legislature to change the law so cities like New York can ban specific breeds. Although he wants to bar people from owning or breeding pit bulls in the five boroughs, current owners would be exempted.

Vallone said it’s too early to say how a ban would affect thousands of homeless pit bull mixes that end up in city animal shelters every year.