{"id":203,"date":"2024-09-16T14:45:22","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T14:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/olivia-mello-portfolio\/?p=203"},"modified":"2025-04-02T16:05:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T16:05:03","slug":"uconns-president-radenka-maric-faces-a-360-million-dollar-budget-cut-from-the-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/olivia-mello-portfolio\/2024\/09\/16\/uconns-president-radenka-maric-faces-a-360-million-dollar-budget-cut-from-the-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Top dogs revealed: A look at Connecticut\u2019s most popular dog breed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Bull\u00addog sleeping.\/Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Olivia Mel\u00adlo
UConn Newswrit\u00ading
Octo\u00adber 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dog lovers across Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut are com\u00ading togeth\u00ader in sup\u00adport of one breed they just can\u2019t get enough of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut has decid\u00aded that bull\u00addogs are the most pop\u00adu\u00adlar dogs to own. Along with 8% of oth\u00ader Amer\u00adi\u00adcans, res\u00adi\u00addents of states like Illi\u00adnois, Mis\u00adsis\u00adsip\u00adpi, Mis\u00adsouri, North Car\u00adoli\u00adna, South Car\u00adoli\u00adna, Utah, and West Vir\u00adginia have ranked bull\u00addogs as their top choice Accord\u00ading to Forbes Advi\u00adsor.<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what is it that makes bull\u00addogs so pop\u00adu\u00adlar? There are a few fac\u00adtors that Forbes Advi\u00adsor<\/a> found that explain why bull\u00addogs are the it dog. The top three being pre\u00advi\u00adous or cur\u00adrent own\u00ader\u00adship of the same breed (52%), have good com\u00adpan\u00adion\u00adship (50%), and cute\u00adness of the dog breed (48%). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While those are some of the fac\u00adtors on why peo\u00adple are get\u00adting bull\u00addogs, they are a breed that has been known to have a large amount of health prob\u00adlems. Despite their pop\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adi\u00adty, bull\u00addogs live just 7 years on aver\u00adage. the most com\u00admon caus\u00ades of death are heart dis\u00adease (12%), can\u00adcer (11%) and brain dis\u00ador\u00adder (9%) accord\u00ading to the Roy\u00adal Vet\u00aderi\u00adnary Col\u00adlege<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lau\u00adren Mas\u00adco\u00adla, a vet\u00aderi\u00adnar\u00adi\u00adan at Pet\u00adCare Vet\u00aderi\u00adnary Clin\u00adic in West Hart\u00adford, said that many bull\u00addogs\u2019 health prob\u00adlems stem from their facial struc\u00adture, which can lead to issues like corneal ulcers and breath\u00ading prob\u00adlems.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mas\u00adco\u00adla not\u00aded that due to their health issues, bull\u00addogs can be expen\u00adsive to care for. She men\u00adtioned that acquir\u00ading a bull\u00addog can cost over $1,000, and ongo\u00ading main\u00adte\u00adnance and vet\u00aderi\u00adnary bills can total hun\u00addreds of dol\u00adlars.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although bull\u00addogs may be the over\u00adall favorite in Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut, does that trend hold true in indi\u00advid\u00adual towns across the state?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ani\u00admal Con\u00adtrol Offi\u00adcer Rachel Leek of Mans\u00adfield believes that poo\u00addles or any poo\u00addle mix (also called doo\u00addles) are the most pop\u00adu\u00adlar dog in town. Leek has worked as an ani\u00admal con\u00adtrol offi\u00adcer in Mans\u00adfield since 2017 and has seen the doo\u00addle pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion con\u00adtin\u00adue to grow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A large part of Leek\u2019s job involves encour\u00adag\u00ading peo\u00adple to reg\u00adis\u00adter their dogs for a license. The license gives the town and her a bet\u00adter insight into what kinds of breeds peo\u00adple are get\u00adting. When asked if dog licens\u00ades are pub\u00adlic infor\u00adma\u00adtion, Leek said no. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ani\u00admal Con\u00adtrol Offi\u00adcer Kim Guli\u00adno of West Hart\u00adford said that doo\u00addle mix\u00ades are pop\u00adu\u00adlar. Guli\u00adno has been with West Hart\u00adford ani\u00admal con\u00adtrol for the past five years. In those years She has seen a rise in the pop\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adi\u00adty of this type of mixed breed. Though, she men\u00adtioned a close sec\u00adond would be the Cav\u00ada\u00adlier King Charles Spaniel. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
Can\u00adva info\u00adgraph\u00adic of dog pop\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adi\u00adty in Connecticut.\/ by Olivia Mel\u00adlo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Like Leek, a large part of Gulino\u2019s job is reg\u00adis\u00adter\u00ading the dogs in town and again when ask\u00ading for any records she was unable to share any doc\u00adu\u00adments with me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s inter\u00adest\u00ading that mix\u00ading with the poo\u00addle breed is so pop\u00adu\u00adlar, giv\u00aden that the poo\u00addle breed has ranked near the bot\u00adtom as some of America\u2019s least favorite dog breeds, with 2.3% <\/a>of Amer\u00adi\u00adcans say\u00ading they don\u2019t like poo\u00addles.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, is this the rise of the doo\u00addle mix? With the doo\u00addle mix tak\u00ading over both towns\u2019 dog pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion it is impor\u00adtant to know more about their health his\u00adto\u00adry. Is there a rea\u00adson this mix of dog breed is so pop\u00adu\u00adlar?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the poo\u00addle mix\u00ades both Leek, Mas\u00adco\u00adla, and Guli\u00adno said that the gold\u00aden\u00addoo\u00addle is the mix gain\u00ading all the pop\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adi\u00adty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nation\u00adwide<\/a> looked at Gold\u00aden\u00addoo\u00addles have a life expectan\u00adcy of 10 to 15 years and are 75% less like\u00adly to have insur\u00adance claims sub\u00admit\u00adted for can\u00adcer treat\u00adment com\u00adpared to their par\u00adent breeds, Gold\u00aden Retriev\u00aders and stan\u00addard poo\u00addles. Which is a big deal con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00ading that one in four dogs get can\u00adcer<\/a> no mat\u00adter what breed it is.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When exam\u00adin\u00ading can\u00adcer claims among all dog breeds, Gold\u00aden\u00addoo\u00addles are near\u00adly half as likely\u201447% less likely\u2014to have such claims than oth\u00ader dogs. In fact, Gold\u00aden Retriev\u00aders and stan\u00addard poo\u00addles are four times more like\u00adly to sub\u00admit can\u00adcer claims than Gold\u00aden\u00addoo\u00addles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the pop\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adi\u00adty of bull\u00addogs remains strong in Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut, the rise of poo\u00addle mix\u00ades, par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly Gold\u00aden\u00addoo\u00addles, high\u00adlights a grow\u00ading trend among dog own\u00aders. With their longer life expectan\u00adcy and low\u00ader like\u00adli\u00adhood of health-relat\u00aded insur\u00adance claims, Gold\u00aden\u00addoo\u00addles offer an appeal\u00ading alter\u00adna\u00adtive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anoth\u00ader pos\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty of the ris\u00ading pop\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adi\u00adty could be due to the recent spike in peo\u00adple adopt\u00ading dogs. Dog adop\u00adtion is cheap\u00ader than buy\u00ading a dog from a breed\u00ader. Mans\u00adfield dog adop\u00adtions range from five dol\u00adlars to nine\u00adty-five dol\u00adlars and West Hart\u00adford is about fifty accord\u00ading.  The most recent Ani\u00admal Pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion Con\u00adtrol Pro\u00adgram had dog adop\u00adtions total\u00ading 1354. The most pop\u00adu\u00adlar breed of dog adopt\u00aded was the mixed with 674 adop\u00adtions. Pit bull\/pit bull mix fol\u00adlowed in sec\u00adond with 314 adop\u00adtions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This shift in pref\u00ader\u00adence sug\u00adgests that while bull\u00addogs may hold the title of the state\u2019s favorite, many res\u00adi\u00addents are being drawn to adopt\u00ading dogs. Because of this the pure breeds, like bull\u00addogs, may see a slight decline in pop\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adi\u00adty in the com\u00ading years. Peo\u00adple are drawn to breeds that promise both affec\u00adtion and longevi\u00adty, which may result in reshap\u00ading the canine land\u00adscape in towns across Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lau\u00adren Mas\u00adco\u00adla Pet\u00adCare Vet:
Over the phone inter\u00adview: (401)339\u20117927 or lmascola@petcarewh.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim Guli\u00adno: Ani\u00admal Con\u00adtrol West Hart\u00adford
Over the phone inter\u00adview: (860)930\u20111660 kgulino@westhartfordct.gov<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rachel Leek: Ani\u00admal Con\u00adtrol Mans\u00adfield
Over the phone inter\u00adview: (860)487\u20110137 aco@mansfieldct.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Olivia Mel\u00adloUConn Newswrit\u00adingOcto\u00adber 2024 Dog lovers across Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut are com\u00ading togeth\u00ader in sup\u00adport of one breed they just can\u2019t get enough of.  Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut has decid\u00aded that bull\u00addogs are the most pop\u00adu\u00adlar dogs to own. Along with 8% of oth\u00ader Amer\u00adi\u00adcans, res\u00adi\u00addents of states like Illi\u00adnois, Mis\u00adsis\u00adsip\u00adpi, Mis\u00adsouri, North Car\u00adoli\u00adna, South Car\u00adoli\u00adna, Utah, and West Vir\u00adginia\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":951,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/olivia-mello-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/olivia-mello-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/olivia-mello-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/olivia-mello-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/951"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/olivia-mello-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/olivia-mello-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":309,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/olivia-mello-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions\/309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/olivia-mello-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/olivia-mello-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/olivia-mello-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}