Pet Den
Labrador, Britain's favourite dog for 20 years
Labradors have remained top dog in the popularity stakes in the UK
for the 20th year in a row, figures showed.
The Kennel Club said it registered a total of 45,233 Labrador puppies
in 2008, more than double their nearest rival.
 The
breed overtook the German shepherd as the UK's most popular breed in
1989.
Further down the list, the biggest increases in individual breed
numbers came in French Bulldogs and Smooth-Coated Chihuahuas, both of
which saw 49 per cent rises in their registration numbers last year.
Both breeds are thought to have grown in popularity due to their
status as fashion accessories.
Despite the financial uncertainty across the UK, enthusiasm for
pedigree dogs has shown no sign of diminishing.
Registrations of pedigree dogs rose by 0.4 per cent over the year,
with the Kennel Club registering 271,719 dogs in 2008, an increase of
more than 1,000 dogs from the previous year.
Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club spokeswoman, said: "The Kennel Club has
never doubted the place that pedigree dogs have within the hearts of so
many people across the country, and these figures bear out our
unwavering faith and loyalty toward man's best friend, just as they
display their endless faith and loyalty towards us."
The figures come a few weeks after the Kennel Club announced it would
be making changes to the rules for breeding pedigree dogs for
competition after a BBC documentary sparked controversy about the
animals' welfare.
Claims that some owners were encouraging unhealthy breeding
techniques to make their animals more competitive led to the corporation
pulling out of screening Crufts (the famous dog show) for the first time
in 40 years.
Telegraph.co.uk
Kitty,my pet
My pet is a cat. Its name is Kitty. It is black and white in colour.
My cat likes to eat fish and drink milk. It has four legs and a bushy
tail. I love my pet very much.
D.K. Chamuditha Dilshan
Amarasinghe,
Ke/Dudley Senanayake
Central College,
Tholangamuwa.
I love Fluffy
My pet cat is called Fluffy. Its colours are white and orange. Its
favourite foods are rice and fish, its favourite drink is milk. Fluffy
likes to play with me. Sometimes it plays with a ball.Fluffy likes to
hunt mice. Because Fluffy hunts mice, we don't have any mice in our
house. I love Fluffy very much.
Rusiru Weerasekara,
St. Peter's College,Colombo.
My pet dog
Shiba
My pet is a dog.
Its name is Shiba.
It is brown and black.
It plays with me.
I love Shiba.
Jalani Jayatillake,
Mahamaya Girl's College,
Kandy. |
