Believe it or not, somewhere in New Plymouth there is a dog that answers to the curious name Fish Tank Meat Loaf.
Photo: 123RF
It is among 12440 dogs now registered in the district.
Other notable doggie names registered in the New Plymouth this year include Harley Davidson, 2-J and Cricket.
The council's animal control co-ordinator Karl Osten said the ever-popular Charlie was the most common name - with 121 canines answering to that registered in 2020 alone.
The most popular breed was the labrador, numbering 1405, and the most unique was a basenji - a hunting dog originating from central Africa.
Osten said that as well as offering advice to people on how to care for their dogs and be responsible owners, his officers had also put a lot of effort into rehoming unwanted pets.
Dogs were not their only concern. Osten said they had also been busy this year dealing with cattle, sheep, horses, pigs and other unidentified animals wandering in public places.
Meanwhile, at the council's contact centre, whether rubbish would be collected or not during the Covid-19 lockdown was one of the big issues taxing people in 2020.
The centre took 127,000 calls this year during office hours, responded to 26,000 emails, and helped 32,000 people who turned up at the council offices in person.
Contact Centre co-ordinator Joy Gyde said that along with rubbish collection the council's $20 million Covid recovery package, which included rates relief and cuts in fees for builders and retailers, also generated a lot of interest.
Gyde said no requests stood out, unlike in recent years, for example when contractors were dispatched to pluck a child's toy from a drain and just two weeks later were rescuing ducklings who had suffered a similar fate.
