Queenstown Lakes residents have more canine companions than ever before. 

There are now 5,728 registered dogs in the district, an increase of more than four percent from 2021.

With a resident population around 50,000 that’s more than one dog to every ten people.

A lot of those pups answer to just three names: Charlie, Molly and Bella.

There are 67 dogs named Charlie in the district - the most popular dog name choice for 2022.

You’re almost as likely to hear ‘Bella!’ being called - there are 56 Bellas around.

Seventeen-year-old Charlie (left) rumbles with friends.

And Molly - the third most popular dog name this year - was the name of choice for 52 dog owners.

More dogs meant more barking: there were 268 complaints of barking dogs reported to Queenstown Lakes District Council’s (QLDC) animal control team this year. 

But that may have more to do with the increase in people working from home than a jump in barking, QLDC senior regulator support Kacie English said.

Kacie updated councillors on the goings-on of our four-legged friends at last week’s council meeting.

The statistics showed that even though dog numbers are on the rise, nearly every negative metric - from dog attacks to roaming dogs and impounded dogs - fell in 2022 compared to the previous year. 

A big increase in infringements came about because the Animal Control team was chasing up owners who hadn’t had their dogs implanted with microchips, and in turn that had increased the number of microchipped dogs, Kacie said

QLDC councillor Quentin Smith commended the team on the positive numbers.

“It’s really pleasing to see that despite growth in every sector including registration we are not seeing an increase in problems which is actually really encouraging.”

PHOTOS: Wānaka App