Dogs in Rehoboth

If dogs are man’s best friend, that seems to be particularly true in Rehoboth - with more dogs per capita than any surrounding community, according to statistics from area towns. There were 1,805 dogs licensed in Rehoboth as of June 2024 - roughly one pooch for every seven people in town. State law mandates licenses for all dogs over the age of six months.

There are approximately 1,000 different dog names in town, some of them variations or different spellings of others. The most common names are Bella, totaling 23 canines; and Charlie, totaling 20, while Luna, Sadie, and Max follow closely behind, at 17, 16, and 16, respectively.

Some of Rehoboth’s unique dog names include Bro (Collie); Buddha (Golden Retriever); Buffalo Wings (Wheaten Terrier); Caboose (Hound); Captain Meatball (Labrador Retriever); Charlie Chips (Springer Spaniel); Chesty Puller (Portuguese Water Dog); Cowboy (Australian Cattle Dog); Daytona Ryder (Chihuahua); Georgie Washington (Labrador Retriever); Gertrude (Greyhound); Google (Labrador Retriever); Hamburger Fries (Border Collie); King Louie (Terrier); Levi-Lincoln (Boxer); Mighty Smalls (Pembroke Welsh Corgi); Olive Oil (Sheltie); Sir Butter Carlyle III (Chihuahua); and Sir Lincoln Log (Poodle).

Apparent pride for Boston sports is also evident in many names, including Bruin, Bruschi, Edelman, Fenway, Gronk, and Tuukka. Other dog owners appear to have chosen place names for their pets, such as Berlin, Boston, Bronx, Brooklyn, Carson City, Dallas, Dublin, Juneau, Kodiak, and Paris (although some of these have long been common human names as well).

Emerson Bergan said her dog, Sir Butter Carlyle III, was originally Carlyle when she adopted him, but she thought he deserved better.

“We like to say now that his name is Butter because of his buttered buns (neck rolls), but honestly I can’t remember exactly why I chose it,” Bergan said. “I had to keep Carlyle in there somewhere so I decided to make it his last name, and then came his full name, Sir Butter Carlyle III, because it sounds really good in a regal British accent.”

Sean Perry said his daughter was responsible for naming their dog Hamburger Fries. Soon after the family’s first dog died, she sketched a picture of a dog for school and labeled it Hamburger Fries, telling her parents that was the name she wanted for their next dog.

“We assumed she was going to change her mind,” Perry said. But she did not.

He is referred to as Hammie or Hamburger for short, but the full name is usually reserved for when he is in trouble.

“One of the downsides of it is that every time you call the veterinarian or a groomer, they think it is a prank call,” he laughed.

Labrador Retrievers are by far the most common single dog breed in Rehoboth, comprising 13.5 percent of all dogs, but mixed breeds (as categorized by the Town Clerk), German Shepherds, and Golden Retrievers were among the most popular as well.

Residents of Precinct 1 (North Rehoboth), the most populous precinct as of the most recent census, have 527 dogs (roughly one for every six and a half people in that precinct) - compared to Precinct 2’s 450 dogs, Precinct 3’s 423 dogs, and Precinct 4’s 405 dogs.