With my move back to Boston from New York, with elderly and active dogs in tow, a required stop had to be to Polka Dog Bakery, the little shop in the South End neighborhood that makes healthy dog treats and carries some cool merchandise for pet lovers everywhere.

FORBES: How The Little Boston Shop Polka Dog Bakery Wound Up In Target

Even without the new sires, the Barbet breed should hit the 100-dog mark by the end of 2012.

WSJ: Breeders of Rare Woolly Pooch

Greig's theatre credits include The Little Dog Laughed in the West End, for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award, and Gethsemane at the National Theatre.

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The new BarkLimiter series helps put an end to the problem by giving dog owners control over nuisance barking.

ENGADGET: Garmin announces new dog collars, talks up 'Bark Odometer'

But, as Luria Castell says at the end of Rockin' At the Red Dog, they never really disappeared.

NPR: Dylan, the Red Dog and the Real Summer of Love

''They always end up being the housekeeper's dog.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Think of what smaller or no bonuses will mean to the dog-walkers, toenail painters, personal trainers and high-end travel and real estate agents of Manhattan.

FORBES: Stop The Bonuses

"We fully support the police using technology to combat crime and terrorism, but law-abiding New Yorkers should not end up in a police database every time they walk their dog, go to the doctor, or drive around Manhattan, " Christopher Dunn, associate legal director at the New York Civil Liberty Union, said.

WSJ: New Tracking Tool for NYPD

Does Mr Simon really not realise that we understand perfectly well that he probably spent time thinking about how he could use a dog as a prop to make us more inclined to warm to his views, and end up laughing at him as a result?

BBC: Have your say