Terms of use

What you may do with the numbers

Take them and use them. The figures and the aggregate data on this site are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence, which means you may copy, republish, chart and build on them, including commercially, as long as you credit Pup Census and link back. No permission needed and no need to ask. Journalists and researchers are the reason this is here.

A second condition travels with the underlying records, and it is not ours to waive. The source is the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, via NYC Open Data. Under NYC Administrative Code 23-502(d) the data is free to use provided the source, the version and any modifications are identified. Republish any of this and that obligation passes to you. The download page and the README inside the files spell out exactly what to say.

Two things are not covered by that licence. The written text and the breed silhouettes are our own work and stay with us, though quoting a passage with credit is fine and always will be. And the Pup Census name and the license-tag mark are ours, so please do not use them in a way that suggests we made or endorsed something we did not.

What these numbers are not

Every figure here is a count of license records filed with a city government. It is not a census of dogs. Around 80% of New York City dogs are unlicensed, and licensing is not spread evenly across the city, so the numbers describe licensed dogs and nothing more. The method page sets out what that does and does not let you conclude.

The site is provided as it is. We check the arithmetic and publish the aggregates so you can check it too, but we do not warrant that any figure is complete, current or fit for a particular purpose, and we are not liable for what follows from relying on one. If a number matters to a decision of any consequence, go to the source records and verify it. Nothing here is veterinary, legal or financial advice.

Advertising and paid links

There are none. Pup Census carries no advertising, no sponsored placements and no paid links today. If that ever changes, the commercial relationship will be labelled on the page where the link appears, and this page and the privacy page will be rewritten before anything goes live rather than afterwards.

Corrections, removals and errors

If something here is wrong, tell us and it gets fixed: [email protected]. If you believe a record identifies you, write to [email protected] and it will be removed with no questions asked. That is set out in full on the privacy page.

The small print

Pup Census is an independent project run by one person from the United Kingdom. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the City of New York or any other government agency. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction, although nothing here takes away rights you hold under the consumer law of the country you live in.

If these terms change, the date at the top of this page changes with them. There is no account to close and no subscription to cancel, so if you disagree with any of this, simply stop using the site.