The Philadelphia Basset hound case got Terrierman, aka Patrick Burns, thinking about municipal pet limits.

The Pennsylvania SPCA charged a Roxborough kennel owner this week with keeping her dogs in filthy conditions and failing to provide veterinary care. But agents also found she had almost double the 12-dog-limit allowed under Philadelphia's two-decade old dog ordinance. Owner Wendy Willard wouldn't discuss the allegations with Daily News reporter Gloria Campisi (she did not respond to this reporter's phone or email messages), but said she considered the dogs "my family."

Nevertheless, she surrendered 11 dogs to the PSPCA, which said it placed them with a rescue that they declined to identify.

So how many big cities besides Philadelphia have pet limits? Burns asked his blog readers to help him find out which cities among the top 52 have pet limits. And he decided to see if he could identify any trends. Did the size of the city matter? Did liberal/conservative politics play a role? What other strategies are cities using along with limits or in place of limits to control pet overpopulation and animal abuse?

Here's Burns analysis (see Aug. 12 entry) and here's the data he and his blog fans ferreted out.

The top 52 cities and their ordinances:

Albuquerque, N.M. - 4 dogs

Arlington, Texas - No limit

Atlanta, Ga. - 10 dogs

Austin, Tex. - No limit

Baltimore, Md. - 3 dogs w/o variance and permit

Boston, Mass. - No limit

Charlotte, N.C. - 3 dogs w/o permit

Chicago, Ill. - No limit, but considering 5-dog limit

Cleveland, Ohio - No limit

Colorado Springs, Colo. - 4 dogs

Columbus, Ohio - No limit

Dallas, Tex. - 6 dogs up to 1/2 acre of land, 8 dogs if over an acre

Denver, Colo. - No limit, but mandatory sterilization with exceptions

Detroit, Mich. - 4 dogs

El Paso, Tex. - No limit

Fort Worth, Tex. - No limit

Fresno, Calif. - 4 dogs

Honolulu, Hawaii - 10 dogs

Houston, Tex. - No limit

Indianapolis, Ind. - No limit

Jacksonville, Fla. - No Limit

Kansas City, Mo. - 4 dogs w/o variance. Up to 10 with.

Las Vegas, Nev. - 3 dogs

Long Beach, Calif. - No limit

Los Angeles, Calif. - No limit, but mandatory sterilization except for registered breeders

Louisville/Jefferson County, Ky. 3 dogs if under 1/2 acre, up to 7 dogs if 1/2 acre to 2 acres.

Memphis, Tenn. - No limit

Mesa, Ariz. - 5 dogs w/o kennel license

Miami, Fla. - 4, 6, or 8 dogs depending on property size (<1/2 acre =" 4," acres =" 6," acres =" 8)

Milwaukee, Wis. - No limit

Minneapolis, Minn. - 3 dogs

Nashville-Davidson, Tenn. - No limit

New Orleans, La. - No limit

New York, N.Y. - No Limit

Oakland, Calif. - 3 dogs

Oklahoma City, Okla. - 4 dogs

Omaha, Nebr. - 3 dogs. May apply for permit for up to 5

Philadelphia, Pa. - 12 dogs

Phoenix, Ariz. - No limit

Portland, Ore. - 5 dogs

Sacramento, Calif. - 3 dogs

St. Louis, Mo. - 4 dogs

San Antonio, Tex. - 5 dogs

San Diego, Calif. - 6 dogs

San Francisco, Calif. - No Limit

San Jose, Calif. - 3 dogs

Seattle, Wash. - 3 dogs on lots of less than 20,000 sq. ft. , 5 dogs for 20,000 to 35,000 sq. ft., with an additional 2 per acre for lots over 35,000 sq. ft. to a maximum of 20, unless a special permit is granted.

Tucson, Ariz. - No limit

Tulsa, Okla. - 5 dogs

Virginia Beach, Va. - 4 dogs w/o kennel license

Washington, DC - 5 dogs

Wichita, Kans. - 4 dogs w/o kennel license