BUCK: It is National Puppy Day. There are very few things that I feel like we could all agree on in America these days, but that puppies are adorable is maybe the statement of the most obviousness that you could come up with anywhere, the most obvious thing. And with this, Clay, I wanted to ask you. Now, I know you’re a cat… Are you ever going to get a dog?

CLAY: Let me just say this. I’m anti pets, and people are like, “Oh, my God!” I’m anti pets. While I have… There’s an additional statement here. I’ve got basically three pets. They are my young boys who destroy everything in the house, who require unbelievable amounts of time and energy. They are time vacuums. So when those boys are old enough that I am not running around chasing them…

Like I’m texting with my wife right now. We’ve got baseball practice. We’ve got so many debate practice, my kids do everything — soccer, baseball, basketball, flag football — they’re still young. All the sports, all day long, every day. So the idea that I want to add animals that I’m responsible for on top of the three animals that I’m also responsible for, aka my boys? No. But at some point in the future… We have the cats in the house now.

BUCK: How many?

CLAY: Two cats. Two Bengal cats. Ali has been sending them things to try not to tear up the whole house. They’re hypoallergenic cats. They live inside, and they have destroyed everything in the house. They’re brothers, cats. I would have a dog at one point in the future. I’ve had dogs in the past. Right now, no.

BUCK: What did you have growing up?

CLAY: We had a bunch. We had big dogs, like, we had a lab, which was great.

BUCK: What color?

CLAY: We had a black lab.

BUCK: Labs are great. I grew up with a Boston terrier, which are great city dogs. I always tell people, Boston… I loved that little dog. Boston terriers are like the Glock 19 of canines. They’re sort of easy, idiot proof and do everything you want. They get it done. The handgun owners in the audience know what I’m talking about.

It’s a utility player, like a Boston… You don’t need that much exercise but they can run and chase the ball. They’re like 15 to 20 pounds. They’re not a tiny dog but they’re not a big dog. So my family now has a French Bulldog in New York. It weighs 30 pounds.

CLAY: That’s the one that everybody’s stealing, right, French Bulldogs?

BUCK: She’s a plus-sized pooch. She’s a little bigger.

CLAY: These are, like, $1,000, $2,000 dogs, right? The French Bulldog is wildly popular.

BUCK: Yes, they’re very popular dogs. Some of them, Tallulah, the Sexton family Frenchy, is 12 years old. She’s a senior citizen of the canine world at this point. She weighs 30 pounds. There are blue French Bulldogs that will go… In New York, there’s also a lot of push back on that. There are pet stores in New York. I don’t know if they have them everywhere else, but you can buy a puppy, 5,000 for a Frenchy.

CLAY: Oh, my, $5,000.

BUCK: For a blue, which is the most desirable color, eight to 10,000 or more. This is why there have actually been people whose Frenchies have been stolen. Sorry, National Puppy Day is taking a dark turn here, but we love puppies. Clay, I was going to throw this out to you because I think this is interesting. The top, by owners, top three dog breeds in America. Let’s see, this is like Family Feud. What are the top three?

CLAY: I still think the Labrador is pretty popular.

BUCK: Number one across the country. What’s number two?

CLAY: Are Cocker Spaniels still really popular?

BUCK: They were in the ’80s. They’ve have fallen off.

CLAY: We had a Cocker Spaniel. Golden Retriever?

BUCK: That’s number four. So you’re close. You’re in the neighborhood.

CLAY: Bulldogs? They’re not big enough, right? There’s not enough of them. Is it in the top three?

BUCK: French Bulldogs are now, according to the American Kennel Club Association, the second most popular dog in America, little Frenchies.

CLAY: I would guess like there’s got to be a little dog that’s super popular.

BUCK: Frenchies are they’re smallish. Tallulah, she has too many treats. They’re usually 15 to 20 pounds.

CLAY: And in the third spot… So I’ve got three of the top four so far.

BUCK: Three of the four. Pretty good, I’ve got to say, for a guy who doesn’t even own a dog.

CLAY: Yeah. Right now. German Shepherd.

BUCK: Wow. Yep, you nailed it. That’s number three. Labrador Retrievers, French Bulldogs, German Shepherds. I love all of these dogs. For me, if I lived in the country, it’s a lab. If I live in the city, it’s a Frenchie. That’s the way I’d go. A Golden Retriever or Labrador I feel are pretty interchangeable, and it’s interesting, you see…

I feel like more than ever people realized during the pandemic — there are a couple of silver lining things out of the pandemic. The shelters emptied out. Although some people took the dogs back to shelters after the pandemic which was not good. But people realized, “Man, when things are rough, having a dog is a good way to go.”

CLAY: Well, and I think a lot of people with kids, because you’re stuck around the house. That’s certainly why we ended up getting the cats. My wife, who loves cats, has the three boys give a persuasive speech, because they weren’t in school. She assigned them a persuasive speech why we should get cats. And I succumbed to the pressure of my family outvoting me.

BUCK: What are the cats’ names?

CLAY: We’ve got Egon, who was named after the ghostbuster. We wanted to go Spengler but instead my youngest son, he liked Caillou. So we went Leo. Leo is the cat’s name on Caillou. We have Leo and Egon.

BUCK: Get a puppy, assuming you can take care of one.