We’ve just completed the first week in August, and that means the end of summer is quickly approaching.

In fact, the Dog Days of Summer will reach their end on Friday.

That’s the period that runs from July 3 — 20 days before Sirius comes into conjunction with the sun — and Aug. 11 — 20 days afterward. It’s usually the hottest stretch of temperatures we will experience during the year, and while Sirius has no impact at all on weather on our planet, it’s a period that has been noted since the time of the ancient Romans and Greeks.

It’s also a time when a lot of interesting statistical surveys are compiled and released, many of which, of course, have to do with dogs — or things that have dog in their names.

For example, a poll conducted by Pampered Pup revealed the choices for state dogs across the country. Only 13 states have official state dogs — which led to the survey being titled “The (Un)Official State Dogs of America.” In Pennsylvania, it’s the Great Dane. In Ohio it’s the shelter dog. West Virginia has no dog designated.

Because of that difference, Pampered Pup, which describes itself as being dedicated to providing the most comprehensive and reliable information on all things dog-related, asked residents of states that had official dogs what their alternative options would be. In Ohio, that turned out to be the beagle. West Virginians chose the cocker spaniel and Pennsylvanians picked the German shepherd.

≤ One of the treats of summer — or any time of the year, for that matter — is the hot dog. If you didn’t know, there is a National Hot Dog Day, which falls each year on the third Wednesday of July, which also is National Hot Dog Month. That means the day was recognized on July 19 this year.

According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Americans eat more than 20 billion hot dogs each year. The council is a Washington, D.C.-based trade group that says it celebrates hot dogs and sausages as iconic American foods and serves as an information source about the quality, safety, nutrition and preparation of the meats.

Hot dogs, the council reports, are not considered a sandwich by 57 percent of Americans, and grilling is recognized as the optimum way to cook them by 75 percent of Americans. If you are getting ready to grill and are planning to throw a few hot dogs on the grates, you are not alone — 74 percent of parents (and 69 percent of nonparents) said a summertime cookout is not complete without hot dogs.

When we’re ready to eat our hot dogs, the council says, 68 percent of us like mustard, 61 percent like ketchup, 61 percent like onions, 41 percent like relish, 30 percent like chili and 29 percent like cheese. And, pop is the clear favorite when it comes to beverages to drink with hot dogs, being chosen by 76 percent of Americans. Finishing neck-and-neck with each other were lemonade (57 percent), beer (54 percent) and iced tea (48 percent.)

It should come as no surprise that New York is the best city for hot dog lovers, according to Lawn Love. The San Diego-based lawn-care service provider used a formula that included access to hot dog vendors, consumer ratings, topping contest awards and whether a city hosts a hot dog eating competition to calculate its rankings.

The remainder of the top five included Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington and San Francisco, with Cincinnati coming in at sixth.

Our region didn’t fare too badly — while Pittsburgh was 32nd, Cleveland was 22nd and Columbus was 62nd.

Finishing last on the list was Boise, Idaho.

≤ With so many things to recognize during the course of the year, it was not surprising to learn that July also is National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday in July is National Ice Cream Day. That means this year’s fell on July 16. While any day is a good day for ice cream, there actually are two days of the year singled out for recognition of the frozen dairy treat — the other is Dec. 13.

According to Scholaroo, an online scholarship platform, the average American will eat 12 pounds of ice cream each year, and the favorite flavor in 23 states is chocolate.

The top five flavors in Ohio are chocolate, rocky road, cookie dough, Neapolitan and cherry. In West Virginia, strawberry is tops, followed by Neapolitan, chocolate, coconut and rocky road. And in Pennsylvania, rocky road is tops, followed by chocolate, cookie dough, cherry and Neapolitan.

All of that adds up to some fun information to think about as summer continues to wind down.

(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times.)