Tucks and torts: For a Westside resident,...

Tucks and torts: For a Westside resident, it could be considered the ultimate nightmare--to be asked under oath whether you’ve had plastic surgery.

Fortunately, the juror candidates polled in the Santa Monica case of an allegedly botched tummy tuck were given an out--they could also raise their hands if they knew anyone who’d had such a make-over.

A clear majority said yes.

During the individual questioning, one woman mentioned that she hadn’t even noticed that her mother had cosmetic facial surgery. Left unsaid was whether the operation was considered a success.

Fido’s day has passed: Lady and Max are queen and king of the dog names in L.A. The latest survey by the city Animal Regulation Department 2,214 canines named Lady, and 2,055 who answer to Max.

Ranked far below on the list of 190,340 names were such traditional ones as Spot (246), Rover (63) and Fido (42). Tied for last place with one vote was a hound named Aaron Spelling (1).

List of the Day: The runners-up to Lady and Max:

3. Rocky, 1,471

4. Brandy, 1,363

5. Bear, 1,338

6. Blackie, 1,321

7. Lucky, 1,293

8. Princess, 1,283

9. Duke, 1,216

10. Ginger, 1,156

11. Pepper, 1,014; 12. Sandy, 838; 13. Sam, 799; 14. Samantha, 786; 15. Shadow, 777; 16. Coco, 770; 17. Sheba, 745; 18. Maggie, 706; 19. Muffin 636; 20. Missy 627.

Reader survey: Just to show you we’re not afraid of criticism, we’ve included the accompanying form, which Edie Amos of Beverly Hills found in the Good Shepherd Community Church’s newsletter.

Don’t know much about geography (cont.): Christopher Drake points out that Pac Bell didn’t merely introduce a city named “Gardenia” on the map we published the other day (it was “Gardena” the last time we drove through). It also omitted the burg that sits between Manhattan and Redondo beaches--Hermosa Beach, which old-timers will recall once styled itself “The Aristocrat of the Beaches.”

But no one’s perfect: “Harvey, my boy, prepare to be ‘fax-Blitzened’ again, for you have ‘Dondered’ once more,” faxed Bill Saffer of Beverly Hills (a bit too gleefully for our taste). Saffer, dredging up the little boo-boo we made about the lyrics of “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” noted that we also said the unfortunate passenger in the old Kingston Trio song “MTA” was trapped in a bus. Saffer instructed us that Poor Charlie was on Boston’s subway, not a bus. We were frankly surprised to learn that anyone had a subway before L.A.

Jack Parker of Sepulveda, meanwhile, wrote that we also said recently that the old County Engineers Building in the Civic Center is nine stories tall, while the accompanying photo showed quite conclusively that it has 10.

We wanted to admit these transgressions to save you the trouble of trying to expose them in that itty-bitty box.

miscelLAny:

The 97th Street Elementary School is on 98th Street.