List of Labrador Retrievers

A yellow Labrador retriever. Labradors come in black, chocolate and yellow (i.e., cream or gold) colorings.

Labradors are a very popular selection for use as guide dogs.

This list of famous Labradors covers notable individual dogs that belong to this breed. The Labrador retriever is the most popular breed of dog (by registered ownership) in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The breed is exceptionally affable, intelligent, energetic and good natured, making them excellent and popular pets, companions and working dogs. Working dogs help the blind and deaf because they are very smart. They have a high work ethic Common working roles for Labradors include: hunting, tracking and detection, disabled-assistance, carting, and therapy work. Approximately 60–70% of all guide dogs in the United States are Labradors.

As both the most popular breed by registered ownership and also the most popular breed for service dogs in several countries, there have been many notable and famous labradors since the breed was recognized.

List of famous Labs

Assistance dogs

Endal, the world's most decorated dog, wearing his PDSA Gold Medal.

• Endal, a service dog in England. Among other distinctions, "the most decorated dog in the world" (including "Dog of the Millennium" and the PDSA's Gold Medal for Animal Gallantry and Devotion to Duty), the first dog to ride on the London Eye, the first dog known to work a 'chip and pin' ATM card, and the first dog to place a human being in the recovery position without training following a blackout. As of 2007 some three hundred camera crews from several countries have interviewed Endal and his owner/handler, and a film of a year in his life is in production.
• Lucy, David Blunkett's best known guide dog, who once vomited in the British House of Commons during a Parliamentary speech.
• Timber, named "Heroic Guide Dog of the Year" by Guide Dogs for the Blind (UK) in 2005, after saving the life of his owner, Arthur Griffiths, during a traffic collision.
• Omar Riviera's yellow Labrador guide dog "Dorado". Riviera was on an upper floor of the Twin Towers at the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Despite extreme confusion, noise and panic, Dorado led Riviera down 70 stories just before Tower 1 collapsed. According to media reports, "Riviera even tried to release Dorado so the dog could have a better chance at survival, but found the dog would not leave his side".

Police, military, rescue and detection dogs

Jake, together with Mary, his handler.

Australian explosives detection dog Sabi with her handler in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan, 2007

• Jake, a black Labrador who became a national canine hero after burrowing through "white-hot, smoking debris" in 2001 during the September 11 attacks in search of survivors at the World Trade Center. Also helped search for Hurricane Katrina victims in 2005. As a puppy, Jake was abandoned with a broken leg and dislocated hip, but as an adult became one of fewer than 200 U.S. government-certified rescue dogs, and described by a member of the 9/11 Federal search and rescue teams as "a world class rescue dog". He died of cancer at age 12 in July 2007.
• Lucky and Flo, twin Black Labrador counterfeit detection dogs who became famous in 2007 for "sniffing out nearly 2 million pirated counterfeit DVDs" for the Motion Picture Association of America whilst on a 6 month secondment to Malaysia in 2007. The two later repeated a similar feat in several Queens, New York stores. Following the $multi-million 6-arrest Malaysian detection, they became the first dogs to be awarded Malaysia's "outstanding service award", and software pirates were stated to have put a £30,000 contract out for their lives.
• Sabi, an Australian special forces explosives detection dog that spent almost 14 months missing in action (MIA) in Afghanistan before being recovered safe and well in 2009.
• Sadie, a black Labrador who saved the lives of dozens of soldiers in Afghanistan by detecting a bomb. Recipient of the Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross.
• Sirius, a yellow Labrador New York Port Authority Police Canine, was killed as he waited for his handler in one of the twin towers during 9/11.
• Zanjeer, a detection dog who detected arms and ammunition used in 1993 Mumbai (Bombay) serial explosions. Zanjeer was born on January 7, 1992, and was inducted into the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad on December 29, 1992. He was trained at the Dog Training Centre of the Criminal Investigation Department in Pune. During his service, his haul was excellent. He helped recover 57 country-made bombs, 175 petrol bombs, 11 military bombs, 242 grenades and 600 detonators. His biggest contribution to the police force and the city was the detection of 3,329 kg of RDX. He also helped detect 18 AK-56 rifles and five 9mm pistols. He died at a veterinary hospital in Parel.

Pet dogs

• Buddy, U.S. President Bill Clinton's Labrador, and Seamus, Clinton's other Labrador, received for Father's Day
• Koni, Russian President Vladimir Putin's Labrador Retriever
• Widgeon - Prince William's black Labrador.
• Marley, "The World's Worst Dog", featured in journalist John Grogan's autobiographical book Marley & Me
• Bailey Dozer "Beebo" Charbonneau (known as Mr. Bee on facebook).

Field (working) dogs

The first dog on the cover of Life, a Labrador Retriever: "Blind of Arden" in 1938, winner of the top US Retriever Stake of the Year.

• King Buck (1948–1962), first dog to appear on a US postage stamp (1959), and "the most famous dog in the history of duck hunting". Won the National Retriever Championship in both 1952 and 1953.
• Blind of Arden (born approx 1934), first dog to appear on the cover of Life (1938), also winning the No.1 competition at the time, the open all-age stake of the Long Island Retriever Club, with a "remarkable" blind recovery.
• NFC-AFC San Joaquin Honcho won the 1976 National Field Trial Championship and accumulated 142 All-age points during his competitive career. He was owned and trained by the famed retriever trainer, Judy Aycock, who purchased him on recommendation from the retriever legend Rex Carr.
• NFC AFC Storm's Riptide Star, or "Rascal," was the first chocolate lab to win the National Field Trial Championship. He was the 1996 National Field Trial Champion. He was handled by Mike Lardy. He was also a finalist in the 1998 National Open.

Fiction, TV, books, films and media

• Bat, a blind Black Labrador mix, plays a role in the manga/anime Ginga Densetsu Weed
• Brian Griffin from Family Guy is a white Labrador Retriever.
• Bouncer and Jake (a black lab), from Neighbours
• Brown, is Labrador Retriever in Rule of Rose
• Denmark, a sentient Labrador retriever who is one of the two companions in Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, a series by Brian Jacques
• Digger, is puppy Labrador retriver in Big Barn Farm
• Jet (f.k.a. Bootsy), briefly adopted by the fictional detective genius Nero Wolfe in Rex Stout's 1954 novella "Die Like a Dog"
• Jordan, belonging to KVBC's chief meteorologist in Las Vegas. He was a local favorite to residents and had many minutes of fame on the air throughout his 13 years of life.
• Krypto, Superman's dog, is portrayed as a white Labrador.
• Labramon, is based on Labrador retriever in Digimon
• Luath, from The Incredible Journey
• Orson, a Labrador mix who is a major, semi-sentient character in Fear Nothing by Dean Koontz
• Quill, a guide-dog for the blind whose life is followed in the film of the same name
• Spike, who played "Old Yeller" from the movie Old Yeller (1957 film)
• Radar, the comic Brazil are pet dorinha in Monica's Gang
• Raven, the co-star of Ran Schara's Minnesota Bound.
• Randolph, the erudite narrator of J.F. Englert's mystery-comedy novel A Dog About Town
• Rowdy, Turk and J.D.'s pet stuffed retriever from the show Scrubs
• Rufus, from the western themed videogame Red Dead Redemption
• Ubu Roi (?–1984), logo and closing credits mascot of Ubu Productions' TV series since 1982
• Vincent, from Lost, played by the famous dog Madison
• Marley, from Marley and Me
• Shadow, the Brenan's black lab from Jonathan Park.
• Digger, Cecily King's troublesome dog in Road to Avonlea.

Mascots and adverts

The Andrex Puppy, seen here in a British advertisement from 1994.

• The Andrex Puppy, featured primarily in UK television spots for the Andrex brand of toilet paper, known elsewhere as Scott or Kleenex Cottonelle, also featuring the puppy mascot.
• Nigger, a black Labrador, mascot of the Dambusters squadron.
• Zeke the Wonder Dog, mascot and frisbee fanatic for the Michigan State Spartans
• Alien, a black Lab who served as the team mascot for the Memphis Mad Dogs. Alien would charge the field following each kickoff and retrieve the kicking tee.

Notable individuals in the development of the breed

A surviving picture of Buccleuch Avon (born 1885), the foundational dog of all modern Labradors.

• The Duke of Buccleuch's black Lab Avon ("Buccleuch Avon", m), considered the foundational dog of the modern breed, along with Buccleuch Ned (both gifts from the Earl of Malmesbury) and the Earl of Malmesbury's dogs Malmesbury Tramp (m) and Malmesbury June (f), all pivotal in the foundation of the modern breed. All date to the 1880s. In particular, Jack Vanderwyk traces the origins of all Chocolate labs listed on the LabradorNet database to Buccleuch Avon and the two Malmesbury dogs.
• Ben of Hyde, first yellow lab on record (kennels of Major C.J. Radclyffe, 1899).
• The two famous dogs that rekindled the modern darker ("fox red") colours of yellow Lab—Balrion King Frost, credited as having "the biggest influence in the re-development of the fox red shade", and his great-grandson, the likewise famous Wynfaul Tabasco, described as "the father of the modern fox red Labrador", and the only modern fox red Show Champion in the UK. (Two other dogs, Balrion Red Alert and Scrimshaw Placido Flamingo, are also credited with greatly passing on the genes into more than one renowned bloodline, even though not especially famous themselves.)

Other

• Adjutant (14 August 1936 - 20 November 1963), the oldest known Labrador and the fourth-oldest dog whose age has been verified. Age at death: 27 years 3 months. Lived at the Revesby Estate, near Boston, Lincolnshire in England. Birth certificate validated by Guinness World Records 1966.

See also

• Labrador retriever
• Service dog
• Detection dog
• List of dogs
• List of police dog breeds
• Dogs in warfare

External links

• LabradorNet Hall of Fame
• maartjelabradors.co.uk Details of "Famous Labradors either for their owners or for being in movies or on tv"
• "Origin of Chocolate Lab" - lists a number of labs described as "famous" in its tracing of pedigree routes.
• feilbach.org page covering the 1938 issue of Life, related to Blind of Arden, with full article text.