This list of
Labrador Retrievers covers notable individual dogs that belong to this breed. The Labrador retriever is the most popular
breed of dogs (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. They have a high work ethic[1] 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.
Cora, a yellow lab golden retriever cross, is a Guide Dog for the Blind in England who holds the
Freedom of the City of London. Cora is the first and only Free Dog of the City of London since the recognition ceremony was first recorded in 1237 in the year of King Henry III. The Freedom of the City of London is awarded to people who have achieved success, recognition or celebrity in their chosen field. The recognition of the Freedom of the City of London was unanimously extended to Cora at Guildhall in June 2017 alongside her owner who is a solicitor member of City of London Solicitors Livery Company.
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),[2] the first dog to ride on the
London Eye, the first dog known to work a '
chip and pin' ATM card,[3] and the first dog to place a human being in the
recovery position without training following a
blackout. As of 2007[update] some three hundred camera crews from several countries have interviewed Endal and his owner/handler,[4] and a
film of a year in his life is in
production.[5][6]
Sully, served with former US President George H. W. Bush during the last six months of his life; noted for his role during the president's funeral.
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.[7]
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".[8]
Police, military, rescue and detection dogs
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
Ground Zero. He 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.[9][10]
Lucky and Flo, twin Black Labrador counterfeit detection dogs who became famous in 2007 for "sniffing out nearly 2 million
unlicensed counterfeit
DVDs" for the
Motion Picture Association of America while on a 6-month secondment to
Malaysia in 2007. The two later repeated a similar feat in several
Queens, New York stores.[11][12] Following the $multi-million[13] 6-arrest Malaysian detection, they became the first dogs to be awarded Malaysia's "outstanding service award",[14] and software pirates were stated to have put a £30,000
contract out for their lives.[15][16]
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.[19]
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
Type-56 rifles and five 9mm pistols. He died at a
veterinary hospital in
Parel.
Frida,
Mexican rescue dog, retired in 2019. Took part in 53 operations in various
Central American countries, saving 12 lives and locating 40 bodies. Retirement marked by a ceremony by the Mexican Naval Canine Unit attended by deputy minister
Eduardo Redondo, while
murals and a bronze statue of her have been created in various places.[20]
Agata is a female yellow
Labrador Retrieverdrug detection dog who works in
Leticia, Colombia. In 2004, Colombian
drug barons placed a $10,000
bounty on her head, resulting in the dog and her handler being assigned a bodyguard and her food being monitored for poison.[21][22][23] The bounty was the result of her superior skills at drug detection, having stopped more than three hundred kilos of
cocaine, worth more than seven million dollars, and twenty kilos of heroin.[22][24] She was decorated for her work.[21]
Other heroic labs
Willie, who saved his friend, John Stenglein, from a
wolf attack at a
logging camp near on April 26, 2000, in
Icy Bay, Alaska. John and an older boy were playing near the edge of a logging camp when a wolf appeared and chased the boys, attacking John when he fell and dragging him and toward the woods. He was saved by his friend's
Labrador retriever, Willie, followed by a group of people, and then John's father arrived and shot the wolf. The wolf was found to have been neither sick nor starving, but
habituated to the presence of people. John received 19 laceration and puncture wounds on the back, legs, and buttocks.[25]
King Buck (1948–1962) successfully completed an unprecedented 63 consecutive series in the National Championship Stake and was the National Retriever
Field Trial Club champion for two successive years (in 1952 and 1953), which accomplishment was not duplicated for nearly 40 years. He was also the first dog to appear on a
United States Fish and Wildlife ServiceDuck stamp (1959), which always featured a water fowl.[27]
Blind of Arden (born c. 1934),[28]Life magazine December 12, 1938: Cover - Labrador Retriever, Blind of Arden". Inside cover text reads: "The dog on this week's cover is Blind of Arden, who won the No. 1 U.S. retriever stake of the year on November 21, had his picture taken at Southampton by LIFE photographer George Karger." and stated to be 4 years old at the time.[29] 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.[28]
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.[30]
Brandeis, a Muppet dog on Sesame Street who finds work as a
mobility assistance dog. The puppet appears in later episodes, where it is featured in one of several roles which call for a generic dog.
Brian Griffin from the animated sitcom Family Guy is a white Labrador Retriever. He is highly
anthropomorphized (he drinks
dry martinis and drives a
Toyota Prius), however he still exhibits many traits which are commonly associated with dogs (for example he cannot resist chasing a ball).
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 a titular character on Digimon which is based on the Labrador Retriever breed.
Merle is a Lab mix featured in Ted Kerasote's book Merle's Door. It follows the life of the dog that Kerasote found on a canoe trip in the Tetons, until Merle's passing and the dog's free range life in a small Wyoming town.
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
Radar, the comic Brazil pet dorinha in Monica's Gang
In Bluey, Lucky's family, consisting of himself, younger brother Chucky, and parents Pat and Janelle, are all Golden Labradors, while Jean-Luc & his family, consisting of himself, his parents, are all Black Labradors
Mascots and adverts
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.[26]
Nigger, a black Labrador, mascot of the
Dambusters squadron around 1940. (At the time, in the UK, this name was not seen as an offensive word)
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
The
Duke of Buccleuch's black Lab Avon ("Buccleuch Avon", m), considered the foundational dog of the modern breed,[33][better source needed] 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.[34]
Ben of Hyde, first yellow lab on record (kennels of Major C.J. Radclyffe, 1899).[35]
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",[36] 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.[36] (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).[36]
Pep (
c. 1923 – 1930), was a Black Labrador sent to the
Eastern State Penitentiary by Pennsylvania governor
Gifford Pinchot in 1924. Though he was sent to "boost morale" and had free reign of the prison, he was portrayed in the media as a "cat-murderer" who was given a life sentence. The governor received thousands of letters critical of the dog's incarceration. Pep was liked by guards and prisoners, chased rats in the prison corridors, and was later transferred to the
Graterford Prison Farm.[39][40]
Notorious labs
Toby, 75 lbs., who killed 2-year-old
Megan Stack, left alone downstairs with the dog, in 1988.[41]
A 9 to 12-week-old lab killed 2-month-old
Zane Earls, who had been left alone in 2008. The dog had not been fed in days and was later put to sleep. The teenage mother of Earls was convicted of
manslaughter for leaving her baby unattended in a swing for roughly 2 hours while the puppy was loose in the house.[42][43]
^"Endal, December 2006". Illinois Springer Spaniel Rescue. Archived from
the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved June 20, 2007. The trophy cabinet at their family home in
Hampshire would be the envy of most football club managers and houses an impressive list of awards including Dog of the Millennium and the
PDSA's Gold Medal for Animal Gallantry and Devotion to Duty. It is true to say that Endal, who can even count
the Queen as one of his devotees, is probably the most decorated dog in the world.
^
Verena, Dobnik.
"Heroic dog dies of cancer". Archived from the original on August 11, 2007. Retrieved October 31, 2014.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^McNay, Mark E.; Mooney, Philip W. (2005). "Attempted predation of a child by a Gray Wolf, Canis lupus, near Icy Bay, Alaska". Canadian Field-Naturalist. 119 (2): 197–201.
^Source: The Guinness Book of World Records Revised & Enlarged Edition, 1966. According to Guinness World Records, a dog’s age is validated when Guinness World Records approves of their birth certificate. Quoted at:
"Adjutant". The Famous Dogs Image-n-Info Bank. 2001. Archived from
the original on November 21, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
This list of
Labrador Retrievers covers notable individual dogs that belong to this breed. The Labrador retriever is the most popular
breed of dogs (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. They have a high work ethic[1] 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.
Cora, a yellow lab golden retriever cross, is a Guide Dog for the Blind in England who holds the
Freedom of the City of London. Cora is the first and only Free Dog of the City of London since the recognition ceremony was first recorded in 1237 in the year of King Henry III. The Freedom of the City of London is awarded to people who have achieved success, recognition or celebrity in their chosen field. The recognition of the Freedom of the City of London was unanimously extended to Cora at Guildhall in June 2017 alongside her owner who is a solicitor member of City of London Solicitors Livery Company.
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),[2] the first dog to ride on the
London Eye, the first dog known to work a '
chip and pin' ATM card,[3] and the first dog to place a human being in the
recovery position without training following a
blackout. As of 2007[update] some three hundred camera crews from several countries have interviewed Endal and his owner/handler,[4] and a
film of a year in his life is in
production.[5][6]
Sully, served with former US President George H. W. Bush during the last six months of his life; noted for his role during the president's funeral.
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.[7]
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".[8]
Police, military, rescue and detection dogs
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
Ground Zero. He 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.[9][10]
Lucky and Flo, twin Black Labrador counterfeit detection dogs who became famous in 2007 for "sniffing out nearly 2 million
unlicensed counterfeit
DVDs" for the
Motion Picture Association of America while on a 6-month secondment to
Malaysia in 2007. The two later repeated a similar feat in several
Queens, New York stores.[11][12] Following the $multi-million[13] 6-arrest Malaysian detection, they became the first dogs to be awarded Malaysia's "outstanding service award",[14] and software pirates were stated to have put a £30,000
contract out for their lives.[15][16]
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.[19]
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
Type-56 rifles and five 9mm pistols. He died at a
veterinary hospital in
Parel.
Frida,
Mexican rescue dog, retired in 2019. Took part in 53 operations in various
Central American countries, saving 12 lives and locating 40 bodies. Retirement marked by a ceremony by the Mexican Naval Canine Unit attended by deputy minister
Eduardo Redondo, while
murals and a bronze statue of her have been created in various places.[20]
Agata is a female yellow
Labrador Retrieverdrug detection dog who works in
Leticia, Colombia. In 2004, Colombian
drug barons placed a $10,000
bounty on her head, resulting in the dog and her handler being assigned a bodyguard and her food being monitored for poison.[21][22][23] The bounty was the result of her superior skills at drug detection, having stopped more than three hundred kilos of
cocaine, worth more than seven million dollars, and twenty kilos of heroin.[22][24] She was decorated for her work.[21]
Other heroic labs
Willie, who saved his friend, John Stenglein, from a
wolf attack at a
logging camp near on April 26, 2000, in
Icy Bay, Alaska. John and an older boy were playing near the edge of a logging camp when a wolf appeared and chased the boys, attacking John when he fell and dragging him and toward the woods. He was saved by his friend's
Labrador retriever, Willie, followed by a group of people, and then John's father arrived and shot the wolf. The wolf was found to have been neither sick nor starving, but
habituated to the presence of people. John received 19 laceration and puncture wounds on the back, legs, and buttocks.[25]
King Buck (1948–1962) successfully completed an unprecedented 63 consecutive series in the National Championship Stake and was the National Retriever
Field Trial Club champion for two successive years (in 1952 and 1953), which accomplishment was not duplicated for nearly 40 years. He was also the first dog to appear on a
United States Fish and Wildlife ServiceDuck stamp (1959), which always featured a water fowl.[27]
Blind of Arden (born c. 1934),[28]Life magazine December 12, 1938: Cover - Labrador Retriever, Blind of Arden". Inside cover text reads: "The dog on this week's cover is Blind of Arden, who won the No. 1 U.S. retriever stake of the year on November 21, had his picture taken at Southampton by LIFE photographer George Karger." and stated to be 4 years old at the time.[29] 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.[28]
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.[30]
Brandeis, a Muppet dog on Sesame Street who finds work as a
mobility assistance dog. The puppet appears in later episodes, where it is featured in one of several roles which call for a generic dog.
Brian Griffin from the animated sitcom Family Guy is a white Labrador Retriever. He is highly
anthropomorphized (he drinks
dry martinis and drives a
Toyota Prius), however he still exhibits many traits which are commonly associated with dogs (for example he cannot resist chasing a ball).
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 a titular character on Digimon which is based on the Labrador Retriever breed.
Merle is a Lab mix featured in Ted Kerasote's book Merle's Door. It follows the life of the dog that Kerasote found on a canoe trip in the Tetons, until Merle's passing and the dog's free range life in a small Wyoming town.
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
Radar, the comic Brazil pet dorinha in Monica's Gang
In Bluey, Lucky's family, consisting of himself, younger brother Chucky, and parents Pat and Janelle, are all Golden Labradors, while Jean-Luc & his family, consisting of himself, his parents, are all Black Labradors
Mascots and adverts
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.[26]
Nigger, a black Labrador, mascot of the
Dambusters squadron around 1940. (At the time, in the UK, this name was not seen as an offensive word)
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
The
Duke of Buccleuch's black Lab Avon ("Buccleuch Avon", m), considered the foundational dog of the modern breed,[33][better source needed] 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.[34]
Ben of Hyde, first yellow lab on record (kennels of Major C.J. Radclyffe, 1899).[35]
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",[36] 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.[36] (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).[36]
Pep (
c. 1923 – 1930), was a Black Labrador sent to the
Eastern State Penitentiary by Pennsylvania governor
Gifford Pinchot in 1924. Though he was sent to "boost morale" and had free reign of the prison, he was portrayed in the media as a "cat-murderer" who was given a life sentence. The governor received thousands of letters critical of the dog's incarceration. Pep was liked by guards and prisoners, chased rats in the prison corridors, and was later transferred to the
Graterford Prison Farm.[39][40]
Notorious labs
Toby, 75 lbs., who killed 2-year-old
Megan Stack, left alone downstairs with the dog, in 1988.[41]
A 9 to 12-week-old lab killed 2-month-old
Zane Earls, who had been left alone in 2008. The dog had not been fed in days and was later put to sleep. The teenage mother of Earls was convicted of
manslaughter for leaving her baby unattended in a swing for roughly 2 hours while the puppy was loose in the house.[42][43]
^"Endal, December 2006". Illinois Springer Spaniel Rescue. Archived from
the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved June 20, 2007. The trophy cabinet at their family home in
Hampshire would be the envy of most football club managers and houses an impressive list of awards including Dog of the Millennium and the
PDSA's Gold Medal for Animal Gallantry and Devotion to Duty. It is true to say that Endal, who can even count
the Queen as one of his devotees, is probably the most decorated dog in the world.
^
Verena, Dobnik.
"Heroic dog dies of cancer". Archived from the original on August 11, 2007. Retrieved October 31, 2014.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^McNay, Mark E.; Mooney, Philip W. (2005). "Attempted predation of a child by a Gray Wolf, Canis lupus, near Icy Bay, Alaska". Canadian Field-Naturalist. 119 (2): 197–201.
^Source: The Guinness Book of World Records Revised & Enlarged Edition, 1966. According to Guinness World Records, a dog’s age is validated when Guinness World Records approves of their birth certificate. Quoted at:
"Adjutant". The Famous Dogs Image-n-Info Bank. 2001. Archived from
the original on November 21, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2010.