List of Labrador Retrievers

A yellow Labrador retriever.

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

This list of Labrador Retrievers 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. 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.

List of famous dogs

Assistance dogs

Labrador guide dogs.

• 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 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]
• 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.^[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, together with Mary, his handler.

• 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.^[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]
• 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.^[17][18]
• 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]
• 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 Type-56 rifles and five 9mm pistols. He died at a veterinary hospital in Parel.

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,^[29][30] 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.^[31]
• Ben of Hyde, first yellow lab on record (kennels of Major C.J. Radclyffe, 1899).^[32]
• 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",^[33] 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.^[33] (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).^[33]

Notorious Labs

• Tania, whose 2005 attack on her unconscious owner Isabelle Dinoire led to the world's first partial face transplant.
• Toby, 75 lbs., who killed 2-year-old Megan Stack, left alone downstairs with the dog, in 1988.
• The puppy who killed 2-month-old Zane Earls left alone in an elevated, wind-up child swing, in 2008.

See also

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

References

External links

• Labradornet.com 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.