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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. 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, 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 9/11 attacks on New York. 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, a black Labrador who became a national canine hero after burrowing through "white-hot, smoking debris" 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.
• 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.
• Zanjeer, a detection dog who found arms and ammunition used in 1993 Mumbai (Bombay) serial explosions.
• Sirius, a yellow labarador New York Port Authority Police Canine, killed as he waited for his handler in one of the twin towers during 9/11.
• 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.

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

Field (working) dogs

• 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 (b.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.

Fiction, TV, books, films and media

• Bouncer and Jake (a black lab), from Neighbours.
• Jet (f.k.a. Bootsy), briefly adopted by the fictional detective genius Nero Wolfe in Rex Stout's 1954 novella "Die Like a Dog", collected in the volume Three Witnesses.
• Labramon, is fradulent labradorlike in Digimon
• Luath, from The Incredible Journey
• Randolph, the erudite narrator of J.F. Englert's mystery-comedy novel A Dog About Town
• Ubu Roi, of UBU Productions
• Vincent, from Lost, played by the famous dog Madison
• Rowdy, Turk and J.D.'s pet stuffed retriever from the show Scrubs
• 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.

Mascots and adverts

• 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.
• The Andrex Puppy, featured primarily in UK television spots for the Andrex brand of toilet paper, known in elsewhere as Scott or Cottonelle, also featuring the puppy mascot.
• Zeke the Wonder Dog, mascot and frisbee fanatic for the Michigan State Spartans

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, 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, 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

(none listed)

References

1. rec.pets.dogs Service Dogs FAQ, 1995–96 updated 2000.
2. "Endal, December 2006" (html). Illinois Springer Spaniel Rescue. Retrieved 2007-06-20. 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.
3. http://illinoisspringerrescue2.pulse.net/SITETWO/ENDAL.html - "Most recently Endal, as observed by some of the biggest national newspapers in 2006, has learned how to put the Chip and Pin card into the machine and remove it after the transaction which Allen is proud to reveal makes him the first dog in the world to achieve this remarkable feat."
4. As at December 2006, 299 film crews had interviewed the pair.
5. "TV crew making film of partners' year". K9 Perspective Magazine, Issue 27.
6. "Crufts 2006 eventful for Allen and Endal". K9 Perspective Magazine, Issue 27.
7. Timber the guide dog unfazed by award for bravery - The Independent Sept 9 2005.
8. http://www.cnib.ca/en/living/safe-travel/history-dogs-0807/Default.aspx
9. http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Features/2007/07/26/4369910-ap.html
10. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16885986/
11. Animal VC for Sadie, the heroine of Kabul
12. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/am-dog0830,0,7661895.story
13. http://movies.gearlive.com/movies/article/q107-dvd-sniffing-dogs-curb-counterfeiting-08301145/
14. The amount is uncertain; it was cited as US $3 million according to some sources, and US $6 million according to others.
15. http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/20/dvd-sniffing-dogs-awarded-medals-returning-to-nyc/
16. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/28/fresh-off-malaysian-triumph-dvd-sniffing-dogs-hit-new-york/?hp
17. http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/22/dvd-pirates-put-out-hits-on-lucky-and-flo-the-crime-dogs/
18. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A545186
19. Source: alllabs.com, which also describes King Buck as "famous."
20. http://www.brampton-labradors.com/8455.html?*session*id*key*=*session*id*val*
21. ^ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8634412
22. ^ "1938 LIFE Magazine Issues For Sale at 2Neat Magazines". 2neatmagazines.com. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-5. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help) "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 Nov. 21, had his picture taken at Southampton by LIFE photographer George Karger." and stated to be 4 years old at the time. Full article text here also confirms details of competition.
23. http://www.pslra.org/html/articles/faqs.htm - "Buccleuch's Ned and Buccleuch's Avon are generally agreed upon as being the ancestors of all Labradors."
24. http://www.plazaearth.com/ldoll/storm's_riptide_star_ped.htm - "the foundation dog Buccleuch Avon born 1885".
25. lakecharlesretrieverclub.com - 'Origins of Chocolate Labs' by Jack Vanderwyk
26. Barmore, Laura. "History of the Lab". Retrieved 2007-09-12.
27. ^ http://www.littleriverlabs.com/foxred.htm

See also

• Labrador retriever
• Service dog
• Detection dog
• List of famous dogs

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"
• lakecharlesretrieverclub.com "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.

• Famous dogs
• Dog breeds
• Dog lists