The Labrador Retriever is one of the most popular dogs in America.  He is gentle, loving, intelligent, obedient, and loyal.  He is best known for his abilities in the field as a hunting and retrieving dog, but is also used as a guide dog for the blind, for sniffing out drugs, explosives, and guns, for search and rescue missions, and for helping give comfort to the sick and the elderly, as a therapy dog.
       The history of the Labrador did not begin in Labrador, as the name would suggest, but in Newfoundland sometime during the 1700's.  There were two main breeds common to that area, the larger Newfoundland breed that still exists today, and the smaller, shorter-haired "St. Johns dog" which was eventually imported into England during the 19th century.  The Earl of Malmesbury originated the Labrador breed name in a letter written in 1887:  "We always call mine Labrador dogs, and I have kept the breed as pure as I could from the first I had from Poole, at that time carrying on a brisk trade with Newfoundland.  The real breed may be known by its close coat which turns the water off like oil and, above all, a tail like an otter" (taken from "The Complete Dog Book", 19th edition from the American Kennel Club).
       The Labrador retriever is strong, and solidly built, with a broad head, and kind eyes.  The coat is usually black, yellow, or chocolate.  However, there are variations in both the yellow and chocolate colors, from a light to a dark.