Chocolate Labradors

I saw this image of a chocolate Labrador, and realised that they really are quite cute. So I went to a couple of web sites, notably ChocolateLabs.com and found out all sorts of interesting things.

Like, that Labrador Retrievers descended from the St. John's variety of water dog, brought from Newfoundland to England in the 1820's, presumably by the Earl of Malmesbury, who devoted his entire kennel to developing and stabilizing this earlier form of Labradors. The Kennel Club in England officially recognized the Labrador Retriever in 1903, and the breed programs worked mostly to develop the Labrador's abilities in the field as an athletic retriever.

However, there was one sinister bit of information. This blog posting reports that her Chocolate Lab, called Schoko, was regularly reported as "grunting in her sleep ... GOD AWFUL gas, and drooling when taunted with food". How bizarre!