Fetch! Who does it and why?

     Fetch has a couple meanings.  Essentially, it means go get something and bring it back.  It also can mean attractive as in "that person is quite fetching."  What kid of dog is attractive and goes to get things for you?  The answer is a Retriever!

     A Retriever is a type of dog that retrieves game for a hunter.  Usually, they retrieve waterfowl.  Retrievers are generally great at learning and obeying.  They are so trainable that they are often used as companion animals to help people.  The most common retrievers you will see are Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers.  "Labs" more likely did not come from Labrador.  They probably came from Newfoundland and are most commonly Yellow, Chocolate, or Black.  Golden retrievers are most often golden (of course) but a few look pretty red.  Goldens have a longer coat than Labs but both share the trait of a somewhat oily coat.  This helps prevent ice from forming on them when they retrieve game from water in freezing conditions.  They are trainable, happy, and friendly.  No wonder they are also used to rescue people in disasters as well as being great at providing therapy and comfort others.  This gives new meaning to an old joke about a doctor charging a patient $500 to let a dog and a cat walk around the patient to diagnose an illness.  The charge was $100 for the "Lab test" and $400 for the "Cat scan."

     Retrievers are the most popular dog in many countries including America.  Unfortunately, because there are so many of them, there are alot of them in shelters and rescues too.  There are many dogs listed as "Lab X" in shelters.  This means "Labrador Retriever Mix."  The most common reason they are left at shelters is their size.  Some of them are nearly 100lbs with 60-70 being very common.  At the time of this writing, Pinellas County Animal Services has 4 Labrador Retrievers or "Lab X."  One of them is a 2 year old female that looks like a pure bred Labrador with one little exception..... her adult weight is 40lbs.  She might just be the smallest one around!

Those who adopt Retrievers have really fetching dogs!  If you would like to see the dogs available at Pinellas County Animal Services who are available for adoption, visit this video:

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/22427951