A social history of Labradors, and how they have become the world’s most beloved dogs, by writer, presenter and long-time dog lover Ben Fogle, whose beloved black Labrador, Inca, famously accompanied him on numerous journeys and adventures.
To all the Labradors who have loved
and been loved.
William Collins
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
This eBook edition published by William Collins in 2015
Text © Ben Fogle, 2015
Excerpt from The Shipping News by Annie Proulx © Dead Line Ltd, 1993 Excerpt from Marley & Me © John Grogan, 2005
Photographs © Individual copyright holders
Cover credit © Shutterstock
Ben Fogle asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this eBook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
Source ISBN: 9780007549016
Ebook Edition © October 2015 ISBN: 9780007549030
Version: 2016-03-09
CONTENTS
Prologue: THE BEGINNING OF THE END
Chapter Three: BANCHORY BOLO AND BEN
Chapter Four: THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY
Chapter Five: BLUE-BLOODED HOUND
Chapter Six: ROCK AND ROLLOVER
Chapter Nine: ALL THE PRESIDENTS’ DOGS
Chapter Ten: LAB OF ALL TRADES
Chapter Twelve: THE END OF THE INCAS
Chapter Thirteen: A PERFECT STORM
Labrador – noun \
‘Don’t cry because it ended,
smile because it happened.’
Dr Seuss
I called Dad.
‘What do you think?’ he asked.
There was a pause. Not because I was thinking, but because I knew. I knew the answer but I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
‘Then we know the answer,’ he replied.
I burst into uncontrollable