A DOG lover has launched a bid to have a statue of a Labrador dog installed on Poole Quay to highlight the breed's connections to the town.

Bill Lane, 62, is hoping to raise more than £80,000 through crowdfunding to pay for the double statue of a Labrador and Newfoundland dog - an exact copy of an existing statue on the coast of Newfoundland.

He was inspired by reading a history of breed - 'Labrador' by Ben Fogle - which traces Britain's most beloved dog back to its origins. Labradors began as Canadian fishing dogs, whose ancestors were taken on to work on the Portuguese cod trawlers off the remote Canadian island of Newfoundland.

According to the author's research they first came to Europe around 200 years ago when those trawlers docked at Poole in Dorset on their way back to Portugal - and this is where the national love affair began.

One apparent 19th-century admirer was the second Earl of Malmesbury, whose estate was at Hurn in Bournemouth. Spotting the potential of the breed he started his own breeding programme and the rest, as they say, is history.

But the book, which was a Sunday Times bestseller, also note's of Poole's lack of recognition for this special link with the country's most favoured of man's best friends - although the historic associations between Poole and the Labrador and Newfoundland areas are well known.

Bill, who has two labradors himself, said: "Ben Fogle has laid down the gauntlet, and I have picked it up. Great statues in cities seem to be of people who have won a battle - but this is a nice thing. It's something that will make people smile."

Encouraged by positive responses to his idea he has set up a Facebook group and begun making enquiries. Luben Boykov, the Bulgarian-born artist who sculpted the original dog statues in the city of St John's in Newfoundland, has offered to create replicas for Poole for around £85,000, added Bill.

The retired psychiatric nurse, who imagines the statues might sit well alongside Poole Lifeboat Station Museum, has even sought sponsorship from Andrex, which famously uses a Labrador puppy in its advertising.

He told the Echo: "It would be nice if people in Poole got behind the idea."

Michael Spender, Museum and Arts Manager, Borough of Poole, said: “It is always great to see our residents take an interest in the history of Poole and the support this campaign is receiving shows the enthusiasm people have for public art. Poole Quay is one of Poole’s greatest assets and we will be keen to see how this project develops.”