POOLE council has dismissed the town's links with the Labrador and Newfoundland breeds as "not strong enough" to warrant statues of the dogs on the Quay.

Dog-lover Bill Lane, 62, who came up with the idea to celebrate the dogs’ historical connections with the port town where both breeds were first introduced to the country some 200 years ago, told the Echo the council had so far tried to "brush him off like a flea."

He was even advised to offer the statues to Bournemouth and Christchurch in a dismissive email from a Borough of Poole employee.

The email, from a senior urban design and conservation officer at Borough of Poole, reads: “Poole’s links with the two breeds are not felt to be strong enough - compared with other locations - to suggest that installing the two statues on Poole Quay should be considered a council priority at present. As a result you may wish to further explore gifting the statues to Bournemouth or Christchurch.”

But Bill is not giving up on the idea which is gathering support locally, including from members of the Wessex Newfoundland Society and through his 500-strong Facebook group.

He added: “I’m just very patiently following the trail - I’m not giving up.”

He has asked the council to reconsider the evidence and said the statues would also be emblematic of Poole’s links with the Canadian province of Newfoundland, forged through the cod trade from the 1500s and reflected in the street names of Newfoundland Drive and Labrador Drive close to Poole Quay.

Bill was initially inspired by reading Labrador by Ben Fogle which traces Labradors back to their origins as Canadian fishing dogs taken on to work on Portuguese cod trawlers off Newfoundland, and brought to Europe around 200 years ago when those trawlers docked at Poole on their way back to Portugal.

In his subsequent research he has found Poole ‘repeatedly’ referred to as the port where the dogs first came to Europe. He added: “What do they want - photos and videos of them coming off the boat or something?”

Bill, who has already obtained quotes from sculptors, is seeking to ‘crowdfund’ the project, and said he is “absolutely not” asking the council for money, adding: “They just need to find a spot to put it.”

Nick Perrins, planning policy officer, Borough of Poole, said: “We’re still actively engaging with Mr Lane about the merits of his proposal."

ACCORDING to historians Newfoundland dogs were once among the more unusual imports at Poole's bustling port.

From the 18th century onwards the breed found itself in demand, especially from wealthier families and sportsmen who used them to fetch wildfowl from the sea.

Poole became known for one of the best places to acquire one of the dogs, and sea captains trading with Newfoundland, Canada, soon traded the dogs in what became a lucrative sideline.

According to archives tradesmen also used the Newfoundland's to pull carts through the narrow streets of Poole's 18th century Old Town.

Meanwhile, some of the earliest pedigrees of Labrador dog were imported into Poole, to be used as gundogs, through the port's trading links with Canada.

Colonel Hawker, a celebrated shooter, owned a schooner ship which sailed between Poole and Newfoundland.

In 1830 he said: "The Labrador is by far the best for any kind of shooting. Their sense of smell is hardly to be credited; in finding wounded game there is no equal in the canine race."