I would like to see statues of a Labrador and a Newfoundland dog on Poole Quay in Dorset.
Ben Fogle wrote the book Labrador ( the worlds most popular dog ) in the book he describes the historic link with Poole and the lack of any official acknowledgement about The 2nd Duke of Malmesbury who purchased some dogs on Poole Quay and took them for breeding on his estate at nearby Hurn which is close to Christchurch and Bournemouth.
This all happened about 200 years ago and it is quite possible that virtually all the Labradors in the world are descendants of these dogs.
The huge Newfoundland dog( The St Bernard of the sea) is also well documented as having been readily available at Poole Quay.
The Port of Poole and Poole Harbour have long been associated with Newfoundland, although Cabot sailed from Bristol to discover Newfoundland it is Poole that has had continuous and strong trade links with Newfoundland.
Bournemouth University and Memorial University are also linked through the efforts of the historical group known as Wessex Newfoundland Society.
As a resident of Poole and the owner of two Labrador retrievers I think this is an important part of the history of Poole and the town would benefit in many ways, the statues could become a very familiar landmark and a popular meeting point and focal point near Poole Quay in Baiter Park.
The Borough of Poole have given me a target of £100,000 to raise . We are applying to the Arts Council grants team at the National Lottery for up to 90% of the costs leaving us with about £10,000 to raise. We have already raised about £400 and have pledges for £200 and £1000 already. Can you help us to raise £8400 on this crowdfunding attempt. Once installed the statues will be a statement of great artistic value to the community. The choice of artist will be made carefully and the statues will be both boldly artistic as well as realistic. Based on dogs who were winners of the PDSA Dickin awards 'Whizz & Endel'