Republican state lawmakers today introduced a bill that would name the Labrador Retriever as the state’s official dog breed. Senator Carrie Ruud of Breezy Point says there’s a lot of reasons why it’s a good bill, but “the biggest reason is to develop relationships here at the Capitol, we have a lot of new members that we don’t know, and what better way to develop relationships that have something positive, bring a little joy back to the Capitol, we’ve kind of lost our sense of humor.” House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt joked that this type of bill is something he would typically vote against, but he says he’s a dog lover and in addition “it gives kids an opportunity to follow a bill and learn more about the legislative process, with a bill that’s not so serious and kind of a fun bill and it also gave us an excuse to bring dogs to the capitol and make people happy.” The bill is called “Raven’s Law” and it’s named for famed Minnesota outdoorsman Ron Schara’s lab. Schara says the bill was not his idea, “but it’s a good one and I’m here to tell that we all know that this will open a pandoras box because everybody loves their dog.” Making the case for why labradors should be the top dog, Schara says they’re the number one American Kennel Club-registered dogs in Minnesota–and they’re also part of Minnesota’s long waterfowl heritage. And he says they’re outstanding service dogs.