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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio lawmaker has proposed making the Labrador retriever the official state dog.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports Ohio could become the 13th state to name a state dog, and the first to recognize the Labrador as such.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Jeffery Rezabek, of Clayton, says he thinks the popular breed would represent Ohio values well because it’s a working dog and sporting dog. Rezabek notes that Labradors are trained as rescue dogs, police dogs and therapy dogs and are kept as family pets.

He says his own family had Labradors while he was growing up.

Rezabek says his bill wouldn’t interfere with a proposal introduced last year to designate the shelter pet as the state pet.

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Information from: The Cincinnati Enquirer, http://www.enquirer.com