SWAMPSCOTT — In Swampscott, there’s a good chance that the dog splashing at the beach or trotting through the park is a Labrador. And, there’s a decent chance her name is Daisy.
With May marking National Pet Month, town dog licensing records show that Daisy is the town’s most popular dog name among the 757 licensed pups. Luna ranks second, while Charlie, Cooper, Coco, and Penny are tied for third. Labrador retrievers lead the breed rankings, followed closely by golden retrievers.
One of those Daisys, a beagle, belongs to residents Libby and Adam Ritchie. Adam said the name carries family history.
“When I was little, my uncle Walt had a beagle whose mother’s name was Daisy,” he said. “When my family adopted a German Shepherd, that dog’s mother’s name was also Daisy. Because Daisy had produced two of the best dogs my family could have ever asked for, I thought bringing the name back into the family would be a nice way to honor them.”
Adam said that he did not realize how common the name was locally until the couple moved to Swampscott in 2024 — an adaptation that Daisy has taken in stride.
“She’s a sweetheart, sharp as a tack, and loves to play,” he said. “She’s gone from being a city dog, wary of the water lapping off a lake, to a fearless North Shore dog, charging into the waves off Swampscott in the dead of winter.”
Daisy works hard. She knows more than 100 words and commutes daily to the public relations agency where Adam works. He said she’s even given advice to PRWeek readers. Her accolades include winning Boston’s “Doggone Halloween” costume contest multiple times in coordinated costumes with the Ritchies, including a pilot and co-pilot, Axl Rose and Slash, and a lobster fisherman paired with Daisy dressed as a lobster.
Adam said Daisy especially loves trips to Whale Beach, where she sprints after tennis balls and “bays at the top of her lungs” while chasing them across the sand.
“She knows the word ‘beach,’” Adam said, “and spins in circles when Libby and I offer to take her there.”
More than 50 dogs in town fall within the Labrador family, including Labrador retrievers, colored labs, and lab mixes, though Labradoodles were excluded from the count. Combined, Labradors are the town’s most common breed.
“I do see a lot of labs,” said resident Chris Mauriello, owner of an American Labrador named Blaney. “We run into a lot of lab owners.”
While Blaney does not share the town’s most popular dog name, the lab’s name has local roots.
“We used to live on Blaney Street when we first moved to town,” Mauriello said.
Mauriello said he was surprised Labradors topped the local rankings. Based on what he sees around town, he expected golden retrievers or French bulldogs to rank first. He said he associated Labrador’s popularity more with national trends than with Swampscott specifically.
For local breeder and Select Board member MaryEllen Fletcher, however, the results came as no surprise.
Fletcher, who has bred Labradors for decades in town, said the breed’s temperament explains its popularity.
“I think it’s the greatest breed,” Fletcher said. “They’re smart. They’re kind. They’re easygoing. They don’t take a lot of grooming. I think it’s an amazing breed.”
Fletcher said Labradors are especially appealing because of their gentle personalities.
“It’s just an easy dog to have,” she said. “You don’t have to worry about it snapping or being hard to deal with. They’re just really easy dogs.”
Over the years, Fletcher has placed many Labradors with families across town and the surrounding area. In 2022, she provided a dog named Ryan to the Fire Department. Ryan was named in honor of a captain who died that year, and Fletcher said the dog still recognizes her voice.
Another Labrador also serves the community in a different way. Kayce, a 2-year-old golden Labrador mix owned by Eva Mintz Bacon, has worked as a therapy dog at Massachusetts General Hospital for about a year and a half.
“He’ll lie in bed for hours with a patient as they’re getting chemotherapy,” Mintz Bacon said. “I feel like he can really sense what patients are going through. It gives a whole new perspective on how amazingly helpful and therapeutic labs can be.”
Kayce has become well known around the hospital and has appeared in television news segments. Despite weighing nearly 85 pounds, Mintz Bacon said he is especially gentle with patients.
Kayce came from Canine Assistants, a dog breeding and training program in Georgia. His litter was named after characters from the television series “Yellowstone,” inspired by the character Kayce Dutton.
Whether it is a therapy dog comforting patients at Massachusetts General Hospital or a Labrador exploring the streets that inspired their name, Swampscott residents clearly have a strong connection with their dogs.
For local owners, the statistics simply reflect what they already see on walks through neighborhoods, parks, and beaches: In Swampscott, dogs are more than pets — they are part of the community.
“I think labs are so innately gentle and have such great temperaments,” Mintz Bacon said. “Everybody loves the lab, for sure.”
Emma Gulaskey is a student at Endicott College studying journalism. This story is published in partnership with the Massachusetts News Service.
