Fine American Labradors raised in a family setting, creating loving companions & faithful hunting partners
Hi, we are Julie & Carlos Sousa
We live on Milford Pond in Swansea, MA. Carlos grew up just a stones throw away on a family farm across from where we currently live. His love for the pond and it’s surroundings is what made him continue living on the pond.
Julie grew up & lived outside of Boston and has lived in SO CO of MA & East Bay of RI for 20 years. Family and the love of the ocean is what convinced her to pull up her Boston roots and move to this area.
Julie & Carlos met in 2015 and hit it off immediately. They got married at the edge of Milford Pond with family & friends in attendance. Big Nose Kate was an attendant happily following the couple down the road to the pavilion and the start of the Milford Pond Retriever Legacy.
Our Story
Back in the early 1990’s Carlos began Pheasant Hunting in South Dakota at a family farm. He became intrigued with the dogs that were used in the hunt...smaller, faster, energetic, and unlimited drive. This was his introduction to the American Field Lab. Years later he would acquire his first South Dakota Lab Millie Feldhaus of Dakota Sky. A loyal animal that has been his measurement tool for every dog since.
Julie’s love of labs began when she was a young girl, with her grandfather owning a yellow lab named Pal. That love & interest continued into the 1990’s, when her sister purchased a chocolate lab “Madison”. Julie was called upon to dog sit Madison on a regular basis, and vowed she would have a chocolate lab of her own. In 2004, Julie purchased a chocolate lab pup and named her Stargazer Lily. “Star” was a constant companion and being the ever-well-behaved pup, Star traveled with Julie daily to construction job sites, on beach vacations, dog sitting for Julie’s 2 sisters and their labs, and visits with friends.
Fast forward to 2018, We realized our home was incomplete without a trusted companion. We needed a special blend of family pet and field dog. We found the size and type of lab we were looking for was not readily available in the South Coast Area at that time.
Our search began and almost a year later.... enter Red Rooster Retrievers – Bryon Hahn. We drove to SD and adopted RRR Big Nose Kate - a 7 mo. old chocolate lab. After several months of enjoying Kate and seeing her keenness for birds, water, & retrieving we decided we would add to our canine family. We drove back to South Dakota and adopted HLR Grace’s Acey Deucy, a 4-month-old yellow lab that was from a friend Breeder- Hi Lo Ranch in MN. Once home, Ace proved to be a lovable goofball, but also showed extreme drive in the field with the need to please. We found Ace’s disposition and personality so extraordinary, that we decided to create a breeding program here in SE MA to establish quality American Labradors with midwestern upland traits. A year later we drove back to South Dakota and Julie selected Whoa Black Betty Bambalam. From day one Ace and Betty were inseparable. For over the past 2+ years we have observed Betty’s mannerisms, intelligence, drive, and gentleness. We knew we had a special start to a long line of beautiful, healthy, intelligent dogs. We are proud to introduce Milford Pond Retrievers.
