National Golden Retriever Day is marked annually on Feb. 3 to celebrate one of the most popular dog breeds in the United States.

Mark this day by spending time with your pet or adopt a golden retriever for yourself. Golden Retrievers are calm, intelligent and very playful, which makes them ideal for families with kids. They also make great disability assistance animals and therapy pets.

These sturdy, medium-sized dogs grow to about 55–75 pounds and typically live to be about 10–12 years old.

Golden Retriever
In this representational image, golden retrievers rest on the final day of the Crufts dog show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, central England, March 11, 2018. Getty Images/ OLI SCARFF

Here are some facts about Golden Retrievers:

  • Golden Retrievers have two layers of fur
  • The fur darkens as they age
  • They are one of the easiest dog breeds to train
  • They’re "pack-oriented"
  • They crave an active lifestyle
Golden Retriever
Golden retriever AFP / Cristina Vega RHOR

Here are some quotes, courtesy A-Z Quotes, to share on this day:

1. "Once someone has had the good fortune to share a true love affair with a Golden Retriever, one's life and one's outlook is never quite the same." – Betty White

2. "The face of a golden retriever feels like home." – David Rosenfelt

3. "I've often been described more than once in my life as very much like a golden retriever. Just sort of happy and excited to do whatever it is even if it's as simple as retrieving a ball and bringing it back ad nauseum." – Chris Carmack

4. "I am the planet's most affectionate life-form, something like the cross between a golden retriever and a barnacle." – Elizabeth Gilbert

5. "I never thought of myself as being a genius. I don't know what genius is. I think a far better expression is a retriever, a lovely strong golden retriever that brings things back from the past, or retrieves things from our common blood memory." – Martha Graham

Golden Retriever
A Golden Retriever is pictured. IBTimes/Julia Greenberg