My dog Saxon has adjusted well to the fame which comes from a mention in Gabe’s Guide.   I referred to him in a post a few days ago and, before I knew it, the world’s press (well, Gabe anyway) blew this up into an assertion that I become more like Saxon every day.

At one level, this is a compliment. The traditional Labrador characteristics of straightforwardness and being pleased to see people are ones I am happy to identify with, as are Saxon’s good looks. I can cope with Wikipedia’s description of the breed as “well-balanced, friendly and versatile …. adaptable to a wide range of functions…highly intelligent and capable of intense single-mindedness and focus if motivated or their interest is caught…with a good work ethic and generally good temperament”.

On the other hand, if you find me chewing bones under the piano or trying to eat all the cow-pats on the Meadow, you will no doubt suggest that retirement beckons.

One could pick up various e-discovery parallels here. Labradors are designed to retrieve what you really want, and nothing else. Bringing back the right duck out of the marsh is akin to fetching the right document set from the morass in which the clients put it. A “chain of custody” has a dual ring to it. The trail which Saxon leaves up the hall carpet is less “audit” than “into orbit” if my wife sees it.

There is another connection. The English think of Labradors as the quintessestially English dog, when in fact they come from North America. Similarly, North Americans think that they invented discovery.

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