These are Labrador Retrievers:

To be specific, these are MY Labrador Retrievers – left-to-right:  Oliver, Barclay and Tucker Buck-White, aka The Buck-White Boys.

Labrador Retrievers – or labs – have been the most popular dog in the United States for twenty-five years.  They’re great, great dogs – especially these three knuckleheads.

Bred to work in the the icy waters of Newfoundland, they are known for their friendly and good-natured temperament, their easygoing attitude, willingness to learn and to work and for being dependable.  They’re among the top choices for assistance dogs, too.

They are also how this blog got its name – I have labs, it’s a lab for testing ideas – get it?

You gotta love a lab.  I mean, how can you not with these faces?

I never meant to have three labs – they’re really a handful.  I also never meant to really into data, but here we are.  And so – like chocolate and peanut butter, two great tastes that taste great together – somehow labs and data got mixed up in my head and I went, “YES! A fundraising database is JUST like a Labrador Retriever.”

And now you’re looking at me like:

 

 

 

Really?

 

 

 

 

Yes, really.

Databases are just like Labs.  Less drooly and not as fun to snuggle with, but there are a lot of similarities.

So, the Top 10 Reasons Why Fundraising Data Is Like a Labrador Retriever.  Both Data and Labs:

1. Require Rules, Structure and Consistency
2. Just Want to Make You Happy
3. Need Attention
4. Want to Be Understood
5. Have to Play
6. Can Smell Fear
7. Are Bred to Help
8. Must Exercise
9. Need Sustenance
10. Have to Rest

Over the next few days and weeks we’ll be taking a deeper dive into these similarities.  Just remember, though, any discussion on data – or Labrador Retrievers – should always be followed by a good nap on the sofa: