loyalty

During my tenure as a camp counselor (ah, college!), our directors took us through a personality test as part of our staff orientation. Developed by Gary Smalley and John Trent, this test identified four basic personalities by animal: lion, otter, beaver, retriever. They correspond roughly to the DiSC test (lion:dominant; otter: influence; retriever: steadiness; beaver: compliance).

I knew it as soon as I walked out on to the porch last Sunday night.  Our 12-year-old yellow lab, Fisher, was struggling to breathe, could not stand up, and would not eat or drink. I looked at Darren and said "I think it's time," as my voice began to break. Just the day before he seemed fine, but we had known for a while as we watched him age that his time was coming. We just didn't know it would be this day, this sudden.