And yes, it's finally time to introduce Nessie!  My friend Celeste is raising her brother, Nanook, in Rochester.  They were the only two pups in the litter and still love to play together!

Robbin and Nessie with Celeste and Nanook
At Guiding Eyes for the Blind

It was a quiet 2 ½ weeks between dogs.  I got a lot done around the house, but I was soon ready to have a puppy again.  For her first week with me, I was able to work mostly from home, all the better to housetrain, a definite pre-requisite for bringing her to work!!

Hanging out in the kitchen.

Taking over the cat's shelf!

Nessie got to come to the office earlier than Paxton did.  This time I didn't have to wait for all the paperwork to make it through channels, we just updated all of the signatures for Nessie's time here.  For her first week at Kodak we stayed mostly in my office so she wasn't overwhelmed, but gradually we have moved out and toured most of the building and are beginning to explore the local neighborhood.

Taking a break from socializing.

The first question people asked used to be "How can you give them up?", now it's "How does Nessie compare to Paxton?"  Besides being different breeds and different genders, they are two quite unique individuals.  So let me tell you a bit about Nessie and you can compare her to what you know about Paxton!

Nessie is a social butterfly.  She loves people and being petted and cooed over.  While this would be a very big distraction for a guide dog, it does make a great "real-life reward" in training.  Some of my work with Nessie will be to help her develop some self-control and learn to balance work and play...  She also likes other dogs, especially "Bean", Celeste's Newfoundland.

Hey, big guy!

Nessie is very ticklish!  While she enjoys "getting dressed" (we do lots of body handling with the puppies), scratching a spot on her chest will cause one front leg to cross over and the opposing back leg to scratch the air.  Scratching her tummy can cause both back legs to pedal the air!

Dress-up time at puppy class.

Nessie "moos"!  We were visiting a friend's house and Nessie was sleeping on my lap.  Sharon said "They should have named her 'Bessie', she sounds like a cow!"  German Shepherd Dogs are known for their wide range of vocalizations - a.k.a. "talking" and Nessie is no exception.  She's quite chatty when awake, and when she sleeps she moans and moos, as if she's even talking in her sleep.

One thing they definitely have in common - she's growing like a weed!

It's time to give the cat back his shelf!

You can see more pictures of Nessie on "her" GEB Monroe web page.

Paxton update: I've received three report cards for Paxton so far.  He is in phase two of training and doing well.  He's learning proper right and left turns, to walk quickly up to and stop with his toes on the curb at down curbs, and walk briskly in a straight line when crossing streets.  There is also a note that he is preparing for preliminary blindfold - I wonder if the trainers wear elbow and knee pads and helmets in this phase?!

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