While I know that the internet makes the Earth a much smaller place (and really it's not all that big in the grand scheme of things, but that's a much longer post!), I was surprised as just how small this one blog made it for me.

In April I picked up Nessie from Guiding Eyes for the Blind. I knew her dam (mother) because "Kyrie" was raised Monroe county by my friend, Mary, but the only thing I knew about her sire (father) was his name, "Zodiac", and that he came from Guide Dogs for the Blind in California.  I asked at the GEB Breeding Center if they had a picture of Zodiac that I could use when taking Nessie on school visits.  But Nessie is a "pup-cicle" (the result of cryogenics) so Zodiac never visited GEB.  Since Guiding Eyes is more concerned with health and temperament than looks for potential guide dogs, they didn't have a picture of him to share.

Fast forward to my "Welcome, Nessie" post in July.  A few weeks after it posted, I received a comment from a woman named Barb who said that she had raised Zorba, Zodiac's brother, for GDB.  She had seen Nessie's picture on the Guiding Eyes "Glimpses" page, googled Nessie and found us on the Kodak blog!

Barb then sent my name to Susan, the woman who raised Zodiac, and Susan responded with Zodiac's story and pictures.  How cool is that?!  A picture of puppy Zodiac shows the same little white "soul patch" that Nessie and Nanook both sport.  I think I even see it in Zorba's adult picture. 

Baby Zodiac on the left.  On the right is adult Zorba relaxing at home.  Zorba is a "sable" and doesn't have the defined black and tan that many think of as the standard German Shepherd Dog markings.

Zodiac was stockier (and fuzzier!) as a puppy than his daughter, but Nessie seems to have inherited his "ham" gene!

Zodiac in his puppy coat, and in a lighter moment at class.

 Zorba was released from training for a medical problem and is back at home with Barb in Arizona.  Zodiac graduated from GDB this summer and is a working guide dog in California.

Zodiac relaxing on the deck, and Zorba hiking with Barb.

Can you see a family resemblance?

Zodiac (L) and Kyrie (R).

Nessie

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