Kelliwic Nessy ABCA 261764
b. 01/27/05 black & white rough coat
(Andy ABCA 66947 x Perky ABCA 125827)
Owner: Andy and Sarah Weiss, NJ

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©2008 Sarah Weiss

October 2008 News:

Shortly after Nessy’s third birthday, she had a seizure. Frightening for her family, and unexpected by all of us, she made several visits to the vet over the course of the next few months, during which time she had many tests, and additional seizures. Nessy has been diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy, which means the seizures are of unknown origin. Seizures can be caused by factors such as brain tumors, head injuries, or ingested toxins. Having ruled out external causes, the conclusion is idiopathic epilepsy. Idiopathic epilepsy is almost certainly hereditary, and the current research suggests that it is passed on by multiple genes. Please view Nessy and her littersister Dare’s pedigree, and if you have a related dog, please consider participating in the very important genetic research being conducted by the team at University of California, Davis, who are working to identify the gene(s), and hopefully to develop a DNA test to identify dogs who carry the genes. It is free to participate, and UC Davis will provide free cheek swab kits, which can be used to gather DNA from unaffected relatives. Blood samples are necessary for affected dogs; UC Davis will pay the FedEx shipping. Your vet may be willing to collect the blood free or at a discounted rate if you indicate it is to be used for research. Point of contact for the UC Davis study is Katy Robertson.

©2008 Sarah Weiss

Nessy’s family and vet are still working to find the right dosage of medication to control her seizures, which currently seem to occur about every 3-4 weeks. Otherwise Nessy leads a happy, normal, and fulfilling life! Andy Weiss has provided the following update:

As you can see from the pictures, Nessy loves her two best friends Jimmy & Joey and she'll never be caught without her racket ball! Occasionally we visit the Navasink river where we play Frisbee in the water, usually followed by some ice cream for all (yes Nessy gets some vanilla too). Nessy's not fond of there now being 2 car seats in the back seat of the car.  She's found herself stuck between a rock and a 2 year old, yikes!  Jimmy has learned to throw the racket ball & Frisbee, so Nessy has been in her glory playing with him. Nessy & Jimmy are both nosy neighbors, they spend the entire day yelling hello (or ruffff) out the window.  Our mailman tries to sneak up on the house, but is almost always caught by Nessy. What he doesn't know is that Nessy has learned his schedule and waits watching out the window for him at 10:15 am every morning.

©2008 Sarah Weiss

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Nessy's Bio

Nessy was the last born of nine pups, at the end of a long, tiring day for Perky and all the humans assisting. She was nicknamed “Belle” as a pup; her “grown up name” is a tribute to the Loch Ness monster. Fortunately, she is no monster! Nessy lives with the Weiss family in Hazlet, NJ. She visits lots of human and canine friends, and plays in the ocean. Nessy’s family love to play and snuggle with her, and are interested in doing some herding.

 

Previous Updates:

October 2006: Nessy amazes me every day. I find it incredible how much personality she has. She has learned so many tricks, commands and names. She's learned the names of 10 different toys and when you open her toy drawer she'll jump up and get the toy you tell her to get.  The command that really impresses the guests is "All Done, Put it away" She'll get a ball, bring it to the drawer, jump up and drop it in. Then get the next one, all 12 of her racquetballs, then a big treat when she's done cleaning up her toys! I'm really proud of that one, we had fun teaching her to do it.