Triumph!

At evals, Bessie decided that she wanted to work Murphy, so that she could see how he reacted/behaved for an unfamiliar person.

He. Was. A. Champ.

Construction? He flicked his ear and kept trotting along. Scary banging dumpter lid? You could practically see him roll his eyes. Please, he's saying, how often has that woman smashed together carts at Hannaford? Scary person? He wagged his tail. (Maybe he figured out that it was Ann in a hooded sweatshirt.)

Nina and I trailed behind, excitedly whispering and even clutching each other now and then. I teared up. At the risk of trivializing my flesh and blood, I felt almost like I did when I saw Andrew run jump on the school bus for the first day of kindergarten.

I know a lot could still go wrong, but I just have a good feeling that he's going to be a guide.

I intend to bawl my eyes out at several points along the way.

Oh, yes, anticlimactic: he got his jacket.

And Bessie is talking about taking him in for training in December, not January.