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brillig posted a Top Comments diary last year sharing the results for the DNA analysis of her family’s two dogs (at the time). Now it’s my turn. We never would have spent the money on such a test, but Hubby’s brother gave us one as a Christmas present.
Let’s start out with our expectations. When we adopted Sofy, the rescuer told us that her mother was picked up off the street, pregnant, in Ensenada in Mexico. Sofy’s mother gave birth by cesarian to a litter of four puppies before being spayed. So Sofy has three siblings, one of which is a twin.
Sofy’s mother was described as being a miniature whippet. Nobody knew what breed her father was, though looking at her, it was clear to us that he had some chihuahua in him. The rescuer also told us up-front that she was some part dachshund, a real selling point for hubby, as he grew up with three dachshunds. We more-or-less accepted the rescuer’s assessment, though, frankly, it hardly mattered to us. It did not take her long to worm her way into our hearts, regardless of her breed. However, it’s clear that she loves to run, and run fast, which is perfectly consistent with the notion that she was half miniature whippet. Another whippet characteristic she has is the form of her body, lean and elongated (if you can imagine an elongated small dog). Despite the fact that she weighs 13 pounds, even extra-small harnesses fall off of her because her frame is so lean. On the other hand, she also has a significant underbite, which suggests she might be related to the Hapsburgs.
So we got the results of the DNA analysis last week. What are the results?
We detected 10 breeds in Sofy’s DNA
67 % Chihuahua (!)
7 % Dachshund (whew!)
6 % Cocker Spaniel
5 % Poodle (Toy and Miniature)
4 % Pekingese
3 % German Shepherd
2 % ChowChow
1 % Miniature American Shepherd
1 % Samoyed
Well, she did have some dachshund in her after all, but you’ll note that miniature whippet is mentioned nowhere in the analysis. Here’s another case where breed analysis by dead reckoning clearly failed.
Obviously, both of her parents had to have significant amounts of chihuahua in them to make her 67 % chihuahua. There’s no question that her face looks an awful lot like a chihuahua, as well as her coat (short, tan, and nearly bare-bellied). Presumably contributions from the larger breeds make her size a little larger than the standard chihuahua, but it’s not clear where she got the elongation. I suppose that will remain a mystery, and that’s fine.
Comments are below the fold.
Top Comments (March 16, 2023):
From elenacarlena:
I would like to nominate this comment by BLM92553 for a Top Comment, from Mikey Weinstein's latest Air Force Jesus diary. It well lays out, IMO, the better qualities of religion and how much difficulty we have embodying those qualities.
Top Mojo (March 15, 2022):
Top Mojo is courtesy of mik! Click here for more on how Top Mojo works.
Top Photos (March 15, 2022):
Thanks to jotter (RIP) for creating it and elfling for restoring it.