Thursday, July 17, 2008

Doggie DNA test: One of a kind

For those of you that don't know, back in April I sent off for a dog DNA kit. I found this place online and was curious about it. They will send you a kit and all you have to do is swab the inside of your dog's mouth and send it back in the regular mail. Sounded easy enough and it was only $79 (which I thought sounded like a deal to finally know what kind of breeds make up the glory that is THE DUSTY DOG). Well of course it wasn't that simple. I sent Dusty's sample back the same day I received it in the mail (in mid April) and didn't hear anything for over a month and a half. I finally received a letter in the mail saying Dusty's DNA did not match any of the 38 certified common dog breeds of the US so they upgraded me to a bigger package (for free) that would retest his DNA against 100 certified common dog breeds. I was a little disappointed but intrigued at this thought and so I waited. The letter said I would get the results sometime in June. Well, I received them TODAY. I was so excited, I ripped open the folder they mailed me and found a copy of the certificate above. BUMMER!!!! The scientists believe 'the most influential breeds in Dusty's DNA are not represented in the 100 validated breeds.' So here in lies my question... Is this company a rip off or is Dusty just so special that no other dog like him exists in these '100 common breeds?' Maybe he has alien dog DNA! In the accompanying letter, the service sent apologies and a promise of a refund so I don't really know what to think. The whole thing is odd because I was SURE it would come back saying lab and golden retriever (with maybe a little beagle thrown in there - haha that's for you Dad) but I guess that goes to show you - YOU NEVER KNOW. Dusty watched me open the mail today with a little bit more interest than usual so maybe he got a kick out of the whole thing too. I just gave him a hug and laughed. p.s. I just noticed they can't even spell my name right! Pin It

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Jessica - that sucks. My wife and I work with the lab you ordered from and are distributors of the test (www.dog-dna.com). We are actually waiting on the results of our own dog Jaco which we submitted last month as part of the new 100+ breed test. I can tell you that it's not a rip off - just complicated science. Sounds like your dog is a mix of other dogs with heavy mixes, etc. The breed lineage becomes indistinct in these rare cases. Like you said, I think you just have an incredibly unique dog! Regards, Jim