A couple who each adopted dogs before they met told Newsweek how they made a shocking discovery about their canines several years later.
“I adopted Olive before I even met my husband from a private rescue that had pulled her from a very rural shelter,” said Mirtica via Reddit. “Five years later, the same rescue had pulled Magnolia from a different shelter and we ended up fostering her and later adopting her.”
But despite adopting them several years apart, the couple discovered their two dogs weren’t strangers after all. Mirtica first ran a DNA test on Magnolia, the couple’s purebred American pit bull terrier. Olive’s test revealed she is a mix of an American bully, Staffordshire, and a pit bull.
Mirtica didn’t think anything of the results until she started playing around with Olive’s results. She explained in a Reddit post on the subreddit channel r/DoggyDNA that she was “on a mission to find out where she came from.” This is because Olive was born with a congenital disease, which has made her health challenging. Mirtica wanted to chase down relatives and figure out where Olive came from.
“Not that it would make a difference, but I just want to know her story so badly,” she commented on the post.
But much to her surprise, the DNA results showed the couple’s two dogs adopted years apart are long-lost, distant relatives. Their DNA testing revealed they were 12 percent relatives.
“I had no idea at all, it was a complete shock!” she said. “They have such different personalities.”
Dog owner Mirtica
Mirtica used Embark to conduct the DNA tests. An article from Embark Vet explains the company uses a dog’s genome to find sections of DNA that are shared between canines. The more DNA shared, the more closely related the dogs are, the article states. Connecting owners to their dog’s relatives can help them better understand their furry companion and their health.
“I never would have guessed they would be related and truly feel it was meant to be!” she said.
As of Wednesday, the Reddit post amassed over 16,000 votes and 223 comments. People couldn’t believe the odds of the dogs being related, calling it “doggie invisible strings.”
“No wayyy!!! This is very sweet. The reasons behind it are sad. But that they are biologically related is very special,” said a viewer.
Another added: “That is so fabulous!”
However, many suspected this was due to backyard breeding. Mirtica agreed: “Oh without a doubt. They are both generic and medical disasters.”
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