ROANOKE, Va. – We adopted my now five-month-old dog Shandy from the Roanoke Valley SPCA several months ago, after fostering her and then knowing she had to become family.
She snuggled her way into our life on the couch in the evening. She entertained us with lovable puppy antics. She played happily with my granddaughter. We knew we had a winner.
What we didn’t know is what she was. As in, what breed of dog.
Not only is it interesting to know — but veterinarians can use the information to better care for the dog.
“We we can actually predict some of the diseases or conditions that these dogs are prone to based on their DNA,” said Dr. Courtney Wiegard of Vinton Veterinary Hospital, who is also Shandy’s vet.
So Wiegard ordered a DNA test from a company called Embark for about $200 — and we waited.
The Big Reveal: Learning Shandy’s dog DNA
What better way to learn Shandy’s heritage than a party at the RVSPCA complete with the board of directors, staff, a special cake with Shandy’s picture on it and lots of guesses about Shandy’s heritage.
Shandy weighs 30 pounds at five months. At a glance she looks like a yellow lab. But she has wrinkles on her forehead and her ears are a bit small. But she has a lab’s otter tail, and is the same color as my previous yellow lab, Torch.
The DNA test came back, but only Dr. Wiegard and SPCA Marketing and Communications Director Julie Rickmond knew the results. On the morning of Shandy’s party there were lots of guesses as to her heritage.
A sampling of board members who stayed for the party following a monthly board meeting suggested, Pitt, several votes for Labrador Retriever, one each for Chihuahua, Chow, and Golden retriever. I also leaned into the Labrador theory.
Then it was time for the big reveal. Rickmond had hidden the results in a row of boxes. There were five in all, suggesting five different breeds. As we opened each box, a balloon on a string popped up to reveal a given breed and its percentage of Shandy.
First Balloon, 6.5 percent American bull terrier. Second balloon, 9 percent Chow Chow. Third balloon, 12 percent Staffordshire terrier. Fourth balloon, 13.5 percent “super mutt.” Still no Labrador. and the fifth balloon...drumroll please, 59 percent American bull terrier.
So my cute puppy — that I would have bet my life was half Labrador — has not a trace.
Doggie DNA takeaways
But her vet already knows what to look for.
“Shandy has a lot of Pitbull and a Staffordshire Terrier. That type of dog has a lot as prone to mast cell tumors, which are these little tiny little tumors that can pop up on their skin. So what we’ll do for Shandy as she ages if you find something abnormal on her skin, bring her in right away, we can test it, get that thing off and probably save her life,” Wiegard said.
So my 5-month-old puppy will probably grow to about 60 pounds. Her vet knows what to look out for, and Mary and I are a bit perplexed that we could be so far off.
But at the end of the day — Shandy certainly doesn’t care.
And we have a sweet, loving member of the family.