Hailey Belle

This is our little Hailey. The Results came back as follows

• Level 2: Bulldog
• Level 3: Boxer
• Level 4: Golden Retriever
• Level 5: West Highland White Terrier

Thanks for helping us solve the mystery.

-Ben and Madison

Haiti Earthquake Disaster Relief

The images streaming in of the horrible tragedy of the Haiti earthquake are upsetting and have compelled Happy Dog DNA to do what it can to help. Until the end of the month, we will donate10% of our profits to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund for each dog DNA test sold.

Additionally, if you would like to help even more, please select the Buy Now button on our Order page to pay the $5.00 we normally cover for shipping and we will add that to the total donation. We are not a non-profit so you will not be able to deduct your shipping expenses.

Happy Dog DNA Order Page

Sincerly,
Happy Dog DNA

Montag

Dear Happy Dog DNA,

Thanks for your service, you've really made our new year. Please find below a brief history of our dog Montag for you blog.

Happy New Year,
Petra & Bernard
______________________________

The Story of Montag

My husband and I got Montag in a manner many will be familiar with – from a shelter where he sat in his enclosure trying to be as well behaved as possible while attempting to look smaller than his actual size revealed to be. Walking him on the leash outside exposed his true proportions, but he never pulled, never ran, never once gave an indication of any rambunctiousness in his behavior. He did his best to act like a lapdog – and as a result ended up in our laps.

Montag was given his name by a gentle kid who was volunteering at the shelter and had to write an essay on Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, focusing on the protagonist Guy Montag. While our Montag wasn’t a fireman in any sense of the word he turned out to be good for our humanity.

He showed to be timid but well-natured, adjusting to our lives in a quiet and unobtrusive manner, just wanting to be around us. The shelter thought he had Australian Shepherd in his DNA, but their guess was as good as the one our vet ventured - she suspected he was a blue heeler mix. And nip at our heels he would on occasion – a trait we put down to a herding breed in his make-up. He started to come out of his shell once he had the company of Nimpuc, our younger companion dog. Once Nipmuc showed up in Montags' orbit he became more assertive, huffing and puffing his way through the dog park and across the beach. No sign of Chihuahua in this dog, no sir!

Of course we whiled away some of our time speculating just what characters were masquerading in Montags’ make-up – herding breed for sure, but that big chest, that crazy elongated canter that would explode into a full gallop as soon as he got a bee under his bonnet, his protective and assertive stance when encountering people new to him, his reluctance to have his paws tended to – just what was hiding in this mutts genes? We spanned the arc from Greyhound to Aussie Cattle dog, to German shepherd, to all other sorts of wild and unsubstantiated musings - and a toy breed or two thrown in for good measure and amusement.

We sent Montags’ DNA test to Happy Dog DNA just before Christmas, expecting one of us to be more correct in the assessment of Montags’ background (we even had a wager on the outcome – whoever was farthest off the mark had to cook the next Christmas dinner). Well, what would you have guessed based on that picture? He has turned out to be level 2 Collie and level 2 Rottweiler.

So now we know why at age 14 he is still as fit as a butchers’ dog and as companionable as fleas. Still won’t leave either of our sides, still won’t have his nails trimmed without voicing his dissent, still keeps watch over Nipmuc and the two of us.

Thank you Happy Dog DNA, you provided us with a good surprise (well, my husband had said Collie way back in 2000, but then, what do husbands know?) and context in which to enjoy Montags’ past exploits.

Happy New Year! (and what should I cook for Christmas – ham or turkey?)

Petra & Bernard
Longmont, CO

Angel (Snickers' adopted sister)

Angel's Ancestry is:

• Level 2 - Golden Retriever
• Level 3 - Great Dane
• Level 4 - Dachshund
• Level 5 - Borzoi
• Level 5 - Boston Terrier

Here are some pictures of Snickers' (adopted) sister, Angel. She is also 12 years old, and when we adopted her (we are her third home), we were told she was a Shepherd/Lab mix. We always thought maybe she had some Sheltie, and/or possibly Welsh Corgi in her, due to her body shape and rear end, though her markings could have come from Shepherd and her tail from Lab. Anyway, we wanted the real scoop, so after getting Snickers' results, we decided to send in Angel's test. Well, we were quite surprised! Not so much that she has a lot of Golden Retriever (her coloring fits), but the rest of her background is not at all what we would have guessed! Okay, maybe she got her black muzzle from the Great Dane (?), but where on earth did she get those ears?? Gotta love those ears!!

So, thanks, again, for clearing up the mystery of our girls' backgrounds. We have been telling our friends about this, and some of them said they are definitely going to do it. :-)

Terri and Mark
San Diego, CA

Terri and Mark, thanks so much for sending the great photos of your beautiful girl, for buying another test and for spreading the word about www.HappyDogDNA.com!

Tawny

Thank You!!

I got Tawny this past Nov for free. She was much smaller than any Golden Retriever I had ever seen so I just assumed she was a mix. She was a poor mess and we were her 4th home. In the first 2 weeks I had spent $900 on vet bills.

At her first vet visit I told them she was a Golden Retriever mix. The vet took one look at her and said, "I thinks she's a purebred." I was shocked. I tried to argue with her. There's no way, she's too small. We are always stopped by people saying what a beautiful Golden Retriever puppy we have. I sound like a broken record always saying, "She's not a puppy, she's 1 to 1 and a half." They are always stunned then ask if she's a purebred. One person in disbelief even grabbed her mouth to look at her teeth to verify her age.

Curiosity was killing me and I just had to know, is she or isn't she a mix. I ordered the DNA test the second week in Dec and got the results today. I was actually nervous opening the envelope then stunned and excited at the result. Her result is:

• Level 1 - Golden Retriever

Thank you so much. This test has pushed all my doubts aside. I found a diamond in the rough, literally. She is still on the road to recovery but 4th time was the charm for her. I included a photo with her and my 2 year old just to show how petite she is plus one to show how beautiful she is. Thanks again and I will definitely recommend this to everyone I know.

Christina

San Antonio, TX

Thanks so much, Christina, for sending the great photos of Tawny. And thanks for spreading the word about www.HappyDogDNA.com!