Couple thought they rescued a puppy — six years later, a DNA test revealed how wrong they were

While providing a good life to a rescued animal is incredibly satisfying, at times, it can also be scary, as you are completely oblivious to the creature's past. Of course, there can be a chance that the animal has some chronic illness or severe behavioral issues. And that's why rescuers ideally rush the rescued animals to vets to understand more about them. Likewise, when a couple who go by the pseudonyms Alex and Steve rescued a dog, Baxter, they couldn't understand why the pup was growing so large until they decided to get him a DNA test. The pup had been with his new family for six years now, and the couple could notice some significant changes in him, as reported by Newsweek.

Though not much had changed in Baxter's nature, he had undergone some drastic physical changes. The rescued puppy had grown significantly since Alex and Steve had first gotten him. "We rescued him as a puppy with not a lot of background information. He is still the curious, sweet boy we brought home. He's not so big on playing fetch, but he will kick toys around and wrestle with you. He loves being outdoors, howling at sirens, and being with his family," Steve shared. However, Baxter's noticeable changes made his parents want a DNA test for him. "We'd always get a lot of questions and comments about Baxter because of his size and handsome looks. So I guess curiosity just got the best of us," he revealed.

Well, the DNA test results were downright surprising for Baxter's parents. The report claimed that the dog was a mixed breed—39.2 percent Perro de Presa, 35.8 percent German Shepherd, 10.8 percent American Bulldog, and 14.2 percent gray wolf. Steve recalled Baxter's surprising DNA test results, saying that besides gray wolf, they were taken aback seeing him being partly associated with Perro de Presa Canario. "Just seems like a somewhat rare breed! But I definitely see the coat resemblance now!" he added. Furthermore, Steve shared that their dog being partly a wolf didn't surprise them, thanks to some of his obvious character traits. "He's a very sweet boy, but he's super smart and can be somewhat aloof too. He's always been our wild boy!" he said.

On a related note, the couple (u/new_chemical) shared about the incident on Reddit, which received an overwhelming response on the platform. For instance, u/throwra47910 commented, "Usually seeing something like 'I'm shaking/surprised/shocked' in the title, I'm like, yeah, okay, not too surprising. But no, this one is actually pretty surprising this time. What a mix. Gorgeous dog!" Similarly, u/minidog8 wrote, "I love the pic of him awkwardly holding your hand; my dog does the same. I also didn’t guess any of these breeds (and the wolf!) except for GSD."

u/emperez00 said, "Honestly I can see the wolf in the pic you have of him standing by your toddler. He’s got a unique build and looks big. Beautiful dog and looks like a sweetie!" On the other hand, u/ohjasminee commented, "Usually I read a headline like this and someone is just shocked that there’s a random trace amount of, like, chihuahua or something, but this is actually shocking! Would love to see his family tree if you have it!"