Dog’s DNA test after her tragic passing surprises owner with an unexpected result – ‘72 percent match’
A dog parent was overwhelmed with emotions when a sudden notification popped up on their phone. The DNA test results of their dog, who had passed away the year before, had arrived and revealed a surprising detail about the pet’s familial history. In a Reddit post shared by them (u/Hungry-Emu-6732), the pet owner revealed that the DNA of their “sweet girl” pup, Gwen, a boxer, had matched with another pet dog, and they were likely siblings. However, there was a missing link. Gwen was born in 2014, while the matched sibling was not born until 2022. Then, an unforeseen realization changed everything.
The Reddit user, identified as Valerie, attached two pictures to the post. The first image depicted their late pup, Gwen, looking adorable with a plant. The second picture was a screenshot of the DNA results tested by Embark. It announced, “We’re siblings! Gwen is most likely Jake’s sister. They share 72% of their DNA.” The results indicated that Gwen was a sibling to another pet dog, Jake, owned by someone named Jeannie. In the caption, the poster explained the news and the enigmatic connection the two dogs shared. “We lost my sweet girl, Gwen, last year to cancer. A few years before she passed, we had the Embark DNA test done. Lots of cousins, etc., but today we got an update that they found a sibling—72% match,” they continued.
"What are the chances her parents had another litter eight years later, or what other connection could this be?” The Reddit user recalled that Gwen likely had a litter when she was rescued, but there were no puppies around her at the shelter. “Based on what Google says, grandparents wouldn’t have that close of a match,” the owner stated. In an interview with Newsweek, Valerie said, "It was in theory cool to see the results, if they are accurate. Especially with shelter dogs, mutts, it's neat to know a little more about their history, which can point to some of their personality traits/quirks, etc., as well as give you an idea of health conditions they may be predisposed to."
The mystery caught widespread attention from internet users as the post received 660 upvotes and dozens of comments about the situation. “Maybe she’s very inbred,” said u/Prestigious_Scars, and u/LeeIsMe123 guessed, “While unlikely, litters eight years apart are possible, especially if these pups were adopted from the same shelter. Dogs have heat cycles and remain fertile even into old age. Who knows?” However, an update from the poster cleared the fog around Gwen’s sibling, who was born nearly a decade later. “After talking to my daughter, I think my emotions got the best of me after seeing this email and thinking about my girl, and I wasn’t using my brain.”
“Our boy dog, my daughter’s dog, was born in 2022. We had sent both the DNA in at once and were frustrated with his results because they lost them for a bit, and then said they found them, and he was just boxer/bulldog,” the dog owner clarified. The results were probably mixed up between Gwen and the boy dog, Sparky, because Gwen’s match looked more like him, while Sparky’s matches had greater resemblance to her. In conclusion, the newfound sibling, Jake, was actually Sparky’s brother. Whew!
LOSING A PET: If you’re grieving the loss of a companion animal, please reach out to Cornell Pet Loss Support Hotline at 607‑218‑7457