He was thrilled to finally adopt a Corgi he had always dreamed of — but a surprising DNA test result showed how wrong he was
Adopting a pet can come with all kinds of surprises, some heartwarming, others unexpected. For one Colorado man, a dog adoption he never planned on led to a twist he couldn’t have seen coming. Reddit user u/dsarche12 shared his story in a now-viral post, which was reported by Newsweek, revealing that what began as a simple adoption turned into a lesson in letting go of expectations. What the user thought was an adorable Corgi pup turned out to be something completely different.
Daniel Sarche hadn’t even planned to adopt a dog when he first spotted a post about a rescue pup named Harry. When Harry turned out to be spoken for, Sarche continued browsing the rescue’s site, and that’s when he saw Waffles. “In his rescue photo, he had just the best smile and this hilariously duck-footed stance,” he said. Listed as a Cardigan Welsh Corgi by the rescue group, Waffles instantly caught his eye. “I've always wanted a Corgi,” Sarche added, thinking he would never actually get the chance to own one.
Knowing how rare Corgis are in shelters, he assumed competition would be high. According to a 2024 study of 21 U.S. shelters, the most common breeds were mixed (35%), Pit Bulls (12%), Chihuahuas (5%), Labs (5%), and German Shepherds (4%). Still, he applied. To his surprise, his application was quickly accepted. Just days later, he met Waffles in person. “I immediately fell in love with him and the feeling was mutual,” he said. “He jumped into my lap to cuddle right away." But curiosity got the better of Sarche, and he eventually ordered a DNA test to learn more about Waffles' background.
In a Reddit post titled "Waffles' DNA results are in, and I have some devastating news...", Sarche shared the results. Waffles turned out to be 34.9% Australian Shepherd, 26.5% Australian Cattle Dog, 23.7% Chihuahua, 14.9% Miniature Australian Shepherd, and 0% Corgi. While the news surprised him, it didn’t change how he felt. “It makes more and more sense as I get to know him,” he said. “He doesn't shed pretty much at all. He is much less sassy and vocal and stubborn than I have heard that Corgis tend to be—he's definitely able to ask for what he wants, but he's super gentle and willing to do what I ask him to do too."
Internet users found the result amusing and shared light-hearted messages in the comment section. u/MotherPotential wrote, "I mean, he’s still a cool dude, but I see a lot of regular dogs around who look like that and aren’t Corgi." u/mitchxc joked, "This is crazy! I’m still seeing Corgi. Did they mix up the lab results?" u/Particular_Mine_9670 shared, "He looks so much like my Waffles! Who also ended up being Chihuahua/cattle dog/etc. without any Corgi."
For more interesting content, follow u/dsarche12 on Reddit.