Inside this edition: Is the adoption of our newest family member, and how we discovered her heredity.
Hey y’all! It’s me, your girl Rainey with something new for my tribe – The Rainey Crew. In November 2019 we welcomed an amazing bundle of joy into our family. DNA be damned we made her part of our clan. The dog adoption process can be a very difficult one, as many of you may be aware, but it is so rewarding once the addition to the family is complete.
We have two biological children, and we have adopted in the past, but this one is special. Our fur-baby Oreo is just over a year old, and she is a lot different from the dogs we have adopted before. First of all Oreo is the smallest dog we have ever had. We have had two Rottweiler-mixes, and a black flat-coat retriever; seventy to eighty pounds of canine. We even had an American Tabby cat weighing in at nineteen pounds. Oreo weighs in at a cool seventeen pounds, but just as feisty in body and spirit as her predecessors. Second, this time around Oreo is not mine. Officially she belongs to my daughter who is responsible for Oreo’s care and well-being.
The Adoption Search
We found Oreo at a rescue from an online posting at Petfinder.com. We took one look at her and knew that she was the one for our family. She was adorable and come hell or high water, we had a plan in place to get her at the dog adoption fair the next day. On a particularly cold windy Saturday in November, we showed up at the adoption fair bright and early, and put our plan into motion. It took most of the morning, but by noon Oreo was ours.
The Adoption Twist
On the Petfinder.com website Oreo’s breed was listed as a Jack Russell Terrier mix, from the beginning I had my doubts. She had the size and energy of a J.R.T, but something was just not quite right in my opinion. I am not a dog expert by any means, but I could tell there was more behind those eyes. I wished there was a way I could tell what was Oreo’s real ancestry…if there was only a way to test her DNA. By Jove there is way! Enter DNA testing for pets and my introduction to a company call Embark.
I found Embark through a Google search and I decided to use it for my DNA testing needs for Oreo. There were other choices, but somehow Embark stood out to me. It was shortly after Thanksgiving I did my search, so I got what I thought was a good discounted deal on the test kit, plus free two-day shipping. On average an Embark kit will run you about $129.00 just to identify the breed. To identify health conditions and physical traits the kit will run closer to $199. My goal was to identify the breed only, the basic kit suited me fine.
Once it arrived my daughter and I read the instructions, registered on the Embark site, and we were ready to cheek swab Oreo. She was not very cooperative, no surprise there, but it did not take long, and bonus… she did not eat the swab.
The Result
The waiting was the hardest part, however Embark keeps you informed through the entire process. They let you know when the swab arrives at its destination, when it gets to the lab, and when processing begins. Finally, two and a half weeks later the email comes with a reveal video designed just for your pet. They give you the option to see if you can guess the breed(s), or just cut straight to the chase. I played the game, but the end result was nothing what I expected.
According to Embark our Oreo is the product of at least six different breeds. Apart from that, we have personally determined that she is vegetarian (she can’t get enough of leaves), part worm, part antelope, and in general an overall terror – I mean a terrier. She is a true escape artist, and if I didn’t know any better I swear she can read minds (it’s the eyes). She comes with her own unique behaviors and attitudes that make her truly special that really cannot be captured in any DNA test.
The moral of the story is with adoption of animals comes risk. Like a box of chocolates you never know what you are going to get, but once they are in your lives you embrace them, and learn from them as they in turn learn to love you. Now, if there is room in your heart and in your home, and if you have the time, go to the shelters or use one of those dog adoption websites, and find your perfect Oreo.