We recently adopted a 10-month old puppy who had been severely abused by his former owners, who not only had starved the poor dog to bag-of-bones thin, but also had broken his right hip, which required major surgery.  By the time we adopted him, he was well on his way to mending and had filled out to 51 pounds.

The shelter told us they were pretty sure he was a blue point Doberman mix, but the more we looked at him, the more we saw Weimeraner and, judging from the size of his paws, Great Dane. Just how big was he going to get?

We were curious enough to have his DNA tested. For one thing, it would be fun to know his lineage; and for another, we might learn a lot about possible inherited traits and related potential health problems.

The results were surprising. One of his parents was indeed a purebred Doberman, so score one for the shelter; they knew whereof they spoke. On the other hand, the “mix” part was a complete surprise.

Weimeraner? Nope.

Great Dane? Nope.

How about a Labrador? Nope.

Chihuahua? Get serious.

Goldidachs? Yep.

What?

A cross between a Golden Retriever and a Dachshund, believe it or not.  So I guess that means we’re the proud owners of a Dobergoldidachs named Shadow. Good to know.