Mystery Solved

This little gal?  She is the ultimate Heintz 57 mutt!

For the fun of it, I wasted a perfectly good $80 and bought a genetic test kit for our Phoebe.  I wound up going with the Wisdom Panel brand test kit purely because it tested for more breeds (185) than the other test kits we found.  It was super easy and involved taking two little cheek swabs, putting them into a prepaid mail envelope, and waiting for the e-mail telling me the results.

So, here's Wisdom Panel's answer to the mystery:

• One parent was a Bulldog mix/Shar-Pei/German Shepherd
• One parent was a "Rottweiler mix" 

Those "mixes" apparently also contained some of the following:

• Chinese crested (such funny-looking little things, mostly naked and frequent winners of "ugliest dog" contests)
• Bedlington terrier (kind of looks to me like a standard poodle but with a head shaped like a football)
• Bull terrier
• Miniature Schnauzer, and
• Dachshund

You have to go back to at least her great grandparents to find a single purebred dog.  Purely from a logistical standpoint, some of those combinations are amusing.  I mean, did a Dachshund per chance mate with a Rottweiler?  And if so, er, well, how?

I can honestly say the only one of those breeds that is all apparent is the Shar-Pei.  So when people ask me "what kind of dog is she?"  I may answer "a Shar-Pei mix", which is true.  No one ever seems satisfied with the "she's a mutt" answer.  But really, what else can you rightfully call Phoebe?

I say she's all the better for her genetic cocktail.  I doubt there are too many other Phoebes out there - she's one of a kind.

Incidentally, she is also one sick little gal.  I fear she may have picked up giardia or some other bug from drinking lake water while swimming last weekend.  I detest the withholding food, bland diet, cleaning up a lot of poop, and getting no sleep process.  I bet she detests it more.  I hope either the vet today identifies the problem and provides a prompt medication solution, or the ailment passes quickly.