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May 6, 2008 10:29 pm US/Pacific
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Call Kurtis: Doggy DNA
DAVIS (CBS13) ―
Dogs are members of the family. A company in Davis says it can use crime solving technology to tell you your dog's breed.
They come in all shapes and sizes, makes and models.
Many believe you can tell a lot about a person by their dog. They may even look alike. Maybe that's why it's so important for a growing number of owners to know what's in their mutt's mix.
Kristian Vallee and Katie Hawkins own Bruce and Lily. They're not related but look a lot alike.
"We tell everybody we just dropped water on one of them after midnight and ended up with two dogs," said Kristian.
Since rescuing them last year Kristian and Katie have decided their two dogs probably have one common connection.
"Well, we think border collie, that's what," said Katie. "...has some sort of herding instincts but it seems to be a little mixed up."
As for Lily, they see a sprinkling of springer spaniel.
"Her wavy ears…," said Katie.
But no one knows for sure. DNA testing might help.
The same technology used to pinpoint people's genetic makeup is now commonly used to characterize canines.
Canine Heritage in Davis is one of those labs specializing in the identification of mixed breeds.
"We usually refer to it as sort of mystery mutt, and with DNA it's no longer a mystery," said Dennis Fantin, Metamorphix, Inc.
Dennis says his company gets about 400 DNA test orders a week -- more than 20,000 since offering the service in February, 2007. Canine Heritage can identify 38 AKC breeds.
So Kristian and Katie jumped at the chance to test their own dogs' DNA, using the Canine Heritage test.
Here's how it goes: swab-sample the dog's inner cheek. Bruce doesn't like it much but there's no pain. Put the swab back into the sleeve.
"I'm almost positive it's gonna come back that he's half slobber," said Kritian.
Then, return it to the lab.
Once it arrives, technicians go to work. Then about two weeks later Sue unveils the breeds for both dogs.
Border collie. Their suspicions are confirmed. But there's more.
"And then Labrador and Shetland sheepdog," said Katie.
Shetland sheepdog, border collie, lab and collie -- all found in Bruce's background. But to everyone's surprise, Lily's heritage is still unclear.
Her DNA didn't match any of the 38 breeds the lab can identify.
Nevertheless, it's a dog's life. And these two will always be family.
"I think it's exciting because every time you meet a dog that's the first thing you ask the owner is oh what kind of dog is that and now we can tell them," said Katie.
The company says it'll be able to test for more than a hundred breeds beginning next week. There are some benefits of knowing your dogs' breeds: health issues, behavior and personality.
Bruce likes to nip at Kevin and Katie's behinds -- that's the border collie in him.
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