Paducah, Kentucky - As a practicing dog groomer, Kami Neihoff was instantly drawn to mixed‑breed Dante's unusual coat. She had adopted the dog from a shelter last October, but she kept wondering which breeds might be hidden in him. So, she decided to get him a DNA test.
"I'm a groomer now and really wanted to know more about his coat since it’s different from any I’ve seen, as well as his genetic health since I didn’t know his history," Neihoff told The Dodo.
The dog owner had six DNA tests done on Dante. She first tried her luck with the provider Embark, but it failed.
The company offered two more for free, but when those also yielded no answers, the groomer got a full refund.
Still, Neihoff didn't want to give up. So, she turned to another provider, Wisdom. Their first two tests there also came up empty, so they ordered a blood test instead of a saliva sample.
The results that followed were hardly any better.
'I contacted Wisdom after the blood test failed because I was unsure how that was possible," Neihoff admitted.
Kami Neihoff gets another chance after Dante goes viral!
"I actually got an email from their lab manager. She had looked at his raw data and finally gave me an answer as to why we got so many failures," she added.
According to her, two embryos fused together at an early stage of Dante's development. As a result, the dog has two distinct sets of DNA.
The equipment used by the DNA labs couldn't separate the two sets. As a result, all of the tests failed.
"He is at a slightly higher risk for autoimmune issues in the future due to his body potentially treating one set of DNA as foreign, but so far he’s been healthy," Neihoff explained.
Which breeds are present in Dante remains unclear, but there has been another development. On Saturday, the owner posted on Facebook, revealing that a professor had offered her a further examination – free of charge!
So, there may finally be some clarity in the near future.