1 week Ago
Last summer, on July 7, I experienced the loss of my beloved Duchess Lolly Deacon, a senior purebred English bulldog, adopted two years ago from the Erie County SPCA. Deborah A. Dickinson-Deacon, of Amherst, learned something interesting about her dog.
To say, I felt lost was putting it mildly. Her traits included plopping on the kitchen floor, loudly sniffing about, and lowering her head into each grocery bag that entered my house, looking for the nearest edible item she could bite into. Once I didn’t put the groceries away immediately and left a bag of apples out.
She proceeded to eat half of four different apples. Those apples I threw out and prayed that she wouldn’t get sick from her fruit frenzy. Thankfully, she didn’t.
This year, on March 7, I found and rescued another lovely dog, Nala Deacon. I was told she was four years old and was a mutt with a majority of English bulldog. Since she was not a purebred English bulldog, so at least she would not suffer through the same maladies that plagued Duchess Lolly.
When I asked Nala’s veterinarian if they could run a DNA test on her, she said to go online and buy a DNA kit for Dogs. Who would have believed it? I had previously spent several months helping my mom trace various branches of our family tree (including fourteen generations of my mother’s father’s side back to the 1500’s in England). This was before the days of 23 and Me, and Ancestory.
com . We researched through the Latter Day Saints microfiche, published surname books, local birth/death certificates, and roamed through several WNY cemeteries. Many of us consider our dogs and cats as part of our family.
We may select dogs known for their longevity (i.e. smaller breeds like, Yorkshire terriers, chihuahuas, Dachshunds, toy poodles and lhasa apsos) who may live up to 20 years.
So they may be with us as long as possible. Or we keep the mom (and son and grandson), maintaining their bloodline. But I prefer to rescue dogs that have been disowned or neglected.
I wanted to avoid dogs known for their aggressive behaviors (i.e. German shepherds, pit bulls, Saint Bernards, etc.
). I’ve seen children/adults who have been mauled by these breeds. So I used Wisdom Panel to discover my Nala’s DNA.
Nala was surprisingly cooperative as I swabbed her mouth with 2 wire brushes, then repackaged them and returned them to London, England. In less than two weeks, I received an email from Wisdom Panel informing me that I, like so many mixed breed dog owners, had a pit bull majority dog: 72% American pit bull terrier; 24% American Staffordshire terrier, 2% boxer and 2% bulldog. She has very pretty dark brown eyes that appear to be outlined with permanent mascara.
Her left ear stands up and is pointed, while her right ear is floppy. She has a black mouth and inside gums. She looks like a gothic girl.
Her coat is mostly tan with a white neck and belly and her tail is black with a white tip. Nala has the sweetest disposition, understands “No,” and loves to give kisses, particularly to me. Unfortunately, she has moments when she’s my wild child – she zooms from one end of the couch to the other — maybe chasing an imaginary dog? I never thought I’d say this but she’s my pit bull and I love her.
I believe the feeling is mutual. Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!.
