An animal shelter in Northern California has turned to DNA testing of its dogs to create interest in their adoption, the Associated Press reports.
Most of the dogs that come into the Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA in Burlingame appear to be Chihuahuas — a few years ago, there were all pit bulls — and to highlight the differences between the dogs, the shelter is testing the dogs to see what other breeds may be represented in them. Then, it is coming up with imaginative new names to call those types of dogs. For instance, the AP says that a Chihuahua-Australian shepherd-Jack Russell terrier-collie became a "Kiwi collier" while a golden retriever-miniature pinscher-Chihuahua became a "golden Chinscher."
The shelter is testing dogs in batches of 12, and among the dozen dogs recently tested, the AP says that breeds making up eleven of them could be identified. Once all those dogs are adopted, the next set will be tested. In two sets of tested dogs, only 10 had no Chihuahua in them.