A few months ago, I entered into a relationship with several ticks. I did not particularly want to enter this relationship, but as baddog always says, “every cloud has a silver lining.” You might ask yourself what kind of silver lining ticks may provide, but these ticks potentially saved my life. Allow me to explain.

We were in Lake Tahoe when the ticks were discovered and we made an immediate visit to Alpine Animal Hospital to have them removed. While we were there the veterinarian informed us that collie breeds were susceptible to negative reactions from some medicines. This became an issue because everyone had been presuming that I was a border collie mix, with the border collie being the dominant gene. I mean, breeders, groomers and vets all said I was a border collie, and I kind of look like one, so we went with it. There was one breeder that insisted I was a pure bred, but we knew better. After all, mom looks nothing like any kind of collie.

Mom

If you look at photos of my brothers and sisters, you will notice that they all look related, and again, there is no indication of any collie involvement.

My Older Brothers and Sisters

Mom Being a Mom

It was decided that we could not make an assumption that I was a collie since some medications could result in a coma or death. Especially since we were talking about my death. A couple of weeks ago I had a visit to my vet and a DNA blood test was done to determine what breed I really was. I have to admit, when we got the results of my DNA test, we were both pretty surprised. It turns out that I am not a border collie. There is no “Significant Breed,” but my “Intermediate Breed” (at least 25% or more) is Golden Retriever. My “Minor Breed” (at least 12.5% or more) is Australian Shepherd.

If this does not confirm that you should not judge a book by its cover, I do not know what does.