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DNA testing shelter dogs is making them more adoptable

Posted at 11:31 PM, Oct 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-18 02:31:54-04

The Animal Foundation is taking another step towards becoming a no-kill animal shelter by 2020.

Thanks to a donation by "Best Friends Animal Society", the shelter is able to test the DNA of 100 dogs in order to make them more adoptable.

"A lot of people think all we have are just pit bulls, pitty mixes, and the reality is, without a true DNA test, we just dont know," said adoptions manager Brenda Arceo.

ChiChi arrived at the shelter last December. Workers were beginning to lose hope she would ever be adopted. They ran a DNA test on her and it turns out, she's part Bulldog.

An adopter saw ChiChi's DNA breakdown posted on her kennel. The adopter saw ChiChi was part Pitbull and part Bulldog.

"She's like, oh I've owned Bulldogs before and that's what decided for her to take that dog," said Arceo.

After 10 months at the shelter, ChiChi found her forever home.

"It's been a really great opportunity to help our potential adopters see that a lot of our shelter dogs are a lot more than meets the eye," said Chief Operating Officer Carly Scholten.

32 dogs have been swabbed for their DNA and tested for the breed breakdown so far. The foundation has about 70 kits left from the donation.

The hope is, by being able to disclose what the dog really is, more of them will find their forever homes.

Plus, many apartment complexes ban certain breeds. Knowing the dog's exact breed breakdown may help you bring the dog to live with you in your apartment.

"Everything we can do to improve or increase or maximize the opportunity to save lives is exactly what we are doing and these DNA tests are just another piece of that big puzzle.

If the DNA kits prove to help adopt out these shelter dogs more quickly, The Animal Foundation will apply for a grant that will pay for more kits since they are pretty pricey.