Posted on 08/15/2025 9:58:28 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Aman who had always wanted a golden retriever thought he had struck gold with a stray who appeared to be a golden mix—only to be baffled when his DNA results came in.
Reddit user u/vansic32 took to the r/DoggyDNA sub on August 10, where she introduced users to their dog, Walter—"our golden surprise." She said: "My husband always wanted a golden retriever so we adopted this NM [New Mexico] stray thinking we can have a golden mix. We were very surprised with his results."
The woman posted plenty of photos of Walter, who, with his silky golden coat, fluffy ears, brown button nose and smiling face, certainly looked the part. In some images, particularly of him as a puppy, he almost looks like a full golden retriever.
But when the results came in, it was found that not only was Walter not a golden retriever, but also there was not a drop of the breed's DNA in his blood.
Instead, the test revealed Walter was a mix of an Australian cattle dog (31.9 percent); small poodle (24.4 percent); and German shepherd dog (14.1 percent).
The rest of Walter's heritage was a mix of chow chow, Labrador retriever, and American pit bull terrier, the test stated; all very different-looking dogs, which had somehow combined to produce Walter.
Reddit users were fascinated, awarding the post more than 1,100 upvotes, as one commenter wrote: "We call these golden deceivers."
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
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The head is shaped entirely wrong for a retriever.
Mutts can come out pretty weird sometimes. You should see one of my present dogs little sisters, her head and coloration looks exactly like Sid the Sloth. Flatish head, eyes bulging out of the “corners” of the skull, bulbous nose inflated as though its going to pop.
Awww!
If I get a next dog it will be a black mouth cur. Excellent breed!
Could have fooled me.
Thought it was goiung to be “but when the vet saw the DNA results he immediately called police.”
The dog was really an alligator!
That’s a cute mutt.
He'll be smarter than a golden retriever.
Steve Martin never dreamed he was adopted in The Jerk.
Have mercy on this dog.
Hey, watch the slurs. He's a mixed breed. 😉
“He’ll be smarter than a golden retriever.”
We have friends who owned a dairy farm near Anthony NM. When their kids were little, they had about 40 acres of area that they could play and explore. When it came time for the kids to come to the house, their Australian cattle dogs would round them up and send them home.
That’s one good looking dog.
We have a black mouth cur/Italian greyhound mix and he is the best dog! Only barks when necessary, self regulating on his eating, and only goes to the vet for heartworm. He was even bitten on the snout by a pitbull once and didn’t complain! Highly recommend.
“Thought it was goiung to be “but when the vet saw the DNA results he immediately called police.””
I never checked those out because I didn’t want to give them the clicks. What is the story on those?
You found a picture of me eating?
Nice 👍👍
Cute Mutt.
Instead, the test revealed Walter was a mix of an Australian cattle dog (31.9 percent); small poodle (24.4 percent); and German shepherd dog (14.1 percent).
The rest of Walter’s heritage was a mix of chow chow, Labrador retriever, and American pit bull terrier, the test stated; all very different-looking dogs, which had somehow combined to produce Walter.
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