Hey, Mother Nature, I’ve got a question…
Aren’t pups of the same litter supposed to look like each other, at least a bit?
Oh, yeah, they are?
Then, how come Rocky, Chip, and Brownie, although they’re siblings, look nothing alike?
Is it some kind of nature’s mistake, or are they even from the same litter at all?
As smol puppers, these three were resembling each other… a lot!
But, as time flew by and they grew up, they looked like they didn’t come from the same mother.
You wouldn’t believe, based on their appearance, that they’re definitely blood-related.
Orphaned Pups Desperate Of Love
About a week after their mom died, Rocky, Chip, and Brownie were surrendered to Helping Hands Humane Society, Topeka. No one really knew their background or whether they were really from Topeka or somewhere else.
The only thing staff workers knew about these pups was that they were orphans in desperate need of love.
Abandoned at such an early age, the pups had to be bottle-fed to survive. Anyone who has ever raised a tiny puppy knows the kind of dedication this takes. Being there for the pup every time he needs food and comfort is a mom’s job. Humans can hardly replace a mother’s love.
But, the HHHS staff did their best. Soon enough, all three pups were settled into their new foster home.
Nothing pointed out that there could be issues with the little ones. They were growing up nicely, completely healthy, and ready to socialize with pretty much anyone.
And, they were developing their own characters, too. However, as time would prove, they were quite different from each other.
“Looking back at the pictures now, we started to see differences when the boys were about 3 weeks old,” Emi Griess, the communications coordinator at HHHS Topeka,said. “Brownie’s coat was longer and silkier, Rocky’s was coarser and Chip still looked like a baby Chihuahua. Right around 6 to 7 weeks of age, we could easily tell that all three of them were going to look very, very different from one another.”
The predictions turned out to be absolutely right. The three brothers grew up to be complete opposites of each other, as if they all came from different pawrents.
Despite their differences, they all got adopted rather quickly. And, what’s even better is that they went to people who worked together.
“The boys’ foster mom works for Hill’s Pet Nutrition and always had one or more of the puppies with her during virtual meetings,” Griess said. “They quickly became quite popular meeting guests, and Chippie and Brownie were both adopted by Hill’s coworkers! Rocky was adopted by a previous Hill’s employee, so the boys are able to get back together occasionally.”
Although Rocky, Chippie, and Brownie have gone their separate ways, they still keep in touch and cherish each other’s company.
So, Why The Different Looks?
The difference between the siblings has remained a mystery, even for their new families. Luckily, we live in such a time when a simple DNA test can determine which breed your crossbreed pooch is.
As you can assume, Rocky, Chippie, and Brownie are 100% mixed breed.
But, of which breeds?
Chip, the sibling that looks like he came from the Chihuahua family, got his results first. And, no… he’s not mostly from a Chihuahua background.
Chip is 22% Silky Terrier, 19.8% small Poodle, 16.1% Yorkie, 13.2% Chihuahua, 8.6% Pomeranian, 6.9% Russell-type Terrier, and 13.4% supermutt. Yeah, Chip is definitely one supermutt! His owner runs his Instagram account, so you can keep up with Chippie!
His brother, Brownie, is 19.9% Yorkie, 17.8% Silky Terrier, 17.4% small Poodle, 16.6% Chihuahua, 12.3% Dachshund, 7.7% Pomeranian, and 8.3% supermutt. As you can see, Brownie’s got some Doxie blood that didn’t surface with Chip.
Rocky’s results were never published.
So, one of the mysteries was solved. We now know the exact breed percentage of the unique siblings.
One mystery still to go.
Why did this happen? Chippie, Rocky, and Brownie were undoubtedly from the same litter, so why such different looks?
Chippie’s dad, a veterinarian, had a simple explanation for this phenomenon.
“There are three different genes that determine the pattern of a dog’s hair coat. One for the length, one for the curl and one for the presence of ‘furnishing’ (beard, bushy eyebrows and wiry hair type) that are seen in 95 percent of the dog breeds. A combination (mixture) of expression of Mom and Dad’s genes made this possible.”
Don’t you see how magical mixed-breed pups are? I know the expansion of designer dogs is at its peak, but these crossbreed pooches are also worthy of our love. As a huge dog lover and activist, I have to say I love dogs of all kinds, but I do promote the adopt, don’t shop policy.
There are so many stray dogs in need out there… so many lost souls waiting for their hoomans in shelters. Sadly, many of them don’t make it outside. Many of them don’t get the chance to see the bright side of life.
If you ever get a chance to get a dog, please give a chance to those less fortunate… to those poor pups from shelters. You never know when you’ll end up surprised like Chippie’s, Rocky’s, and Brownie’s owners did.
After all, these three brothers are a mixture of so many breeds that we won’t be wrong if we call them: super dogs!
