You’ll never guess what they look like 😱
After their mother died, Rocky, Chip, and Brownie were brought to the Helping Hands Humane Society (HHHS) Topeka. The three tiny pups were given little background information to the rescue. They only knew they needed help, and that was enough.
The puppies were only a week old and needed to be bottle-fed, so they were placed with a foster family so they could receive the attention and care they required. When they first arrived at the rescue, all three puppies appeared to be the same. However, as the three siblings grew older and developed their own distinct personalities, they also began to develop their own distinct looks.
“Looking back at the pictures now, we started to notice differences when the boys were about 3 weeks old,” Emi Griess, HHHS Topeka’s communications coordinator, told The Dodo. “Brownie’s coat was longer and silkier, Rocky’s was coarser, and Chip was still a baby Chihuahua.” We could tell right away, around 6 to 7 weeks of age, that all three of them were going to look very, very different from one another.”
Soon, the puppies had all grown into their own personalities, and it was impossible to tell that they were related.
“I was SO shocked,” Grace Clinton, HHHS Topeka’s director of business development and special events, told us. “I couldn’t believe they were siblings from the same litter.” That was the first time I’d seen anything like it.”
Of course, the rescue couldn’t help but share the shocking littermates online, and the internet went crazy over the trio. Some couldn’t believe they’d all come from the same litter, and some tried to explain the phenomenon. Regardless, the brothers drew everyone’s attention — and they quickly drew the attention of their forever families as well.
“The foster mom for the boys works for Hill’s Pet Nutrition and always has one or more of the puppies with her during virtual meetings,” Griess explained. “They quickly became popular with visitors, and Chippie and Brownie were both adopted by Hill’s coworkers!” Rocky was adopted by a previous Hill’s employee, so the boys can occasionally reunite.”
After the boys had settled into their new homes, their families decided to conduct pet DNA tests on each of the very different-looking dogs to determine what breed they were. Rocky (who resembles a Yorkie) has yet to receive his results, but Chip (who resembles a Chihuahua) and Brownie have, and it’s quite fascinating.
Chip is 22% silky terrier, 19.8% poodle (small), 16.1% Yorkshire terrier, 13.2% Chihuahua, 8.6% Pomeranian, 6.9% Russell-type terrier, and 13.4% supermutt. Brownie’s genetic make-up is 19.9% Yorkshire terrier, 17.8% silky terrier, 17.4% poodle (small), 16.6% Chihuahua, 12.3% dachshund, 7.7% Pomeranian, and 8.3% supermutt.
The results appear to make sense based on the dogs’ appearances — it’s just so strange to everyone involved that three dogs from the same litter could all grow up to look so incredibly different.
“There are three different genes that determine the pattern of a dog’s hair coat,” Chip’s father, Dr. Jolle Kirpensteijn, a small-animal veterinarian and Hill’s Pet Nutrition’s chief professional veterinary officer, told us. “One for length, one for curl, and one for the presence of ‘furniture’ (beard, bushy eyebrows, and wiry hair type) that can be found in 95 percent of dog breeds.” This was made possible by a combination (mixture) of expression of Mom and Dad’s genes.”
Now that the boys have all been adopted, their forever families can confirm that, while they may appear to be very different, their personalities are quite similar. All three dogs enjoy making friends with every human and animal they meet, as well as traveling and going on adventures. They may not look like brothers, but they certainly act like brothers, which makes the whole situation even cuter.
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