Canada: Why Did A Pet DNA Testing Company Identify A Woman As Dog?

A Toronto-based DNA testing facility named DNA My Dog is under fire for identifying a woman reporter's DNA as a canine's. The unexpected results of the pet DNA testing facility claimed the DNA provided to them matched the DNA of dogs of different breeds. The case has now sparked a lot of speculation on the authenticity of the pet testing facilities and their reports. The reports stated that the woman, Christina Hage, a reporter at WBZ News is 25% Labrador, 40% Alaskan malamute, and 35% 35% Shar-Pei, as per the DNA sample provided to them.

Pet DNA Testing Company Identified A Woman As Dog: Reports

The DNA sample belonged to a WBZ News news reporter, Christina Hage, who provided her sample to the DNA My Dog, the accused pet DNA testing facility with her cheek swab as a DNA sample. She also shared the same samples with three different companies in Florida, Melbourne, and Washington where all the companies denied being able to conduct the "reliable results" due to a "lack of DNA data" to perform and analyse breed tests. 

However, this Toronto-based facility not only conducted the test of a woman's DNA but also claimed a human as a dog even providing the percentage of dog breeds found in human DNA. This isn't the first time DNA My Dog has been caught with its tail between its legs. Last year, another investigation sent a human sample and received results indicating a Bulldog mix. The company defended itself at the time, claiming the human sample was somehow contaminated with dog DNA. 

A geneticist, Elinor Karlsson told the WBZ TV- News that there are not a lot of rules in the space of pet testing laboratories and expressed her concerns from a consumer's standpoint with the unreliability of the results one gets of their pets when sent to be tested in such companies. 

As the case has sparked some online discussions on Facebook, a user shared that after sending a dog's DNA from a rescue centre for testing the results stated the dog was Heinz 57 and had a mixture of 19 different breeds. The user continued saying that they agreed on a few but not so much on the test, highlighting the unreliability of pet tests and the dire need to curb unauthenticity conducted by these facilities by imposing stricter laws and audits.

The reporter, Christina Hager, took the incident in stride, joking that some might agree with the "partially dog" assessment. However, the incident highlights the importance of reliable testing in the booming pet DNA industry, projected to be worth over $700 million by 2030 as reported by the Guardian.