sovreign snickerdoodle wednesday

winnie is coming up on her one year gotcha day with us, which also means she's due for her annual visit to the v-e-t. so i got her records, and while i was in there, i looked at her pedigree. she's actually sovreign snickerdoodle sw, from a champion dachshund breeder, akc registered, the whole nine. i looked a little closer and started to see strange similarities on both sides of the family. then i looked carefully at her mom and dad. and felt sick.

the breeder called winnie's litter an "accidental breeding," which is why they locked them in cages for their first year and a half of life. this "accident" kept them from selling the puppies, even as pets. i never understood it. till now.

winnie's mother mated with her own son. winnie's mother is also her grandmother, and her father is also her brother. after feeling sick, i got sad. and then i couldn't get dueling banjos out of my head. these are apparently the three stages of finding out your dog is a total inbred.

i put the question out on facebook - should a mother mate with her puppy? and i got the responses i expected - no. fortunately winnie is healthy and smart. i honestly don't have a clue about her litter-mates, how many, what condition, or what became of them.

the inbreeding was an accident. the real tragedy happened when the breeder thought the best solution was to lock up the puppies, causing social trauma and a life of anxiety. oh well, what's done is done. and i got one special little girl out of the deal.

♥

btw, "snickers" just wasn't doing it for us, so we gave her a more appropriate name.