In the clearing stands a Boxer . . .

. . . and an American Bulldog and a Chesapeake Bay Retriever and a bunch of unspecified breeds, too.

Yes, readers, my DNA test results are back, and I'm happy to report that I passed! To nobody's surprise the single biggest contributor to my family history is the Boxer. According to the Wisdom Panel^TM Insights Test, there is a high probability that one of my four grandparents was a purebred Boxer. This means that either my dad or mom was probably half-Boxer and therefore that I'm about one-quarter. M and J say you can spot the Boxer in me from my fawn/brindle coloration, the white stripe on my chest, and my adorable tiny hiney:

Nor is it surprising that another of my grandparents was part American Bulldog. (That reminds me of a joke: One guy says to another, "I have a dog that's part Collie and part Bull. He's worth five thousand dollars." His friend asks him which part is Bull, and the first guy replies, "The part about the five thousand dollars.")

According to Wikipedia, American Bulldogs bond strongly with their owners. This describes my situation to a T, as M follows me everywhere! M says the Bulldog part of me shows up best if you look at me from the front. Here's the proof:

What was pretty unexpected is that my other grandparent from the Bulldog side of the family was probably part Chesapeake Bay Retriever. As many of you know, I hate swimming. In fact even wading makes me nervous! On the other hand, I do have a Chessie's happy disposition. And M says my Bulldog head definitely has a Retriever's profile. The first time I went to the vet, last April, they listed me on my chart as a "Lab mix," but of course they were only guessing. Here's a profile pic from one of my Wednesday night trips to McDonald's to "retrieve" some hamburgers:

I guess I might as well suck it up and learn to swim. (sigh)

The company that did the DNA test sent M a nice six-page report of its findings, which were based on an analysis of more than 300 genetic markers, using 11 different models and over seven million calculations. Here is the first page of the report, which states that I am a "Boxer Mix crossed with American Bulldog/Chesapeake Bay Retriever Mix." Click on the picture twice to enlarge it to a readable size:

Inside the report were several pages of information about Boxers, Bulldogs, and Chessies. To learn more about these and other dogs, visit Wisdom Panel's website and check out the Breed Library. (I hope shortly to be uploading some of my pictures to their Photo Gallery. Will let you know.)