SINGAPORE: A man spent a total of S$8,000 to buy two ‘Golden Poodles’ that were believed to be from the same parents at a pet store. Unfortunately, he found out that the sizes of the dogs were different after a few months, and he needed to spend S$500 to have their DNA tested. To his surprise, none of the dogs he bought had the ‘Golden Poodle’ gene.
The 36-year-old man shared his experience with Shin Min Daily News. He stated that in the pet store, they saw six puppies–one of which had a darker colour than the other five. The staff said that they were from the same parent, so they chose the puppy with a different colour and another one from the bunch.
The man shared that when they purchased the puppies, they were only three months old. He then remarked: “When they were seven months old, the size difference between the two dogs became more and more obvious.” They figured that the size of one dog is twice the size of the other. When they asked the pet store about this, the pet store emphasised that they were from the same parents.
When they shared their experience online, the man said that another customer reached out to them and said that she had also bought a supposedly Golden Retriever from the same pet store, only to find out after DNA testing that the dog did not have any Golden Retriever genes. With this, the man and his wife decided to test both of their dogs as well.
Results of the DNA testing
He bought a S$500 genetic testing kit online. After collecting the samples from their dogs, these were sent to Germany. After a month, they received a report that neither of their dogs had the Golden Retriever gene, and they were not related. According to the reports, their dogs are crossbreeds of Poodles and Bichon Frises, and crossbreeds of Poodles and Cocker Spaniels.
“I think that since the dog has no Golden Retriever bloodline at all, it should not be sold as a ‘Golden Poodle.’ This will make people lose confidence in pet stores,” the man declared.
The pet shop then stated that the information given to them was provided by the kennel and they are currently reviewing it.
“We are very concerned about animal welfare, and we obtain information about a dog’s pedigree before handing it over to its owner. Since we are not breeders, the information we obtain and provide to owners is based on the documents provided by their respective breeding kennels,” the pet shop admitted.
Other related news
In other news, there was a report where a man was caught red-handed at a checkpoint for smuggling dogs.
The suspect, a 22-year-old man, is facing 11 charges under the Animals and Birds Act and has pleaded guilty to four of them.
Read more about the story here.
