1.7% Shared DNA
A while back I wrote a post called "Trust me, the dog WILL find you" https://where-did-i-put-my-glasses.webnode.com/l/trust-me-the-dog-will-find-you/ In this particular post I wrote about how Sammy told me Bella was coming . Six people removed later Bella came home. I truly believe that our dogs that have passed hand choose another baby to come into our lives. I know Sam chose Bella, and I know Clover chose Harmony.
The night Clover passed away, the alarm that was set to remind me to give her her medication four times a day went off. The tone was Radar. I picked up my phone and deleted that alarm and then changed all the alarms that were set as they all had the same radar sound. I never wanted to hear that sound again as it reminded me of two things. Clover being sick, and Clover being dead. I did that on August 1, 2020 the day she died.
Months later, in October, I got the email about "Sully" (Harmony). You can read about her here: "https://where-did-i-put-my-glasses.webnode.com/l/and-then-came-sully/. I remember going back and forth in my head about whether or not to get her. I needed to know I wasn't making a mistake. I went to bed that night talking to Clover and hoping I would know what to do. That morning my alarm went off to wake me up. In my "I just woke up" haze I thought "That's odd, that's not my usual alarm". Within seconds I realized it was the Radar alarm. I layed there listening to it. I changed that sound months ago and I vowed never to use it again. My alarm is set to go off the same time every day so I didn't check my alarm the night before. I didn't go to any settings on my phone. I did nothing that would have changed the alarm and yet, the alarm was changed. I shut off the sound and realized this was the confirmation I needed. I was going to be getting another dog. Harmony came home November 21, 2020.
That in itself is confirmation enough for me I made the right choice that day, however the story doesn't end here. When I brought Harmony home, she reminded me a lot of Clover. She has the same coloring, many of the same mannerisms, and I suspected similar breeds as Clover. Sometimes in scrolling through photos, I needed to look at the date to know which dog was which. I did the DNA testing for Harmony as I had for Clover. A few weeks later in January of 2021, I got the email that Harmony's results were ready. Sure enough she had three of the same breeds as Clover. Shih Tzu, Chihuahua, and Maltese. Clover had 4 additional breeds as well. It made sense to me that they would look alike sharing these three breeds in common.
Nine months later I got an email saying "See how your dogs are alike". I clicked the link and read most of what I knew already. Shared breeds, shared traits, shared behaviors but as I scrolled down my jaw dropped. Under all the other information was a title "DNA" Under that "Distant Family". It then showed how Clover and Harmony shared 1.7% of their DNA as related to second to distant cousin. Second to distant cousin. Wait, that means they're related! Both of my babies came from Puerto Rico yes, but they came 8 years apart. 8 YEARS. Do you know how many thousands of stray dogs are in Puerto Rico. They rescue thousands a year alone, never mind 8 years. I could not believe that my Harmony shared DNA with my Clover. I'm not sure how anyone could attribute that to coincidence.
I learned a week or so later that Harmony's story was even more complicated than I knew. She had an original home that dumped her on the streets to die. She was rescued by a woman who placed her on a Facebook rescue site and found her a home. However, a day later the woman returned her to the shelter. The woman placed her on Facebook again. Olga, the woman who cared for Harmony and nursed her back to health had told me that she saw Harmony the first time but she was already given to the other home. When Olga saw her again, she jumped at the chance to get her. Olga drove 2 hours to get Harmony to nurse her back to health so she could then find a forever home. If she had missed that second posting, Harmony would be who knows where.
I have always believed in more. This incident just reaffirms my belief in that the dog WILL find you and that your beloved dog that passed will help that dog find you. To see this amazing thing yourself, here's the link: https://my.embarkvet.com/dogs-like-mine/harmony30/clover202?utm_campaign=cns_ref_dog_relatives&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1iLElIvJLnSp6-_dDE2A39Mf9AeefFnkYchwfd9yZtp69Zptk6PyK9N9k
If this story doesn't help you believe your next dog will find you, may your heart take comfort in the fact that I believe it for you and that dog will be led in the right direction by your previous beloved dog. Just ask Harmony (and Bella). They'll tell you all you need to know.