a slight retraction, and thoughts on eugenics

I had dinner with four lovely colleagues a few nights ago, and after instating a "no talking about work" policy, I had a wonderful, non-maddening time. The German in me generally tends to think that rules can solve any problem (if people would only follow them!) but in this case, it worked. So, I like my classmates, I like it here, I just need breaks from work every now and again.

On to eugenics. Many of you will remember that I indulged myself a few months ago and got Nina's DNA tested for breed composition. The results are in...sort of. Of the 38 breeds they test for (listed below), they only found "significant levels (less than 50%)" of rottweiler, and golden retriever "in the mix." So, either Nina comes from a long line of mutts on both sides, or she's mostly a breed of dog that they don't test for. I was hoping for a more extensive list "in the mix," but it is interesting that they found nothing at all else on their list. No shepherd. No dobie. It feels a bit like we've been living with an impostor (golden retriever??).

They only test the breeds most common to the US, so we've decided that Nina's mostly beauceron, confirming our suspicions that she's French. Beaucerons usually get their ears cropped, but au naturalle, the look like this:

You can see it, right?

A list of what Nina isn't:

Afghan Hound,German Shepherd,Akita, German Shorthaired Pointer, Basenji, Golden Retriever, Basset Hound,Greyhounds, Beagle, Italian Greyhound, Belgian Tervuren, Labrador Retriever, Bernese Mountain Dog, Mastiff, Borzoi, Poodle, Boxer, Pug, Bulldog, Rottweiler,Chihuahua,Saluki, Chinese Shar-Pei,Samoyed, Chow Chow, Shetland Sheepdog, Cocker Spaniel, Shih-Tzu, Collie,Miniature Schnauzer, Siberian Husky, Dachshund, St. Bernard, Doberman Pinscher, Whippet, English Setter, Yorkshire Terrier, Border Collie