The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It’s a chance to share news ~ A post to recap the past week on my blog and share news about what’s coming up in the week ahead.
Bella’s DNA test results:
Last week, I posted these pics of Bella and invited people to guess her breed before I did the actual breed “reveal” this week:
The guesses: Golden Retriever, English Setter, Catahoula, Australian Shepherd, Lab
The experts thought: When we got Bella, the rescue organization (with corroboration from her previous vet) told us she was an Australian Shepherd mix. So, those of you who said that were in good company. Our vet agreed (once one of the vet techs even asked why we didn’t think she was a pure Aussie, and I kind of just gave her a side-eye because she’s obviously not).
Still, we’ve always called her an Aussie mix. Well…
She’s just over half Pit Bull! (Technically, she’s not a Pit Bull Terrier, but American Staffordshire Terriers are considered pit bulls as well.) I’m actually not that surprised because she has somewhat “chonky” (as my daughter likes to call it) features and body type. Plus, she has a really low, mean-sounding bark that makes my next-door neighbors think she’s going to murder them (even though she’s the sweetest fluff ever!). I was pretty much expecting to find a good amount of pit bull in her, but I was still surprised to find it was over 50%.
I’ve always wondered if the rescue organizations all guessed that she was pit bull too but didn’t call her that because the poor fluffs get such a bad rap. Honestly, I don’t know if my husband would have even let us look at her back in the day if they’d called her a pit bull mix instead of an Aussie mix.
No Australian Shepherd in her at all! This was definitely a surprise. She does have that 5% Australian Kelpie, but they aren’t all that similar. To be fair, though, Bella does have the merle gene (they gave us a whole report on types of genes, etc), which gives her that red or tan spotted coat, so technically she has to have some other genetic makeup since literally none of the dogs listed have the merle gene in their purebred dogs. The test went down to 1%, so she must have less than 1% of Aussie, Border Collie, Catahoula Leopard Dog or something similar, since there aren’t that many breeds with the merle gene naturally occurring. (We could have paid another $70 to get down past that 1%, but we’re not that desperate to see where the gene came from). There are rare red merle pit bulls, but they’re not technically pure pit bulls.
Bella’s super soft fur must come from the dogs listed in the Asian category. We were really surprised that the breeds she has most of are short-haired because her fur is literally the softest I have ever felt, and she has a very floofy tail. She’s way softer than my other two dogs, even though they have longer fur—I’d swear she’s part chinchilla!!
So, now that Bella’s secrets have been revealed, I constantly call her “the sweetest little pit bull who ever lived.” (But not loud enough for my next-door neighbors to hear me. LOL!)
This past week on FYFA (and in my life):
- What I Read:
- I finished reading Legendborn (and reviewed it – loved it!!!). Then I started reading List of Ten.
- I finished listening to Honor Lost by Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre.
- I’ve also been reading a friend’s manuscript for feedback.
- TV We Watched:
- Secrets of Sulphur Springs. My son and I watched all the available episodes of this Disney+ show. It’s a fun time-travel mystery!
- Shark Tank. We’re on season 3 of Shark Tank. I’m kind of obsessed with looking up all the products and seeing if they’re still around. (Plus, I’m often very tempted to buy the things I see! I haven’t done it yet, but it’s only a matter of time.)
Here’s what you may have missed on the blog since my last Sunday Post:
- March 2021 Discussion Challenge Link-Up & Giveaway
- February 2021 Monthly Wrap-Up & Best of the Bunch
- Bite-Sized Reviews of Legendborn, Ana on the Edge, Furia, The Mystwick School of Musicraft, and Amal Unbound
Book Blogger Birthdays and Blogoversaries:
Here are the birthdays and blogoversaries for this week! I hope you’ll go wish these bloggers well on their special days! Make sure you check out the calendar to see what you might have just missed or what’s coming up. (If you want to be added to the calendar, it’s easy! Just fill out the birthday/blogoversary form.)
- None this week!!
Book Haul:
From NetGalley/Edelweiss:
I’ve been forgetting to update on my digital ARCs, so here are the ones I’ve gotten recently:
First of all, I picked up List of Ten by Halli Gomez, a YA #OwnVoices contemp about a kid with Tourette’s Syndrome (I’ll be posting my review with the author’s top ten addictions in a couple of weeks).
I also downloaded a voice galley of The Stars of Whistling Ridge by Cindy Baldwin (cover art by Julie McLaughlin). This was the first time I’ve tried a voice galley, with a computerized voice. I was pretty impressed by the narration, considering (though I’ve seen on Goodreads that some people are definitely not fans). Has anyone else listened to one? What did you think?
Then, I got approvals for Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean (cover art by John Ed De Vera), XOXO by Axie Oh (cover art by Zipcy), Kingdom of Secrets by Christyne Morrell (cover art by Emma Cormarie), and The Verdigris Pawn by Alysa Wishingrad (cover art by Júlia Sardà).
Great Discussions/Goings On Around the Blogosphere:
- A Mighty Girl shares 25 Mighty Girl Survival Stories
NEW Pre-order Campaigns
Head over to my new Pre-Order Campaigns Page to see ALL of the pre-order deals, including pictures!!
Here’s the list of all the pre-order campaigns that I just added to the list this week:
Pre-order EVA EVERGREEN AND THE CURSED WITCH by Julie Abe from Books of Wonder to receive a personalized, signed copy, a bookmark, an Eva and Ember vinyl sticker, and two art prints! (INT)(Ends 8/2)
Pre-order BEASTS OF PREY by Ayana Gray to receive an exclusive metal bookmark and enamel pin pack! (US only)(Phase 1 Ends 7/16.
Phase 2 Ends 9/27 and will include the enamel pin pack only)Pre-order SISTER OF THE BOLLYWOOD BRIDE by Nandini Bajpai to receive a sticker and signed bookplate. Plus you’ll be entered to win an iPad! (US only)(Ends 5/24)
Pre-order WHAT TO MISS WHEN by Leigh Stein from B&N or an indie bookstore to receive a personalized bookplate. (Ends 8/9)
Pre-order CECE RIOS AND THE DESERT OF SOULS by Kaela Rivera from The King’s English to receive a signed copy, a bookmark, and a special stamp and sticker designed by the author. (Ends 4/12)
Pre-order THE LAST FALLEN STAR by Graci Kim to receive limited edition ‘gifted mark’ temporary flash tattoos! (INT)(Ends 5/3)
Pre-order THE LUCKY LIST by Rachael Lippincott from White Whale Bookstore to receive a signed, personalized copy. You’ll also receive specially-designed stickers, and 30 random orders will be chosen to receive one of three Lucky List themed totes! (Ends 5/31)
Pre-order THE UNBROKEN by C.L. Clark to receive a signed bookplate! (INT)(Ends 3/22)
Pre-order GOLD SPUN by Brandie June OR request it from your local library to receive a special map postcard. Pre-orders of hardcovers and paperbacks will receive a bookmark, doorhanger, & signed bookplate. PLUS the first 20 orders will get an exclusive bracelet, and random additional bracelets will also be sent. (Ends 5/10)
Awesome Giveaways:
(Make sure you scroll to see them all!)
- Twitter Giveaways:
- @edwardanddamon is giving away one of her most anticipated March releases! (ends 3/26)
- On my blog, you can enter the giveaway for the March 2021 Discussion Challenge Link-Up & Giveaway and the February Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up & Giveaway. This is also your last chance to enter to win ANY BOOK YOU WANT in my blogoversary giveaway!
- Head over to A Mighty Girl to enter The Complete Ada Lace Adventures 5-Book Giveaway
- Head over to KidLit411 for a chance to win THE BIG BEACH CLEANUP, THE WIDE STARLIGHT, ONCE UPON ANOTHER TIME, and Try It! How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat.
- Head over to BookHounds YA for a chance to win THE MEMORY THIEF, SIMON B. RHYMIN’, ONE STEP FURTHER, and more! (Check their site’s sidebar.)
- Head over to The Children’s Book Review for a chance to win a set of 4 books by Corey Ann Haydu, including One Jar of Magic.
- Head over to Lisa Loves Literature for a chance to win 3 books from Lisa’s ARC pile
- Lots of blogs participating in the March 2021 Of Books Giveaway Hop!
- Book Riot has lots of giveaways, including $250 TO SPEND AT B&N!
- Read It Forward does a monthly giveaway. This week you can enter to win their Favorite March Books!
Lots of good stuff! Have any giveaways or great discussions happening on your site right now? Feel free to share them in the comments!
Sounds like a great give away. I’ve been meaning to read more young adult books. I’ve made my way through all of Ezra Keats books more recently.
I haven’t read Ezra Keats’ books. Hope you enjoy them!
I am so fascinated with your dog’s DNA report, though I know nothing about dog breeds.
I didn’t know that much about these breeds. I had to look them all up. But it was still fun to find all of this info!
Bella has some rare breeds in her! Her results make me super curious about my dog. The rescue place I got her from guessed Australian Shepherd and Pit Bull. I have no idea. She’s a pretty basic fluffy black dog.
I’ve always been super curious about Bella, and when I saw Anne over at Books of My Heart had a DNA test done for her dog, it inspired me to ask for it as a gift. I think we’re going to do it for Snickers too the next time I get a gift. 🙂 (And maybe even Digit, even though he’s supposedly purebred Aussie—we still slightly wonder since his mom and pop were farm dogs. And he does have those perk ears, which are really rare in Aussies. You never know!)
Haha just like us. They thought terrier mix and Lulu has no terrier at all!
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
Yep, this was the same thing! It’s fun to know what she actually is, though.
Wow, that’s so interesting about your dog’s DNA! I didn’t actually know you could get that done and find out what breeds your dog has in them. I would never have guessed she was over half pit bull!
I’d heard of dog DNA tests before, but I had always heard they were really expensive and never looked into it. It was still a tad expensive for an unnecessary thing, but as a gift it was worth it!
I would have guessed Australian shepherd! These tests are so clever. Bella is gorgeous!
That’s what most people think, and that’s what the experts told us, but I guess we were all wrong! 🙂
Wow, that is surprising that your dog is all those different breeds.
We definitely knew she was a mutt, but we’re still surprised by the results!
That’s interesting about your dog’s genetic background. Sounds like one of her parents was a real Heinz 57 mix, and the other was maybe closer to purebred, but who knows? She looks like a sweetie, anyway.
Your new ARCs look really interesting. I considered requesting The Verdigris Pawn, but decided I really needed to tackle my backlog instead.
Yeah, the DNA company also gives you a possible family tree layout and other genetic factors too—it was really interesting!
Awww!!! Your dogs look so cute! Hope you have a great week!
Thank you!
Oh wow! That’s surprising! I would never would have guessed Pitbull either, lol. I’m starting to wonder if our dog has a bit of Pitbull because he has a really loud bark too, except he’s kind of chicken too. Lol.
Nice new reads! All new to me ones but I hope you will enjoy them all!
Here’s my StS
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower 🙂
Bella acts really vicious when she’s barking at someone, but then she’s also a total scaredy-cat in a lot of situations. She did once break her leash and go after a coyote in our yard (and out into the woods behind our house), though. We never did know what happened out there exactly except that there was a loud yelp and then she came strutting back home happily.
I was really surprised when my dog’s DNA test results came back as mostly pit bull. He looked nothing like a pit bull. The animal shelter had told us he was a basenji mix. Turned out he had no basenji in him at all. That explained his bark. He was a sweetheart, and I really miss him.
I love the cover of The Stars of Whistling Ridge. It sounds good too. I am interested in reading Tokyo Ever After and hope you enjoy it and your other new books.
Have a great week, Nicole!
I think the shelters probably don’t call dogs pit bulls unless it’s super obvious. But I do think most of the time it’s really hard to tell the breeds of a mix, so I can’t really blame them for getting it wrong.
Pit bulls do get a bad rap, sadly. That’s really interesting about her background though! How fun! It was neat seeing Samoyed in there too, even if only a bit. I had an American Eskimo for years which is somewhat similar to a Samoyed, a lot smaller… and Samoyeds are beautiful. Anyway, congrats on the results!
Yeah, it’s interesting that those fluffy Asian breeds are only 11% of her genetic makeup (along with 4% Spanish water dog, but those are really curly). She is SO soft that I assumed fluffier dogs would be more prominent. I guess she got some of that Samoyed fur passed down.
American Eskimo dogs are super cute! Love them!
That’s really interesting about Bella’s breeds. Pit bulls do get a bad rep, so they very well could have hidden that fact to get her adopted. She’s beautiful though and sounds likes an amazing dog!
-Lauren
Yeah, my husband read this post and agreed with me that he probably wouldn’t have even looked at her if they had called her a pit bull mix instead of an Aussie mix, so I guess they’re onto something. Bella is so lovable (and soft!), but she does have that scary-sounding bark!
(She tricked us when we saw her the first day at the doggy daycare where she was fostered by just doing a little whimpering half-bark at the other dogs—she must’ve been nervous that day!)
What an interesting mix for Bella! I wouldn’t have guessed any of those breeds! Super fascinating. We did one of these reports for Lulu too and it was a lot of fun to guess her non-dominant breeds, although I was totally off because I’m horrible at guessing dog breeds. Lol.
That’s crazy about the DNA test! I would never have guessed pit by looking at her. What an interesting combo though, My mother got her dog tested and he came back as 50% Great Pyrenes and 50% bloodhound which wasn’t what any of us were expecting (I was leaning towards some kind of mastiff – he’s HUGE) but once we knew it made sense. Have a great week!
I’m fascinated with anything that has to do with ancestry. I would say though Bella is 100% cuteness 🙂