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Thanks to Dog DNA Tests, Texas Woman Finds Out That She Rescued Two of Her Dog’s Siblings

After rescuing a puppy that was found alone in a field, years later, a woman manages to find two of the canine’s siblings and gives them a family reunion.

Source: WFAA/Youtube

Jennifer Butler first met Benjamin when a woman brought the six-week-old pup into her veterinary practice in Greenville, Texas, in 2013. The woman was not able to keep the dog but didn’t want to take him to a shelter. Butler told PEOPLE that she offered to adopt him and took him home the same day.

Five years later, she was scrolling through Facebook when she saw a post from a pet adoption network. She said that the photo of the dog “looked exactly like Benjamin.”

“My mind started racing, wondering how he could have escaped from our home and ended up impounded. After a few intense seconds, I realized this dog was incredibly similar to Benjamin but was not, in fact, my boy. I shared his post and vowed to watch for updates on his status at the shelter with hopes that he would be adopted,” Butler told PEOPLE.

She kept an eye on her dog’s look-alike and waited to see if he got adopted. However, when she noticed that the dog “had gone to ‘code red’ status — imminent euthanasia due to no space,” she decided she needed to save him.

“I pulled him from the shelter with the goal of placing him in a forever home. The poor guy had a skin infection, upper respiratory infection, a gnarly scar on his rear leg, and heartworms,” Butler told PEOPLE. “After being neutered and vaccinated, he came home with me, and our son, who was two years old at the time, fell in love. Needless to say, Leonard was quickly deemed a permanent member of our household.”

She says that sometimes people can’t even tell them apart, so they’ve resorted to different color collars to be able to tell who’s who. They always were curious if they could be siblings but thought the chances were slim to none. However, the veterinary hospital where Butler worked started to carry Embark DNA tests, so she decided it was time to know once and for all if they were related.

The results found that Bennie and Lennie were from the same litter! But you won’t believe what happens next! Almost five years later, Butler was looking on Facebook, and the same shelter posted a photo of a dog that looked the same as her other two dogs.

“Before I even had a chance to see the post for myself, numerous friends and coworkers had tagged me on her post. Of course, I was shocked at the resemblance but thought there was no way the stars would align like this again!” Butler said.

After she learned that the dog was also at risk of being euthanized, she decided to rescue her and eventually find her a forever home. However, when she gave the new dog, Penelope, a DNA test as well…

“Low and behold, a few weeks later, it revealed that she too was an immediate family member/littermate to my boys,” Butler said.

Although Butler was not able to keep Penelope, she was adopted into a home where she is “the only dog and the sole focus of all the love and attention.” The dogs all live locally, and they’re looking forward to having some sibling playdates again soon!

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