By Lucy NotarantonioShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberWhen Chief was rescued from an animal shelter, his new owners were told he was a terrier mix. But once he settled into his new home, his owner started to wonder if that was true.
She suspected he might be a border collie mix. A vet had another idea, guessing an Airedale Terrier mix. Much of the confusion came down to Chief’s shaggy coat. His wild fur has prompted TikTok users to compare him to The Grinch, the fictional grumpy green creature created by Dr. Seuss, known for furry hair that’s thick around his neck, much like Chief.
The woman shared Chief’s story through a voiceover layered over a montage of clips posted to his own account @chief.the.rescuee. She explains that she ordered a dog DNA kit and said she was left “shook” when she received the results that have since racked up almost 3 million views online.
According to the test, Chief is a terrier of sorts, but not the mix everyone expected. The analysis reported he is 100 percent pit bull.
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Chief, who lives in O‘ahu, Hawaii, certainly has the face and build of a pit bull, but his coat tells a different story. The surprising reveal also points to a bigger question many pet owners are now asking: how accurate are dog DNA tests?
Embark, the company that carried out Chief’s test, says its results are 99 percent accurate. But not all users are convinced. Some have noted that the company only traces ancestry back three generations.
“The tests don't really capture much more than [three] generations, so something was clearly mixed in generations further back,” said one user.
Chief’s owner replied to another commenter that she is keen to try a different brand to compare results.
...Concerns about accuracy are not new. In 2023, researchers at the University of Colorado tested six direct-to-consumer dog DNA kits, though the brands were not named. The team used cheek swabs from 12 verified purebred dogs and submitted half the samples with correct photos and half with swapped photos from very different breeds.
Five companies returned mostly accurate breed results regardless of the photo, suggesting they relied on genetics. But Accu-Metrics produced a breed mix that appeared to match the photo more than the DNA sample. In one example, a Chinese crested DNA submission paired with a Brittany spaniel photo came back as border collie and golden retriever. The researchers said photos aren’t scientifically necessary for DNA analysis, raising concerns that some companies may be influenced by appearance.
Back on TikTok, Chief’s fans were less interested in the science and more focused on the dog himself.
“[Got to] be 1/4 grinch I just can’t prove it,” joked one user.
“All I see is 100 percent a good boy,” said another user.
Newsweek reached out to @chief.the.rescuee for comment via TikTok. We could not verify the details of the case.
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