A family reunion: Dog saved from kill shelter after DNA test prompts search for littermates

A family reunion of sorts for Jackie Novak and her dog started on Thanksgiving 2023. That's when she received an email from DNA testing

Novak had purchased a test to learn more about her dog's lineage. The email she received informed her that her dog has siblings.

"Knowing she came from so far away, we kind of wanted to better understand her past because we only knew so much about it when we got her. We didn't quite know we would get anything, but at least we knew there was a chance," Novak said.

Novak's dog Winnie was picked up by a shelter in South Texas with two of her littermates. But because of severe overcrowding, she and one of her sisters were transported up to Michigan, however, to two separate shelters.

Andrea Groom and her husband adopted Winnie's sister Joplin and also performed the same DNA test on their pup, and they ended up with the match.

When the two women got in contact, they decided they wanted to find out whether the girls had any more siblings.

Groom did some internet sleuthing and found a long-lost littermate that was still in the same shelter where the pups originated.

"The girls were all on the list to be euthanized and she was the last one down there, so we knew we only had a short window to get her up here and save her," Novak said.

Groom, already connected with a shelter in Michigan, was able to get the final littermate transferred to the state. She said there was an instant connection, and Harlow immediately took to her littermates.

"They realized they were with their sibling, like running around the yard," Groom said.

Noak said reuniting the three dogs was a moment she'll never forget.

"We never thought we would get to see one of her siblings, let alone meet two of them, so it like wouldn't quite process in my brain," she said.

The women now plan to set up puppy playdates for the three dogs to make sure they get to see each other as they grow up.