In 2013, Jennifer Butler adopted a 6-week-old puppy named Benjamin (or Bennie for short). Butler works at a veterinary practice, and someone brought Bennie into the business for an exam. The woman with Bennie said that she found him as a stray and wanted to help him, but she couldn’t adopt him herself.
So, Butler decided to adopt Bennie. After five happy years together, Butler stumbled across an adoptable dog that looked exactly like Bennie. A few years later, it happened again with a different dog. As she got to know these Bennie look-alikes, she decided to find out if the three pups are related.
Bennie Meets His Twin
When Bennie was five years old, Butler was scrolling through Facebook when she came across a dog that looked exactly like Bennie. The dog was listed on a local pet adoption network, so at first, Butler worried Bennie had escaped. But she calmed down when she remembered her furry friend was still beside her.
“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 said.
But Bennie’s doppelgänger was having a hard time finding a forever home. He was eventually moved to the euthanasia list due to his health concerns and a lack of shelter space. Butler couldn’t let him be put down, so she took him in temporarily. He had skin infections, respiratory problems, scars, and heartworm disease. Yet, the family fell in love with him.
What started as a foster situation quickly ended as an adoption. Butler named the dog Leonard (Lennie for short). Lennie and Bennie were hesitant about each other at first, but they eventually bonded.
Long-Lost Siblings
Bennie and Lennie are so visually similar that most people cannot tell them apart. So, Butler began wondering if they could be related. She knew it was unlikely, but she got an Embark DNA test just to see. She figured even if they weren’t related, she’d get some answers about their genetics and health.
To Butler’s surprise, Bennie and Lennie are related, and the test indicated that they’re likely littermates! They spent five years apart, so it’s like a miracle that they came back to each other.
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But the miracle didn’t end there. Several years later, when the dog duo was 9 years old, Butler experienced a similar situation. The shelter Butler got Lennie from posted a photo of a female dog that looked exactly like the two brothers. Before Butler looked into it, her friends and family were already tagging her in the post.
Once she learned that the third dog was at risk of euthanasia, she decided to foster her as she had with Lennie. But this time, she was determined not to give in and keep her. She took in the female dog, who’s now known as Lulu, and helped her find a forever home. In the meantime, Lulu got to bond with her look-alikes.
The Cutest Family Reunions
Before Lulu got adopted, Butler used another DNA test. Sure enough, Lulu was likely littermates with both Bennie and Lennie. It’s almost too ridiculous to believe, but it’s hard to deny when you see all three of them next to each other.
“Low and behold, a few weeks later, it revealed that she too was an immediate family member/littermate to my boys,” Butler said.
Butler found a wonderful home for Lulu where she could get all the attention she desired. Lulu’s family and Butler stay in touch so the three dog siblings can occasionally have family reunions. It’s as if fate wanted to reunite them!
Featured Image: Facebook
Toledo, United States.
