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July 18, 2008

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: The Sanctification and Importance of Time

Caroline B. Glick: US wants it absolutely clear it has no intention of attacking Iran's nuclear installations

Mona Charen: What can you say about a people who welcome a child murderer as a hero?

JWisdom:: Living a dog's life, dawg? by Rabbi Dovid Gross

July 17, 2008

Steven Emerson: Deals with devils

Libby Lazewnik: One Step at a Time

JWisdom:: Leader the follower? by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

July 16, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Poaching humans

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Meaty pasta salad with summer berries perfect for warm evenings

JWisdom:: Keeping A Secret by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

July 15, 2008

Dennis Prager: False Equation: Opposing Same-Sex Marriage and Opposing Interracial Marriage

Joel Greenberg: Researchers look to Israeli circumcision program to help combat AIDS 'Alternatives' to Logic Won't Work

JWisdom:: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part V: Why Judaism ISN'T Spiritual by Rabbi David Aaron

July 14, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: A warning from Canada to those who value life

Jonathan Tobin: 'Alternatives' to Logic Won't Work

JWisdom:: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Poland's Unique Antisemitism, Part II

July 11, 2008

Rabbi Francis Nataf: It's hard to be humble when you're great

Caroline B. Glick: A tale of two hostages

JWisdom:: Profane for Prophet by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

July 8, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. Duty to save gullible from themselves?

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Islamists have the West just where they want us

JWisdom:: Putting the Spirit Back into Spirituality, Part 3: The Fully Loaded Human Being by Rabbi Dovid Gross

July 3, 2008

Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski: A spiritual budget (TOUCHING!)

Jeff Jacoby: Israel still paying for its defeat

JWisdom:: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part IV by Rabbi David Aaron

JWisdom:: The Moses Method by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

July 2, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Appeasers Make Poor Patriots

The Kosher Gourmet By Kathleen Purvis: Slaw, y'all: For BBQs or Sabbath dinner, these southern recipes are something else!

JWisdom:: Rabbi Mordechai Becher: Jewish Rx for A Simpler Life

July 1, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. I think it's important to leave a legacy to my children. How much should I save towards this end?

Paul Greenberg:A President who is history deficient?

JWisdom:: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Poland's Unique Antisemitism

June 30, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Remembering the architect of Torah Judaism for the modern world

Abe Novick: Hulk: Still a Jew?

JWisdom: : Putting the Spirit Back into Spirituality, Part 2: The Abandoned Child

June 26, 2008

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Quantum leap to evil

Caroline B. Glick: Victimized families must not be allowed to dictate policy

June 25, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Today in Biblical History: King Jeroboam of Israel prevents pilgrimage to Jerusalem

Jonathan Tobin: Real Friends and Real Enemies

JWisdom: Raping of reason By Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

June 25, 2008

Steven Emerson: Kristof: Never Mind the Terrorists

Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: Mediterranean Flyover: Telegraphing an Israeli Punch?

JWisdom: Rabbi David Aaron: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part III

June 24, 2008

Caroline B. Glick: What were they thinking!?

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Guilty knowledge

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Warping Innocence

June 23, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Diploma dilemma

Jeff Jacoby: A world without children

JWisdom: Rabbi Dovid Gross: Putting the Spirit Back into Spirituality --- Introduction

June 20, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Man: The Crowning Glory of Creation

Caroline B. Glick: Israel's darkest week

JWisdom: We aren't worthy? by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

June 19, 2008

Rabbi Elazar Meisels: The saints who don't come marchin' in

Chris Christoff: Muslim woman demands an apology from Obama after camera snub

June 18, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Still Dancing Around Jerusalem

The Kosher Gourmet by Steve Petusevsky: Chilled fruit and vegetable soups

JWisdom: Souls Need A Check Up? by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

June 17, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Baby Einstein

Caroline B. Glick: Bush's rhetoric, Bush's policies

JWisdom: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part II by Rabbi David Aaron

June 16, 2008

Varda Branfman: Bob Dylan, won't you please come home?

Diana West: Academic dares to question the 'religion of peace'

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Positive Backfire

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Dec. 6, 2007 / 26 Kislev 5768

Think DNA testing is just for humans? You're barking up the wrong tree

By Lloyd Garver


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | We Americans are crazy about our pets. We spend $41 billion a year on them. The late Leona Helmsley left her dog, Trouble, $12 million. We've all seen dogs and cats wearing hand-made sweaters, despite their having natural fur coats. And my family entered this arena of the overly involved pet owner. We had our dog's DNA tested to determine his ancestry.


DNA testing did not really embed itself in the American psyche until the O.J. Simpson trial. Since then, hundreds of people who have been wrongly convicted of crimes have been freed after DNA testing. And then, of course, DNA was back in the headlines during the tragically lurid search for the biological father of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter. Just to refresh your memory, the possible fathers in that case ranged from Anna Nicole's lawyer/companion to Zsa Zsa Gabor's ninth husband.


But I never thought DNA testing would be a part of my life. When my wife took our dog to the vet recently, she told him that she had heard about DNA testing for pets. Since we had rescued our dog from the pound, she told the vet that we really had no information about what kind of dog he was. Without DNA testing, I knew exactly what kind of dog he was: a little, white, fluffy dog. But my wife wanted more information. It wasn't as if she was going to return him if she got surprising test results about Marmaduke (not his real name since the dog would like his privacy protected). And she wasn't hoping that he was descended from Queen Victoria's Olde English Sheepdog or anything snobby like that. She was just curious.


I was curious, too. I was curious how much this DNA testing cost, but I was smart enough not to ask. If I had, my feelings about the testing may have gone from, "That my be interesting" to "Are you crazy? What's the difference?" But I understood her curiosity. And I was tired of answering, "We really don't know" every time someone came up to me and asked, "What breed of dog is he?"


While waiting for the test results to arrive, I admit that I wondered about them just as much as my wife did. I knew that no DNA test could explain why Marmaduke sometimes forgets that he is housebroken, or why he doesn't like to eat alone, or why he has the ability to make us smile no matter what mood we're in. But now that some lab technicians were going to be looking at his DNA - presumably in between solving crimes - I wanted to know what his canine genome had told them.


The results finally arrived. It turns out that Marmaduke is part Italian Greyhound, part Miniature Poodle, and part Toy Fox Terrier. But this fancy DNA test also concluded that Marmaduke is part what they technically call "mixed breed." Apparently, he is descended from many breeds, but their "signals" are not "strong enough to identify." In other words, we still don't really know what kind of dog he is. The good news was that the test proved that his father was not Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband.


The pet paternity people listed some typical characteristics of each breed that they said Marmaduke was descended from. Some of these were words that most people use to describe their dogs - like "intelligent" and "playful." When I first read them, I started to think that the report was much like what psychic charlatans tell their suckers - just what the paying customers want to hear. But then something caught my attention. One of the traits listed under Miniature Poodle was "seems to enjoy dog sports such as ... musical canine freestyle."


I had no idea what "musical canine freestyle" was, but I was pretty sure that Marmaduke had never participated in it. I went online and learned that it is a musical program performed by handlers and their dogs in which the duos dance and "interpret the theme of the music." I smiled immediately. I no longer felt that we were being silly for checking out our dog's DNA.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Lloyd Garver has written for many television shows, ranging from "Sesame Street" to "Family Ties" to "Frasier." He has also read many books, some of them in hardcover. Comment by clicking here. Visit his website by clicking here.

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