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By Jack Beresford
Senior Reporter
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A Colorado man was convinced he had adopted a Corgi from his local shelter, until a DNA test revealed something "devastating."
In truth, Daniel Sarche had not been planning on adopting a dog. But then, as he later discovered, Waffles was no ordinary dog.
Waffles came into Sarche's life by chance.
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"A family friend fosters dogs through a local rescue, 2 Blondes All Breeds. My friend posted about this little terrier mutt named Harry that was just so cute, and on a whim I decided I wanted to apply to adopt him," Sarche told Newsweek.
"When it turned out he was already up for adoption with a different family, I put him down as my second choice and spent a few hours looking through the rescue roster to see if any other dogs caught my eye."
That was when Waffles, who was originally called Salamander by the rescue, caught his eye. "In his rescue photo he had just the best smile and this hilariously duck-footed stance," Sarche said.
There was another reason why he was especially keen to adopt though. "The rescue had listed him as a Cardigan Welsh Corgi," Sarche said. "I've always always wanted a corgi, but never expected to actually get one, so I immediately put him as my top choice."
Statistically speaking, it is very rare to find a Corgi in a shelter. A 2024 study in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science saw researchers analyze a database of shelter intake records from 2019–2023 from 21 shelters across the U.S.
The most common breed relinquished was "mixed" (35 percent), followed by American Pit Bull Terriers (12 percent), Chihuahuas (5 percent), Labrador Retrievers (5 percent), and German Shepherds (4 percent).
On the flip side, there is significant demand for Cardigan Welsh Corgis. Some puppies can fetch up to $2,000. With that in mind, Sarche assumed competition for Waffles would be fierce. "I really didn't think I'd get to get Waffles," he said. "I figured a corgi would be super in-demand."
However, within days of applying to the rescue, he was informed his application had been accepted. A few days later, he met Waffles and the family that was fostering him. The rest is history.
"I immediately fell in love with him and the feeling was mutual - he jumped into my lap to cuddle right away," Sarche said. "I couldn't not adopt him."
Sarche and Waffles have been happy together ever since.
"He is a very snuggly, cuddly dog, and loves to hang out with me on the couch while I game and work," Sarche said. "We go on 3-4 walks a day where he tries his hardest to catch all the local squirrels and rabbits. When we can, we go for runs, too!!"
However, more recently, Sarche began to wonder more about Waffles' roots. It's not unusual for rescue dogs to undergo DNA testing to find their origins. It's thrown up plenty of surprises in the past on social media and Waffles' results were no different.
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In a post shared to Reddit, under the handle u/dsarche12, Sarche announced, "Waffles' DNA results are in, and I have some devastating news..."
It turns out Waffles is 34.9 percent Australian Shepherd, 26.5 percent Australian Cattle Dog, 23.7 percent Chihuahua and 14.9 percent Miniature Australian Shepherd.
More importantly, he's exactly zero percent Corgi. Though the news was a shock, any disappointment was tempered by just how great Waffles has been since Sarche took him home.
"I was totally surprised when I learned Waffles wasn't a corgi, but it makes more and more sense as I get to know him," Sarch said. "For one thing, he doesn't shed pretty much at all. For another he is much less sassy and vocal and stubborn than I have heard that corgis tend to be - he's definitely able to ask for what he wants but he's super gentle and willing to do what I ask him to do too."
"He is also a fast little dog and can easily keep up with me at my fastest sprint pace. Must be the Aussie shepherd in him."
So while Sarche may have been hoping for a Corgi, he couldn't wish for a better dog than Waffles.
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