10/18/2026
A couple looking at rescue dogs on Facebook noticed something they could hardly believe. One shelter dog looked almost exactly like the dog they already had at home. They decided to adopt him, never imagining that a DNA test would later reveal the two dogs were actually brothers.
In December 2021, Alyssa DeLuca and her boyfriend, Zachary Chin, came across a Facebook post from Trenton Animals Rock, an animal rescue organization in New Jersey. The post featured a dog named Max, described as a Chow Chow and Shar-Pei mix, who needed a new home.
What immediately caught their attention was Max's resemblance to Zachary's dog, Arthur. The two had similar faces, coats, and expressions. Alyssa showed Zachary the photograph, and the couple decided to meet the shelter dog.
They traveled to Trenton and brought Max home, renaming him Wes. Although Wes was initially nervous in his new surroundings, he gradually settled into the household and developed a close relationship with Arthur.
The dogs began spending much of their time together. They walked, rested, and played side by side. Their personalities were not identical, but their physical resemblance was so striking that Alyssa and Zachary often joked about how similar they looked.
Eventually, the couple decided to order DNA tests through Embark. They wanted to learn more about Wes's breed background, while Arthur's test was also intended to provide health information.
The results revealed something far more surprising than either had expected. Wes and Arthur were biological brothers.
The discovery explained why the two dogs looked so much alike, but it also gave their adoption story an unexpected meaning. By choosing a rescue dog because he resembled their existing pet, Alyssa and Zachary had unknowingly reunited two members of the same canine family.
Alyssa publicly shared the story in January 2023, thanking Trenton Animals Rock for helping them adopt Wes and Embark for revealing the dogs' relationship. Photographs of the brothers together soon attracted attention from animal lovers around the world.
The couple had not set out to reunite siblings. They simply saw a dog who needed a home and decided to welcome him into their family.
Only later did they discover that the family connection had been there all along.
