Strongest Dog In The World Photograph

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FredC

Strongest Dog In The World Photograph
worlds-strongest-dog.jpg


Summary:
Email with an attached photograph of a very muscular canine claims that the dog is the strongest in the world and works for the Russian Army (Full commentary below).

Status:
Real dog - Description is false

Example:(Submitted, September 2007)

Commentary:
According to the caption that accompanies a circulating photograph of an unusually muscular canine, the pictured dog is the strongest in the world and works for the Russian Army. At first glance, many may assume that the image has been manipulated. However, the photograph is genuine and depicts a real animal. On the other hand, the claims in the photograph's caption are inaccurate.

According to a July 2007 Daily Mail article, the hulking canine in the photograph is a whippet named Wendy who was born with a genetic defect which caused her to grow larger and much more muscular than others of her breed:​
While her head, heart, lungs and legs are the size of those of a normal whippet, her gene defect means she is "double muscled".

She weighs 4st4lb - twice as much as she should - and has bulging neck muscles, burly shoulders and haunches like a baboon. And unlike ordinary whippets known for their lithe and narrow frame, this four-year-old pedigree doesn't just have a sixpack stomach, she has a 24-pack.
A June 2007 New York Times article reports that Wendy and others like her - dubbed "bully whippets" - have become the subjects of scientific testing.​
When mutant, muscle-bound puppies started showing up in litters of champion racing whippets, the breeders of the normally sleek dogs invited scientists to take DNA samples at race meets here and across the country. They hoped to find a genetic cause for the condition and a way to purge it from the breed.

It worked. "Bully whippets," as the heavyset dogs are known, turn out to have a genetic mutation that enhances muscle development.
In spite of her somewhat fearsome appearance, Wendy's owner claims that she is a friendly animal who "likes nothing better than a good back scratch and isn't shy about sitting in your lap to ask for one". And far from living a spartan life as a Russian Army dog, Wendy enjoys a relaxed and healthy life on a farm in Victoria, Canada.

Research indicates that there have been many contenders for the title of "Strongest dog in the World", but no clear and confirmed winner has so far emerged. And, in fact, reports about Wendy make no claims that she is the world's strongest dog.

A report in the PLoS Genetics journal offers in-depth scientific information about the genetic mutation that caused Wendy's double-muscled appearance.

References:
Meet the Incredible Hulk of Hounds
As Breeders Test DNA, Dogs Become Guinea Pigs
Big Wendy the muscular whippet
A Mutation in the Myostatin Gene Increases Muscle Mass and Enhances Racing Performance in Heterozygote Dogs
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Original Source
 
you know... i would love to figure out how to work photoshop that good. you cant even tell where they enhanced it...
 
lol its not enhanced thats the real deal. Seriously

At first glance i thought it was one of Martys pitbulls. lol
 
lol at martys pit bull, hehe

it is fake silly, i saw this a few years ago... totally fell for it.. the someone showed me on snopes that it was fake. couldnt believe i didnt check myself first. i always and skeptical...

the story i saw was the dog had a genetic problem that made its muscles huge. i cant find it on snopes now tho... but all the vet people i know jumped on it real fast, lol
 
i really dont know now. But ill put myself out there and say i think it is. Ive read about this on a few different ocassions. Not this dog in particular but ive seen pictures and read articles on Bully whippets from some pretty reputable sources in the past. So i dunno. either way that dog is crazy looking.
 
I dont think this was actually done purposly. rather a genitic defect, in this particular case.
 

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