After their beloved dog died, a family adopted a lookalike. A DNA test blew their minds.

Every pet is unique and irreplaceable. When we lose one of our friends, all we can do is grieve, keep their memory alive, and, if/when we’re ready, share that same love with someone new. For some, it’s less painful to switch gears completely, bringing home a new companion with a totally different look and personality. Others take home an animal with a similar vibe. One Bay Area couple followed the latter path, and they wound up with a mind-blowing surprise.

Jillian Reiff adopted their previous dog, a half-rat-terrier/half-chihuahua named Rufus, from the San Francisco SPCA in 2016. And he quickly became an essential part of her family’s lives. "We were engaged, and Rufus was there," she told CBS News San Francisco. "He actually had the ring tied around his neck. When my husband and I got married, he was there. He was wearing a little tux. And when we had our children, Maya and Benjamin, Rufus was actually the first family member to meet our kids, even before grandma."

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After Rufus died suddenly from a terminal illness in April, they initially "were not ready to adopt another dog," Reiff told ABC7 News Bay Area. But then 6-year-old Maya spotted a profile for Ziggy on the social media page for Muttville, a rescue organization dedicated to senior dogs. "Just in the state I was in, I looked at it, and for a half second I thought she may have been in my phone's photo album because they just looked so similar," Reiff told CBS News, noting that she visited the profile hundreds of times.

A few days later, she visited Muttville in person to meet Ziggy, and the family, charmed by the pup’s sweet and "wobbly" demeanor, adopted him almost instantly. Even beyond their similar features and personality, Reiff’s husband noticed that Ziggy made a "very familiar warbling sound" that reminded them of Rufus. They eventually decided to do a DNA test.

"It was just kismet that they looked alike," Reiff told ABC7. "And I think the longer that I sat with him, there was a feeling that I could not explain…Their mannerisms, their looks, the way that both of them approached the kids…I was so certain that something was going on…They were an identical DNA match, and Ziggy was actually Rufus’ biological father, and they shared a good chunk of their DNA. I screamed. I screamed in my job, in my conference room. [Laughs.] I almost passed out."

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CBS News reports that Rufus was around 15 when he passed, and Ziggy is estimated to be 16 or 17. The family was later informed that the two mutts may have been together before they adopted Rufus—they were neutered the same week. "There is no science I can find to explain this, only kismet," Reiff told Muttville, who noted, "Not only do the dogs look similar, but they also both 'talk,' are obsessed with the kids, cover their heads with a blanket at bedtime, and more."

It’s worth noting the innovative work being done at Muttville, a cage-free facility—reportedly the first in the U.S. with that distinction—that’s "dedicated to saving dogs aged 7 and older." In a 2024 Fast Company profile, writer Grace Snelling documented the space’s eye-popping visual aesthetic, from a "pink-tiled glam room covered in bespoke wallpaper" to "a kitchen that resembles an Italian café" to "offices designed like Victorian houses." Snelling adds, "At Muttville, senior residents aren’t confined to individual cages, but instead move between the shelter’s various rooms (separate rooms are designated for dogs who need more solitude, large breeds, and those who aren’t spayed or neutered)." It's the kind of treatment they deserve.

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