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DNA testing developed last year can now answer the question plaguing the minds of mutt owners everywhere: Exactly what breed is my dog?

Kevin Bowman of Germantown is among the throng of curious pet owners nationwide paying around $100 to map their mutt's family tree.

"There are breed-specific behavior and health issues, and knowing that makes it easier for everyone," Bowman said. "Plus, it's just kind of fun."

Bowman's veterinarian used a blood sample to test the DNA of 13-year-old Blackie, a former stray, and 8-year-old Emma, adopted from the Progressive Animal Welfare Society shelter in Middletown.

DNA testing also can be done with a cheek swab; and both types of tests compare a mutt's genes with samples collected from purebred dogs.

"It's a conversation piece, if nothing else," Bowman said. "Before everyone said, 'Well, I have a mutt.' And, yes, we have a mutt, but we have a unique mutt."

Veterinarian Matthew Heller of All About Pet Care, said pet owners should treat the tests as a novelty.

His practice received many inquires about DNA testing during the Middletown ban on pit bulls, but Heller warns that results cannot prove a dog's breed for legal purposes.

Some pet owners, such as Dayton-area resident Karyl Parks, say more research should be done. Parks tested her purebred Norwegian elkhound just for fun but did not send in the requested photo. The results came back Welsh corgi and English spaniel.

"I think they've got some tweaking to do, and they're tweaking at our expense," she said.