Jill Swedlow

Pepita was a very special and wonderful girl. Or was she a boy? You see, Pepita was what is known as a true genetic hermaphrodite! Her sex chromosomes were, XX, XY & XXY! I'm told that only 1 in 1 million dogs will ever be born like this.

It is NOT inherited. Outwardly she appeared to be a bitch. But she had a tiny vulva set lower than normal and a small vestigial penis protruding from it approximately 1/4 inch. She had a uterus and ovaries but her nipples never developed any larger than a males would. She also had the 2 'cords' that run along the abdomen back to a sheath in a male, but no sheath. She was sterile and never showed heat. 

If I could have cloned her, I could have sold a million Pepitas! She was steady as a rock and was a talker, woooing her way happily through life, usually with a toy or two in her mouth. She knew no strangers and loved all people and animals. She/he was very very dear.