Vanna Bonta Gets Woof and Warp of Her Dog's DNA

Hollywood multi-hyphenate talent Vanna Bonta, whose novel Flight is now out audiobook, is having her dog's DNA tested.

Bonta was spotted with a new puppy early this year, which Celebrity Dog Watcher and IMDB reported as Chow Chow named Sky. It seems the wonder-loving Miss Bonta is fascinated by more than human origin, and tested what other lines may be in the pooch's ancestral woof and warp.

It cost as little as $65 to test a dog's DNA. The procedure involves simply swabbing a pet's mouth and mailing it off to a lab. In just a few weeks, a dog's heritage is unlocked.

High-tech DNA tests can put an end to wondering over the makeup of mixed breeds, and make it possible to even name a new
breed. ("It's not a mutt, it's a TerriPooSetterhuahua.")

Bonta's pet is by all appearances Chow, blue tongue and all, but the test will analyze what else is in the ancestral doghouse. "It's not being done for pedigree," a source reports. "It's a fascination, she was asking a lot of questions."

Library Journal and AudioFile Magazine reviews this month recommended Bonta's audio book edition of her novel Flight, which she narrates, and book reviews are calling it "brilliant" and "enchanting."

The book about a light-being girl with no bellybutton whose amnesia raises questions about extraterrestrial life inspired readers worldwide and had fans buzzing about its author's DNA.

Dogs share 85% of human genes. Canine heritage tests can identify up to 100 breeds.

Bonta fostered two orphaned elephants in Kenya and has ties to animals in movies as well, in her cameo role as Dar's young mother in the fantasy favorite The Beastmaster.