Not many a person hopes to look like a poodle – but it seems science has other plans.

It turns out that dog owners often choose breeds to whom they bare a resemblance. Why? For the same reason people are sometimes attracted to people who remind them of their parents: familiarity.

People find sameness comforting, and respond favorably to things with which they already have positive associations – like their own face, for example. Though there hasn’t been extensive research one the subject, existing studies have found that people are often able to match dogs with their respective owners simply by studying photographs of each.

In a 2009 experiment by psychologist Sadahiko Nakajima, participants correctly identified dog-owner pairs 80 percent of the time.

Impressive.

Been told you and your Yorkie could be related? Have a friend who looks Havanese? Send us the snapshots – we’d love to see!