The Fonnese shepherd dog's DNA is a testimony of the history of Sardinia. These are some of the conclusions of the research paper published by U.S. magazine Genetics, with the contribution of reserachers Raffaella Cocco and Sara Sechi from the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Sassari.

Sardinia is well known to the a land where an extremely low number of inhabitants live, but it is also the homeland of the so-called Fonnese dog, a new breed that has is yet to be recognized by international breeders’ organizations (though, it has been recognized by the Italian National Cynophilia Board). The study conducted by the National Human Genome Research Institute, in collaboration with the universities of Sassari, Milan and Chieti-Pescara, seems to clearly connect the migrations of Sardinians' ancestors to their dogs’. Moreover, it seems that the long-living dogs dwell the same areas where Sardinian centenarians live.

The research, coordinated by genetist Elaine Ostrander, will soon take into consideration the so-called "protective ferocity" of the Fonnese dog.