The owner of a golden retriever has been left stunned after her dog birthed a green puppy.
Of nine regular pups in the litter, one popped out with a mint green pelt.
The owner of three-year-old Rio, Scottish woman Louise Sutherland, told Metro that as the puppies started to arrive, she noticed one with green fur.
“We couldn’t believe it”, she said.
The phenomenon is extremely rare, and is thought to be caused by a bile pigment called biliverdin, found in the placenta of dogs.
The substance can stain the puppy’s fur when it mixes with the mother’s amniotic fluid.
It’s an occurrence that is thought to have happened only a few times around the world.
In 2014, two dogs in Spain were born green, and a chocolate Labrador in Lancashire, UK, also gave birth to a green pup.
The puppies’ mint shade will fade over the next few weeks, but Ms Sutherland named him Forest in light of the unique rarity.
Ms Sutherland has found homes for the rest of the pups, but will keep Forest for herself.
Source: http://bit.ly/2uSUapf
