Farmer Stunned As Dog Delivers Litter Of Five With One Stark Green

Oct 28, 2020

It seems anything is possible these days, and a green puppy among all-white siblings in a litter is one of them. Yes, we said green! When Christian Mallocci of Sardinia, Italy, first saw the pup in October 2020, he was absolutely stunned. Though it has an explanation, a green puppy is surely a sight to see! 

Christian Mallocci is no stranger when it comes to puppies since he has eight dogs living on his farm, reports NPR. Spelacchia, a mixed-breed, was about to give birth and Mallocci assumed everything would be normal. 

As she began delivering her pups, the farmer was shocked to see that one of them was green! This was thrilling to Mallocci because according to Italian tradition, green stands for hope and luck. We could all use a little bit of that these days. Still, questions remained.

How was this possible? Why did it happen? Why was only one puppy out of the litter of five colored green? Many of these questions can be explained, as you will see in the video below.

This is most certainly a rarity, otherwise, we would see green puppies running around all the time. Seriously, though, how does such a thing happen? Green seems to be such an odd color to naturally occur in a pup's fur.

It actually makes a lot of sense, and though rare, it happens sometimes. It is thought that lightly-colored pups' fur can be turned green when they are exposed in utero to the pigment called biliverdin.

Biliverdin is found in bile and is a result of the breakdown of red blood cells. It is the pigment in the body that makes bruises appear green. When it is present in amniotic fluid, it can stain a light-colored puppy's coat green.

Other instances of this phenomenon have been reported in the past. For example, there was a golden retriever, Rio, from the Scottish Highlands who birthed nine puppies. Of those, one popped out colored green, reports ABC 30. The family named the pup accordingly; Forest.

Mallocci was delighted by the green pup and actually decided to keep him for his own, reports NPR. He was appropriately named Pistachio, and it seems his green fur is slowly fading back to white as time passes. The other four pups were adopted out to loving homes.

Pistachio will be helping Mallocci out on the farm with various tasks including looking after the sheep and additional farming duties. Though he may not stay green forever, the farmer will never forget all the joy the green pup brought in his early months.

Check out Pistachio for yourself and let us know what you think of this rare medical phenomenon. Do you have or have you ever known someone else who has had a momma dog give birth to green puppies?

Share this video with all of your dog-loving or even medical-loving friends and family. They are certain to get a kick of seeing this bright green puppy contrasting with all of his siblings!