This small family in Scotland loves their family pets. In fact, they have a whole bunch of them! When one of their dogs gets pregnant, they were ready to receive her litter. Then, they noticed something wild about one of the puppies that got them international attention.
Dog Lovers
Louise Sutherland is a wife and mother who lives in Golspie, Scotland with her family. She absolutely adores animals and owns many cats and dogs.
Isn’t Her First Time
Louise loves all of her pups immensely. She’s even had a couple of her dogs have puppies of their own. So, when her dog Rio got pregnant, she felt prepared to bring more pups into this world.
Second Pregnancy
In fact, this was Rio’s second pregnancy. She had given birth to a litter just a year before, and had a pretty smooth pregnancy!
Tired Mama
During this pregnancy, Rio was obviously a bit more lethargic and liked to sleep more. No two pregnancies are alike, so Louise assumed that everything was pretty normal!
A Healthy Litter
Rio’s first delivery went smoothly, and after just five hours she had five healthy pups! Since then, they’ve all been adopted out to loving families.
Round Two
They prepared Rio for her upcoming birth. Louise made sure she had all of the necessary supplies to make things go smoothly, and they cleared out a room so Rio can be totally by herself while she delivers.
The Day Has Come
Rio gave birth to her puppies in July of 2017. This labor was a bit longer and a bit more difficult, but Louise was there every step of the way to help her dog through this.
Having to Step In
As they were waiting for the birth of the first puppy, they noticed that something was wrong. That first puppy was on its way out, but it seemed stuck. Louise and her daughter, Claire, had to jump in to help.
Lending a Hand
“The first pup was stuck, so myself and my daughter Claire managed to free him and pull him out safely,” Louise remembered. Rio had been crying in pain, but now she seemed ready to keep pushing all thanks to her loving owners.
The Rest of the Labor
Luckily, everything else went smoothly! Rio ended up having nine happy and healthy babies. As time went on, Louise noticed something a little weird about one of the pups…
Not So Golden…
Weirdly enough, one of the pups looked green. Louise called over Claire, who confirmed that, yes, that puppy is green. They’d never seen anything like it before…
Why Was He Green?
He looks a bit weird alongside his siblings, doesn’t he? Naturally, they were afraid that something was wrong. Yet, he was scooting around like normal and eating from Rio just like everyone else.
Just His Fur
Look at that proud mama! Obviously, she didn’t care that her little pup was a little weird. In fact, Louise was able to scour the internet to figure out why he was green.
Thankfully, He Isn’t Sick
The first thing they learned was that this pup was totally fine. The green in his fur was only cosmetic and didn’t indicate any illness or infection. What they learned next was crazy…
Very Rare!
“When we checked it out later we found out it is very unusual and to do with the placenta,†Louise said of her research.
He Looks Silly, But…
He’s normal! Turns out, this rare condition is a result of biliverdin, which is green bile that in a dogs womb. It’s similar to the greenish-yellow that shows up when we bruise!
What Happened?
It’s honestly a pretty simple explanation, despite how crazy it looks! Dr. Victor Stora, who is a resident at the U Penn School of Veterinary Medicine, said that it isn’t harmful to the puppy after it’s born, and explained how it happened!
It’s Simple
“Blood which escapes the main placenta is broken down in the uterus to biliverdin, which, if this pigment invades into the amniotic sac that surrounds the puppy, would dye the hairs on the fetus green.”
This Is Abnormal Of The Sac
He goes on to say, “Therefore, the placentation of this puppy must have been abnormal if it did not repel the biliverdin and allowed it to invade in.†In layman’s terms, the placenta of this puppy was already abnormal, which also explains why this didn’t affect his brothers and sisters.
One Lucky Pup
“Most often, defects in the placenta cause the puppy to die because this is the only way for it to receive nutrients and oxygen.” Lucky for that pup, he barely escaped death! What a strong little guy.
Just a Dye
Basically, the bile did nothing but stain the pup’s fur. After a few weeks, and some good baths from mom, he will soon look just like his siblings!
It’ll Even Out
“When we checked it out later we found out it is very unusual and to do with the placenta. The colour has faded quite a bit already and will be gone soon, I’m told.”
Good Luck
Green means good luck, right? Louise and Claire both felt like this puppy was one of a kind, and they wanted to give him a special name!
Puppy Name Reveal!
They wanted to give him a name that would really reflect where and how he was born. Since the Scottish Highlands is famous for the beautiful forests and trees, they decided to give him the very fitting name of Forest.
They’re Growing Up
All of the pups were getting big! Soon, it would be time to find them loving homes. As always, it’s hard to let go of the new puppies, but they were really torn about Forest…
They’re All Family
Obviously, Louise would have wanted to keep them all! Naturally, she wouldn’t be able to take care of nine dogs plus the others that she had! So, it was time to start lining up new families. Last time, they gave away all of the puppies. This time, it’s going to be different…
Forest Stays
They just had to keep him! Forest was so rare and meant so much to their family that they basically had no choice. Rio will be able to watch her special pup grow up!
Crazy Phenomenon
Before Forest, there were only four other recorded instances of green puppies. In 2014, there were two pups who were born green. Another case was in the UK when a chocolate lab gave birth to a green puppy!
Part of the Pack
Now, Forest is totally a part of the pack! He’s happily living with his family in Scotland. Mom Rio is doing well after giving birth as well.
Keep An Eye Out!
Although this is pretty rare, you never know when you could come across a green pup! It’s surely a sign of good luck.