French Bulldog enthusiast Mark Ruffin Jr. of Big Rajah Bullies in Helena, Alabama, was excited about the upcoming litter between one of his dogs, Coco, and a long-haired French Bulldog male named Ox.
He had high hopes for the pups and had a c-section scheduled for Coco to ensure everything went smoothly. Many bulldog breeds cannot give birth naturally due to their proportions, but Coco decided to start things herself and went into labor the day before her appointment.
“Photo dump from a rollercoaster of a day yesterday,” Ruffin posted on Facebook on Sept. 19. “Coco was going in for c-section today but started having puppies yesterday.
“We birth 5 at home and lost 1, the others were delivered via emergency c-section.”
The puppies, four females and three males, turned out to be a very colorful bunch, and included blue merles, lilac merles, blue tris and a lilac — but the most striking puppy of all was green.
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Yes, green.
Confused by the pup’s unusual coat, Ruffin and his veterinarian first thought it must be dirty and tried cleaning it off — but the color wouldn’t budge, according to WBRC.
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That’s because the puppy had likely been stained green in the womb thanks to a very rare occurrence that has become a point of discussion.
While covering a similar story, CNN stated that the phenomenon is likely a result of the pup coming into contact with the green pigment found in bile, called biliverdin.
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Either way, the sight is a very rare one, and for obvious reasons is only visible on light-coated puppies. Eventually, the striking shade will fade, but for now Ruffin and his pup are basking in the limelight.
“A Green pup?” Toi Thornton with WBRC shared on Facebook. “Mark Ruffin stopped by yesterday to show us his new Frenchie (French bulldog) that was born green! No literally. He says the vets say she should turn to her normal color within a few weeks but this is definitely something you don’t see everyday.”
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Ruffin was sure to bring an incubator with him to keep the young puppies at an appropriate temperature, and Thornton explained that the “cooler”-looking item that Ruffin brought with him was a self-powered warming station.
Many people suggested amusing names, including Pickle, Hulk, Fiona, Jade and Emerald.
According to his Instagram, Ruffin ended up naming the Frenchie Khloe, and she now has quite the fan club.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.