Italian farmer Cristian Mallocci was surprised when Spelacchia, one of his eight dogs, gave birth to a green-furred puppy.
The baby dog was instantly named Pistachio. Pistachio was a part of a five-dog litter born on October 9. All of its four siblings are born with white fur, except him.
Mallocci runs a farm on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia with his brother-in-law Giannangelo Liperi.
It is extremely rare for a dog to be born with green-colored fur. It is thought that it happens when pale-coloured puppies have contact in their mother’s womb with a green pigment called biliverdin. It is the same pigment that causes the green colour in bruises.
However, Pistachio’s colour will not last forever. The bright green fur has faded from the day he was born and it will continue to do so as he gets older.
While his brothers and sisters will be given away to new homes, Mallocci will keep Pistachio on his farm and train him up to look after the sheep with his mother.
Mallocci said that during this difficult time of the pandemic, green is the symbol of hope and luck.
