SakshiA Rare Occurrence
The incidence of Bilverdine is rarely found among puppies. It stays inside the bloodstream throughout life but manages to keep itself away from one’s notice. It happens very rarely when the Biliverdin joins in the amniotic fluid of the womb. That must have happened with Rio’s pup.
Moves Through
A resident at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Victor Stora described, “The placenta has an enormous blood supply and there is a lot of blood that moves through the placenta,” Stora told petMD.
The Process
He further stated, “Blood which escapes the main placenta is broken down in the uterus to biliverdin, which, if this pigment invades into the amnionic sac that surrounds the puppy, would dye the hairs on the fetus green. Therefore, the placentation of this puppy must have been abnormal if it did not repel the biliverdin and allowed it to invade in.”
Only Way
“Most often, defects in the placenta cause the puppy to die because this is the only way for it to receive nutrients and oxygen.” “One could understand that if there is a defect in the placenta, it would be odd that only biliverdin would leak in and no other molecules. This puppy is pretty lucky that the defect which allowed the entry of biliverdin did not cause any other potentially toxic substances to come through.”
Temporary Change
Except for staining the fur, Biliverdin does nothing else to the body. There is no danger involved. Moreover, the color remains for a short while. It keeps fainting with weeks thanks to the constant growth of fur and the licking by mother. Eventually, the pup would look just like its other siblings.
Something Extraordinary
Even though the pup was not going to retain its green color for life, Louise and Claire knew it was special. It is not always you see a golden retriever giving birth to a green pup. This was once in a lifetime kind of sight. So they decided to give a special name to the special pup that will go with its appearance.