Every dog owner believes their pup is one of a kind.
For Anise Tooley and her boyfriend, Greg Fucich, from Mississippi, that couldn’t be more true. Their two Pitties, Pearl and Harley, had just welcomed a litter of puppies, and one of them was unlike anything they had ever seen.
While checking on the new mom and her tiny babies, the couple spotted something completely unexpected: one of the newborns had green fur.
A Surprise In The Whelping Box
It was a moment both adorable and confusing.
Tooley didn’t notice the unusual color right away since the green puppy was born first. But when Pearl delivered the next few, the difference became obvious.
“I didn’t notice at first she was a different color. Then when she had another one, and another one, I’m like, the first one is a different color,” Tooley told WLOX News.
The puppy had the same pink nose, ears, and size as her siblings, but her coat stood out in a vivid green tint.
Stunned by what they were seeing, Tooley and Fucich tried to make sense of it. They had never encountered anything like this before.
After some quick online research, they discovered that the cause was a natural pigment called biliverdin. The green shade appeared because there was a higher concentration of biliverdin in her birth sac.
Thankfully, the condition is harmless and temporary.
The couple couldn’t help but laugh at their puppy’s special appearance and decided to have fun with it.
They named her Fiona, after Princess Fiona from the animated movie Shrek, a perfect nod to her unusual color.
It didn’t take long for Fiona’s story to capture attention online. Photos of the little “Shrek puppy” spread across social media, and she quickly won fans everywhere.
A Rare Colorful Beginning
Although Fiona’s case is rare, she isn’t the only puppy ever born with this striking hue.
A Golden Retriever pup named Shamrock made headlines not long ago for the same phenomenon, his bright green fur caused by the same pigment. Like Fiona, his color faded as he grew older.
For now, Fiona remains tiny and full of promise, just beginning her life. She still has her first wobbly steps, tail wags, and bursts of playfulness ahead of her.
Even after her green fur fades, her story will remain unforgettable. Fiona, the “Shrek princess” pup, is a reminder that every life begins with its own bit of magic—and sometimes, that magic comes in the most unexpected color.