North Carolina family's dog gives birth to green pup

CANTON, N.C. (WLOS) — Puppies are born every day, but not necessarily green ones. It happened just a few days ago in Canton, North Carolina. For one family, it was an “incredible” experience.

Shana Stamey and her family knew their white German Shepherd, Gypsy, would have puppies soon. They came Friday morning. "She had them in three hours,” Stamey said.

Gypsy had a litter of eight. All went as expected until the fourth one came along.

“And then I realized the puppy was moving, and he was lime green,” Stamey said.

Stamey said, except for the color, everything went fine with Gypsy’s first litter. “She's done really good. She's a good mom,"Stamey said.

But, why do some puppies come out green?

“The sack that they're in when they're in their mom, there can be meconium in there and that tends to stain them,”Junaluska Animal Hospital veterinarian technician Suzanne Cianciulli said. Meconium is an infant mammal's earliest stool.

“I knew it wasn't like harmful. But I still had to look it up again to make sure,” Shana says. It can especially color white fur.

“Mom licks it away until I bathe it and then, I guess after a couple of weeks, it will finally like fade out,” Stamey said.

What do you name a green pup with an aggressive appetite?

“Hulk! It was lime green. He was super mad. So, yeah, he became Hulk,” Stamey said.

Her family enjoyed the naming possibilities. “We thought about Gremlin, yeah, Pistachio. We call him Mr. Green sometimes,"Stamey said.

At least for now, Hulk is a standout from his brothers and sisters. But the green is fading gradually to white.

“Because he's yellow now, someone said Pikachu,” Stamey said with a laugh.

Stamey said if her family had a big farm, they'd keep the puppies. The family plans on looking for loving families to adopt the pups when they're old enough. But they figure, like finding a shamrock, they're lucky to have Hulk.

“A good luck charm. We think so. He's pretty special,"Stamey said.