Family dog gives birth to lime green puppy named Hulk

Elizabeth Anne Brown | Asheville Citizen Times

Show Caption Hide Caption Canton dog gives birth to lime green puppy Canton shepherd Gypsy gave birth to a litter of eight healthy pups on Jan. 10. One, now dubbed "Hulk," emerged from the womb bright green.

CANTON, N.C. – A family’s dog gave birth to a neon-green puppy named Hulk.

Gypsy, a white shepherd owned by Shana Stamey, delivered eight puppies Friday morning. The dog's three-hour labor went smoothly until the fourth puppy emerged covered in lime green fur, Stamey said.

“I started freaking out,” Stamey told news outlets. “But everybody was healthy.”

How did Hulk get his verdant color? Liquid from his mother's stomach probably stained his fur in utero, said Suzanne Cianciulli, manager of Junaluska Animal Hospital in Waynesville.

Hulk's green hue should fade in a few weeks under a steady routine of baths and licks from Gypsy, human mom Stamey said. By Thursday, Hulk started to look more like an Easter peep than his namesake hero.

"He was very lime green at birth, and now he looks bright yellow with a hint of the green," Stamey said. Born at 15.6 ounces, Hulk weighs in at a whopping 1 pound, 8 ounces at 6 days old, Stamey said.

She said she's shocked by little Hulk's virality.

"Actually, I am amazed at how many are wanting to own Hulk," Stamey told the Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. "I really never intended to have such a following on him. Just thought he was special and unique."

Stamey plans to find "forever homes" for the litter once they're weaned at about 8 weeks old.

"If I can not find each a home, then we will just add to our family," Stamey said. "I love them all so much."

Contributing: The Associated Press

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