Golden “Unicorn” Dog Born with One Ear Captures Everyone’s Hearts

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Unicorns are existent only in fairy tales. A unicorn dog, however, is a different thing by itself. The world got to see a unicorn dog thanks to a photo that made round on the internet. The picture is of a 12-week old golden retriever that was born with one ear that resembles a unicorn horn. Rae, as the dog is known, was born with both ears. However, as CNN reports, her mother while trying to tear off the amniotic sac, accidentally bit off her ear, causing her other ear to grow on top of her head. The defect, however, doesn’t affect Rae’s hearing, in any way, as she functions as a regular ordinary dog.

Rae’s parent Brianna Voorhees stated that Rae doesn’t let the defect affect her or hold her back. Vorhees even started an Instagram page for the puppy dedicated to following Rae’s daily activities. The page shows her playing, running around, posing for the camera, and undertaking any activities that other pups do. The Instagram account so far has over 180,000 followers, while her viral Tik Tok video has over 6 million views. According to an email sent to the Today, Brianna stated that she decided to adopt Rae after her previous owner relinquished duties regarding Rae. She noted that the previous owner wasn’t sure of Rae’s survival chances after the injury, but Voorhees decided to take the young pup in and give her a second shot at survival.

Brianna added that Rae needed a lot of aftercare, constant attention, and medical follow-ups for her injuries. She stated that it was the reason why the previous owner decided to give her up since they couldn’t handle the responsibility. Voorhees and Rae met at the hospital where the latter had been taken for treatment after the injury. Voorhees works at the Grand Hospital in Michigan as a receptionist. In 2009, she had lost her four-year-old dog to lymphoma and was, therefore, on the lookout for another golden retriever to raise. Rae was brought to the hospital after her injury for emergency surgery, and the doctors were not sure if she would live past 48 hours. However, Rae proved to be a fighter and is now 12 weeks old. Voorhees noted that raising the golden retriever has been an eye-opening experience

For all the love and messages she has received after the golden unicorn video of her furry baby went viral, Voorhees is exceptionally grateful. However, not being a frequent social media user she stated that the experience has been a roller coaster and that she felt like a fish in unfamiliar waters. Nevertheless, she has been making the most out of all the fame, stating that she was glad her unicorn puppy could bring joy and warmth, especially at a time when there’s so much panic in the world. She was happy Rae could offer a distraction and sort of charm for everyone who saw or knew her. When the pup’s video went viral, internet users were curious as to why Rae looked the way she did. As mentioned above, Rae’s ear was bitten off by her mum, and as she continued to grow, the ear moved to the center of her head.

According to Wales Online, one user observed that Rae’s name, when spelled backward, reads ear. Another user shared her disbelief about Rae being a dog and said that they had seen unicorn, and not a dog.

Other Unique Dogs

Another unique dog by the name Narwhal went viral, and this time he was termed as a full unicorn. Why? He had a tail growing between his ears, which made the adorable pup look like a real unicorn. According to The Independent, the dog was named Narwhal to honor its additional tail which was described as a perfect anomaly. Narwhal was taken in by Mac’s Mission, a mission center based in Missouri that specializes in helping animals with special needs. Narwhal was found on the streets of Missouri together with another senior dog named Papa Smurf. He was also taken in by Mac’s Mission.

Narwhal earned the full name ‘Narwhal the Magical Furry Unicorn’ as the staff at the center stated that he is adorable and is the most magical thing one can see. Rochelle Stefan, the founder of the center, stated that Narwhal is the center of attraction at the Mac’s Mission. She added that everyone wants to pet him, play, and take selfies with him. Narwhal had earlier visited a vet for an x-ray. The vet stated that there were no bone structures in his facial tail, meaning that Narwhal can neither use his tail as a windshield wiper for his adorable face nor wag it. The only purpose of his tail currently is to make him the coolest puppy. Aside from that, the vet stated that Narwhal is as healthy as he can be.

Rochelle Stefan stated that as a center that helps special needs animals, they had seen almost everything. The center has had cases of three-legged dogs, ones with five legs, others with cleft palate, and others with mange but none like Narwhal. She noted that people tried to hypothesize as to what the facial tail could be. She got guesses ranging from people stating that it could have been a tail that wasn’t fully developed to Narwhal, or maybe an absorbed twin in the womb. While the center would like to leave the tail untouched, they did note that if it grew towards Narwhal’s eyes or inwards, then they’d have no choice but to cut it off. Steffen also added that they wouldn’t be placing Narwhal up for adoption until they were sure that the tail wouldn’t pose a problem when he grows up. For now, she noted that Narwhal is just one healthy and happy puppy who likes snuggling and getting as much attention as offered.