“Narwhal, when looked at from various angles, isn’t much different from an ordinary puppy. He’s healthy, playful, and can feel the affection when humans embrace him with love. His only uniqueness is a tiny tail that unexpectedly sprouts from the middle of his forehead.
“When we saw that tail, we were incredibly excited,” said Rochelle Steffen, the founder of Mac’s Mission, an animal rescue organization in Missouri, USA. The organization focuses on providing special care for dogs that have suffered abuse, trauma, or are born with congenital disabilities.”
According to Steffen, the organization has had to receive extremely terrible cases, such as dogs being shot, chased, beaten, or abandoned. Narwhal himself is also an abandoned dog. People found him wandering the streets alone in the snowy weather, his two toes were frostbitten, and his stomach was full of worms. After taking care of him, his health is now more stable.
Through observation, Narwhal appears to be a cross between a dachshund and a golden retriever. He has small legs typical of a dachshund, but possesses long, smooth, light brown fur, and the head of a golden.
Regarding the “unicorn” tail on the forehead, no one in the center expressed any discrimination towards it. Steffen even felt quite disappointed because that tail had no bones inside, meaning it could no longer wag. In addition, after being examined by Brian Heuring, a veterinarian at Cape Small Animal Clinic, this tail does not affect the dog’s health and does not need to be removed at all. Steffen himself is confident that the different tail will not affect Narwhal’s quality of life.
But why is there a tail growing on the forehead?
According to Heuring, he still cannot confirm the reason why the dog grew a tail right in the middle of his forehead. However, he believes that the root cause may lie in the phenomenon of “fetal absorption”: when Narwhal’s puppy brother fails to form and is absorbed by him right in the mother’s womb.
Studies show that this phenomenon occurs in 10 – 15% of pregnant dogs. At that time, healthier fetuses will absorb some of the remaining organs, leading to the phenomenon of growing extra organs.
But no matter why, Narwhal is currently living happily with his unique unicorn tail. Experts also have no intention of cutting off this tail, to “respect the difference”.