Sara
This is one of nature’s miracles.
There are more than 390 officially listed dog breeds on the FCI. This means you will get to see all sorts of dogs if you travel all around the world. They will vary in colour, fur patterns, weight, height, and temperament. I say the more the dogs in this world, the better. You can adore their beauty as you will never see two dogs who look exactly the same. Sure, some might be pretty similar but their personalities wouldn’t match. All doggos are special. They are all unique and deserve to be loved. However, some doggos suffer from different conditions that alter their appearance. They will look different from all other dogs. These conditions might include albinism, melanism, or vitiligo.
This one doggo developed a condition called vitiligo which changed his appearance forever. The doggo is truly a beautiful sight to look at. See for yourself by scrolling down below:
This is Blaze, a purebred Labrador Retriever.
Blaze is a ten-year-old labrador from Finland. Blaze was born with a completely black coat, like most labradors. As you would probably know, Labradors are one of the most famous breeds in the US. They are known for their friendly and playful nature, so they are considered the perfect family dog.
But even though Blaze was born with a completely black coat, it didn’t stay that way.
His fur started changing colour one day as some white patches started to appear.
His family thought it might just be because of his old age, but that wasn’t the case.
“At first, we thought it was just ageing, but the white color started to come more and more month by month,” Santeri Frilander, Blaze’s dad, told The Dodo.
The white fur patches scattered all over his body really quick.
He ended up with almost all of his face having the white patches, along with a lot of them on his shoulders and legs. This is when his owners figured out that it wasn’t due to ageing but it was, in fact, a condition called vitiligo.
Blaze had vitiligo!
Even though vitiligo is a skin condition that happens mostly to humans, it also rarely happens to doggos. Vitiligo causes parts of your skin to lose their pigmentation. In dogs, it is their fur that turns white. There are no known causes or cures for vitiligo.
The condition does not affect Blaze much, other than his physical appearance.
His owner says that he is completely happy and healthy.
Santeri, his owner, says that he still enjoys playing around and loves the new attention he gets because of his fur. “Vitiligo is just a cosmetic thing”, he says.
Blaze became fairly popular after his owner posted a photo of him in the famous group Dogspotting Society.
It started off with a picture of Blaze sitting close to the dinner table. People from all around the world fell in love with him instantly.
“He is 10 years old now, and has received a few nicknames because of his age, like ‘The Old Man’ and ‘The Funny Old Man’”
“Blaze loves to walk in the woods and swim in the lake”
Blaze certainly is a very special doggo, isn’t he?
Look at that smile!
Did you fall in love with Blaze just like we did? Have you ever seen a dog with vitiligo? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.