A dog with an intriguing genetic mutation has captured attention online. Sailor, an American pit bull terrier, who was rescued at seven years old, has garnered thousands of views online for his unusually long fur.
"Have you ever seen a pit bull with long fur?" wrote the dog's owner in a video with over 890,000 views on the account @sailorthepittie.
A series of pictures show how the pit bull and his fur, the result of a rare genetic mutation. "Rare does not mean impossible," wrote the pet owner in the caption of the viral video.
Due to a mutation of the FGF5 gene, Sailor's coat is longer than you would usually expect to see in a pit bull, giving him a distinct look.
The owner sent off for a dog DNA test with Embark to find out more about the dog's background and why he might have long hair, and to their shock, the results showed Sailor was 100 percent pit bull.
Sailor isn't the first pit bull to gain viral attention for having uncharacteristically long fur. Last year, Ruby the pit bull wowed dog lovers on Reddit with his long coat.
Dr. Jenna Dockweiler, a veterinary geneticist at Embark, told Newsweek: "Several genetic variants have been associated with long hair in dogs. These are located in the FGF5 gene, which ordinarily tells the hair when to stop growing. When there is a variant within this gene, that signal is disrupted, allowing the hair to grow longer.
"So far, all of these variants within this gene are recessive, meaning a dog needs two copies of the variant in order to grow long hair—meaning they will need to inherit one copy from each parent," she added.
While the canine breed typically has short hair, dogs with one copy of the FGF5 gene variant, known as carriers, can pass the trait through generations without having long hair.
"Recessive variants can 'hide out' for many generations, and will only become apparent in the offspring when two carriers are bred to one another," said Dockweiler. "In addition, it is always possible for an individual to have a new genetic variant in the same or a different gene that may lead to a similar appearance."
In comments on the TikTok video, viewers loved seeing the long-haired pooch.
"Gorgeous," said one commenter, while another said, "Love him."
"I love long and fuzzy mutations," said another viewer.
"I also have a furry pit bull," said another comment. "[I] rescued mine and he's the sweetest cuddle bug."
While Sailor's long hair is just a quirk, for many breeds, coat length relates to breed standards.
"Some breeds exclusively have long coats, such as the bearded collie. Others have exclusively short coats, such as the Rhodesian ridgeback. Still, others have both long and short-coated varieties, such as the Saluki. Whether or not long coat length is intentionally selected depends on the breed in question," said Dockweiler.
Newsweek has reached out to @sailorthepittie for comment.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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