Heart-kun

Heart-kun (ハート君, born May 18, 2007) is a Chihuahua born with a heart-shaped patch of brown hair on its white coated body.

Heart-kun was born in Ōdate, Akita, Japan on May 18, 2007, at the Pucchin Dog's shop. Born in a litter, Heart-kun was the only one of the group to have a heart-shaped patch.[1] Shop owner Emiko Sakurada, who has bred more than 1,000 puppies over the course of several years, said that she had never seen such unique markings.[2] "Kun" is an honorific that is appended most often to male names.[3]

Heart-kun's owner, Sakurada, has received many requests from people who wish to buy him.[4] Sukarada has rejected these requests, believing that the dog's special patch is giving her and her family luck. Two months after Heart-kun's birth, Sakurada's sister, Maki Matsuyama, won the lottery and a concert ticket. Matsuyama attributes this good fortune to Heart-kun.[5]

The pattern of a dog's fur is determined by genes. Heart-kun likely had a heart-shaped design on his coat because he had a collection of genes that induced brown fur, as well as a second collection dictating that the brown fur would be amalgamated with white patterns.[6]

Over 200,000 people watched videos of Heart-kun on YouTube TV.[3] Heart-kun became well known in Japan after a Japanese TV station photographed him.[7]

In August 2009, Heart-kun sired Kokoro-chan, who also possesses a heart-shaped design on its coat.[8] In the same month, Heart-kun's mother, in a litter comprising four puppies, had a pup named Love-kun that possessed the distinct heart-shaped design on its coat.[7] Sakurada reiterated that she would sell neither dog.[9]

A horse with a white heart-shaped patch on its brown head has been given a similar name.[10]

References
  1. "They call it puppy love". The Daily Telegraph. 2007-07-10. Archived from the original on 2010-01-26. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  2. "Puppy born with heart-shaped fur". BBC. 2007-07-11. Archived from the original on 2010-01-26. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  3. Ręczmin, Marcin (2008-01-18). "Kot z Gdańska jak pies z Japonii". Gazeta.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2010-01-26. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  4. Kimura, Marcílio (2007-07-17). "'Não se dá preço ao filho', diz dona do cachorro com marca de coração". Rede Globo (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2010-01-26. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  5. "Japan smitten by puppy love". Reuters. 2007-07-15. Archived from the original on 2010-01-26. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  6. "Explain This!". Science World. 2008-02-04. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  7. "Irmão de cão com mancha de coração nasce com marca igual". Primeira Edição (in Portuguese). 2009-08-06. Archived from the original on 2010-01-26. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  8. "Heart-shaped markings on baby chihuahua". WGHP. 2009-08-17. Archived from the original on 2010-01-26. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  9. Barnett, Lindsay (2009-08-10). "Celebrity Chihuahua Heart-kun gets a younger brother who shares his heart-shaped marking". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original (blog) on 2010-01-26. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  10. "【札幌12Ｒ】"ハート君"ウイズキッド中央初勝利". Sports Nippon. 2009-08-17. Archived from the original on 2010-01-26. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
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