Narwhal, the adorable unicorn puppy, has found a forever home after receiving more than 300 adoption requests and, worryingly, several death threats.
The little pooch made headlines when he was rescued thanks to the little tail sprouting out of his forehead, which has earned him the title of magical unicorn puppy.
Narwhal rose to internet fame after Rochelle Steffen, from Missouri-based rescue organisation Mac’s Mission, found him wandering outside in the freezing cold with an older dog last month.
Steffen had no idea Narwhal would get the amazing response he received on social media. However, she was completely unprepared for the number of hateful comments and death threats that rolled in.
Cruel trolls and scammers wrote the 11-week old pooch’s head should be stomped on ‘with a boot because he is not one of God’s creatures’,r while another described the pup’s tail as ‘one of Satan’s horns’.
It’s hard to imagine some people could be so nasty about such an adorable creature, but fortunately Steffen was also flooded with people desperate to adopt Narwhal, with one person even offering $2 million just to take the pooch home.
But with all the attention falling on the small rescue group, which cares for dogs with all kinds of special needs, Steffen ultimately decided to take Narwhal home herself after falling in love with him.
Speaking to Inside Edition, she said:
I’ve just fallen in love with him. And the idea of vetting 300 adoption applications was simply overwhelming.
How do you pick someone to take care of this puppy, when they get 100% control as soon as you hand them over?
Steffen became increasingly concerned for the pup when people began turning up unannounced and wandering around the outbuildings looking for Narwhal, so that’s when she took him home and into her own care.
‘I will die for this puppy,’ she told the publication, adding that she never lets him out of her sight or the sight of other volunteers at the shelter.
Back in November, Steffen took Narwhal to a vet in a bid to find out why he has a second tail, but x-rays revealed it wasn’t connected to anything, meaning it has ‘no real use other than making him the coolest puppy ever’, his rescuers explained.
As a result, the vet said there is no real need at this time for the unicorn tail to be removed.
Thank goodness Narwhal has received the happy ending he deserves.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.