Last month, animal rescuer Citlalli Jocelyn V\u00e1zquez Mercad arrived at a part of town near her home where many stray dogs live. As part of her work with the group Defensa Nacional de Lomitos<\/a>, she brings them food and water and monitors their health.<\/p>\n It was while doing so that Mercad met a mother dog and her adorable litter of puppies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Though there were initially four puppies found there with Mom, a fifth, smaller pup appeared. Unlike his siblings, whose coats were spotted with black, this puppy was entirely gray.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The mother dog and her puppies enjoyed a meal together, not realizing that their lives were about to change.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n That day, Mercad and her colleagues decided to bring the mother dog and her puppies to their shelter to keep them safe, and when the time was right, find them new homes.<\/p>\n The gray puppy, who struggled to keep up with his larger siblings, preferred to sleep that night in his rescuer\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n But what no one knew at the time was that he was hiding a beautiful secret.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The next day, the puppies were all given baths to give them a fresh start on the road to happier new lives as beloved pets.<\/p>\n When it came time to give the gray pup a scrub-down, however, his rescuers were stunned.<\/p>\n He wasn\u2019t actually gray at all:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The \u201cgray\u201d puppy was actually a brilliant shade of white.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had absolutely no idea! It came as a huge surprise,\u201d Mercad told The Dodo. \u201cWe soon realized that the discoloration was just grease and grime.\u201d<\/p>\n Freshly cleaned, the formerly gray puppy was given the name Polar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n All the puppies, who had also lost their tinges of gray, were given names and a clean bill of health from the vet. And thanks to the video of Polar\u2019s transformation, which soon went viral, they got the public attention adoptable pups like them often need.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cPolar worked some magic with his video,\u201d Mercad said. \u201cThanks to that exposure, we\u2019ve been able to find excellent homes for three of the puppies.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Rescuers are hopeful that Polar and his sibling will soon join the others in finding forever homes to call their own \u2014 and likewise their mother, who has since been spayed.<\/p>\n Their future, like Polar\u2019s clean white coat, has never looked brighter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe can all help \u2014 even small acts of care can make a big difference,\u201d Mercad said. \u201cPolar is proof that, with love and attention, the life of a sentient being can be completely transformed. Just like him, his mom and his little siblings also deserve that opportunity to find a home filled with love.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n