Salvador Dolly - puppy with a mustache

 When a stray shepherd mix and her 11 newborn puppies arrived at Dallas Animal Services in July, shelter staffers immediately noticed there was something different about this litter.

All dogs are born with facial hair — some even with pronounced beards — but one special puppy had something unique: a handlebar mustache. 

© Hearts and Bones Rescue Shelter staffers cared for the little family for two weeks, but with as many as 100 homeless animals coming through their doors each day, they knew the situation wasn’t sustainable for the family.

“Puppies are at very high risk for getting sick in the shelter environment, so we knew we had to get them out,” Allison Seelig, of Hearts & Bones Rescue, told The Dodo. “We went to meet them last week and were able to find an incredible foster in Dallas who took the entire family in!”  

© Hearts and Bones Rescue When rescuers saw Salvador Dolly, who also goes by “Mustache Puppy,” many couldn’t believe their eyes.

“The first thing people ask is generally, ‘Is that real?’ [There’s] a lot of ‘Omg stop it!’ and squealing over her,” Seelig said. “Honestly, her siblings are also so cute so we were all oohing and ahhing over the whole group of them when we met them!” © Hearts and Bones Rescue At 5 weeks old, Salvador Dolly may seem a little young to grow a bushy hipster mustache, but she isn’t ashamed of her fuzzy upper lip.

The entire family is happy to have a safe home, where they’re getting the medical care and attention they need. Their caring foster makes sure each puppy is monitored — mustache or not — and that Mama is kept happy, too: “The puppies are still nursing, which can be a lot for Mom to handle, but her foster makes sure to give her breaks to have some downtime,” Seelig said. “She's also getting lots of food to make sure she keeps her calorie intake up!"

While Mama works hard, her pups are doing the opposite: “The puppies aren't walking much yet, and they spend their days alternating between wrestling and crawling all over each other, snoozing in a cuddle pile and eating,” Seelig said. “Quite the life.”

Once the puppies are weaned, the whole family will make their way north to New York City in late August. There, they will go into new foster homes while searching for forever families. 

© Hearts and Bones Rescue And, you know that with Dolly's special look, she'll have no trouble finding the perfect family.

Anyone interested in adopting or fostering Salvador Dolly or a member of her family is encouraged to fill out an application on Hearts and Bones Rescue's website.