20 years ago

Nope, it wasn’t an early St. Patrick’s Day joke. Frank and Barbara Gibson’s mixed-breed Labrador retriever dog really did give birth to a green-tinted puppy. Part of a litter of five dogs, Shamrock, as the Gibsons called the pup, was born last. Veterinarian Elaine McCollum said the newborn’s lighter fur got stained by decayed hemoglobin in the walls of the mother’s placenta. The decay of the placenta wall happens as the puppies near birth and the mother issues a florescent green discharge. McCollum said the other pups probably have a similar color that doesn’t show up in their darker fur.

“It is a pretty spectacular green,” McCollum said.

— From the issue of Dec. 7, 2000

30 years ago

An extensive air and land search ended for two crewmen missing from the tug Red Jacket after the men never returned from a trip to get water on Nov. 28, 1990. Missing was John Slagill of Anchor Point and another crewman. The disappearance seemed peculiar, officials said.

“It does seem strange that someone would go to the beach there for any reason,” said Alaska State Trooper George Gallis of Dutch Harbor. “Nobody goes ashore out there in the winter.”

— From the issue of Dec. 6, 1990

50 years ago

The issue from Nov. 26, 1970, is missing from the Homer News archives.