Why was Tella’s little ear blue/green?

Many service dogs like Tella get an identification number tattooed on their inner ear; the ink from the tattoo gives their ear a little blue/green tint when they are very young but this fades quickly.

Helper dogs like Tella get tattoos for many reasons but I’ll start with the fact that they are bred for greatness. Program’s like the one that Tella was a part of take the smartest, most well-behaved dogs and these become the mommies and daddies of other future service dogs. This helps increase the chances that the baby helper dogs will be just as smart and well-behaved as their parents. This ID number helps to keep track of all of the dogs in the program for their entire life.

This ID number also helps the program and the puppy’s veterinarian keep track of the dog for any medicine or special needs that dog might have.