This Golden Retriever Puppy Looks Like a Toasted Marshmallow With Extra Crispy Spots

Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager

Sep 25, 2026 6:45 AM EDT

Bernie, short for Bernard, is the pawfect ingredient for s'mores because we could always use s'more of his toasted marshmallow appearance and sweet personality!

Golden retrievers are arguably the best doggos for families. They're gentle with kids, love everyone and everything, and most of the time, just want to steal your socks and cuddle with you. The worst thing you have to worry about with them is a fit of boredom, which prompts them to eat your favorite pair of shoes. And the best part about golden retrievers is that they're ridiculously cute as puppies. They're like tiny golden fluffballs that stumble around your house until they get older, and Bernie is no exception. Well, he does have one exception - he was born with some "extra crispy" spots despite being a purebred golden retriever!

Bernie is a young pup that, upon first glance, usually leaves most people confused. He has a gorgeous toasted marshmallow coloring, but also has some peculiar black spots speckled around his adorable body. These spots leave people thinking that he might be mixed with a German or Australian shepherd, but that's where they'd be wrong. Like we said above, Bernie is a purebred golden retriever, he was just born with a melanistic mutation (say that 10x fast) that causes some spots on his fur to produce more melanin than the rest, resulting in black spots.

Even if he didn't have those little burnt patches, we'd still think that Bernie was one of the cutest pups to grace the internet. Whether he grows up to be an emotional support animal or just a spoiled house dog, we're sure that Bernie will bring joy and love to everyone who meets him. Scroll down to see more of his canine cuteness below!

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Melanism is not something that you see very often in the animal kingdom. It's basically what happens when Mother Nature gets a little heavy-pawed with the dark paint. It's a genetic trait that causes an animal to produce extra melanin, the pigment responsible for darker colors in fur, feathers, scales, and skin. That's how you end up with everything from jet-black squirrels and foxes to the famously mysterious “black panther,” which is actually just a melanistic leopard or jaguar.
And because nature refuses to keep things simple, there isn't just one universal melanism mutation. Different species can develop darker coloring through different genetic changes. Sometimes that extra-dark coat may even help an animal blend into its surroundings or handle certain environments better. Other times, it simply results in an animal looking like it accidentally bought everything from the goth section of the genetic wardrobe.
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