Nature is a lot of things — interesting, unexpected, awesome. Sometimes, it's all of those things and more.

Recently, an example of how unexpected nature can be was revealed on social media.

On Tuesday, Texas A&M University Veterinary Teaching Hospital posted a photo of one of their patients — a Labrador retriever — who is nothing short of unusual.

The dog, named Bull, with his joyous expression, has caught the attention of the world with his mottled, unique coat.

It's hypothesized that Bull's coat is the result of chimerism, but the facts are unclear. Bull's markings could be because of mosaicism.

Chimerism, as you may have learned about last year when a photo of a cat named Venus thought to be a chimera went viral, is rare.

Chimerism occurs in a single organism, in this case, an animal, has two (or more) different populations of genetically distinct cells — basically, two embryos fused together.

It seems more likely, and less exciting perhaps, that when Bull was conceived, a phenomenon called somatic mutation took place. The type of thing tends to occur more commonly in Labrador and Golden retrievers; no one knows why, and the mutation is not inherited.

To read more on somatic mutation and to see photos of a Labrador that has the characteristics of it, click here

TAMUVTH could not elaborate on why Bull was visiting the facility, but we wish him the best.

Click here to see a photo of the beloved pooch.

Lorrie Shaw leads the pets section for AnnArbor.com and is owner of Professional Pet Sitting. Shoot her an email, contact her at 734-904-7279 or follow her adventures on Twitter.