The connection between owner and dog is one that runs deep. It is often such a source of joy and happiness. Even through the messy cleanups, vet bills, and inevitable pain, a dog can be a best friend for life. There are few things that a loving owner won’t do for their furry friend. This is a story of one owner who takes special care of his canine friend who happens to have some special needs.
Aiden Mann is a dog owner who has a special relationship with his pet.
Any relationship involves some amount of sacrifice. Whether human or animal friendships, there is always something that must be sacrificed for the relationships. That is the nature of relationships. For humans, it can look like sacrificing complete independence and time. For dogs, it may look like sacrificing shoes and clean carpets!
Mann has a rare and special dog.
What makes Aiden and his relationship with his dog so special is the nature of his pet. Aiden’s dog is a double Merle. A double Merle is a genetic deformity that can occur in breeds and cause deformities. Aiden’s dog, Plum, is completely deaf and blind.
Double-Merle occurs from a specific set of circumstances.
This genetic disease results from two dogs with the Merle coat gene. Merle coats are the piebald “Aussie shepherd” looking coats that are quite beautiful. When a dog has two parents with this coat breed, there is a 25% chance that their offspring will have the double Merle gene. This often causes issues within the inner ear and the eyes.
This genetic combination can also turn a dog’s coat white!
Lethalwhites.com says:
“These dogs are also sometimes (inaccurately) referred to as lethal whites (this is considered by many to be a derogatory term). Merle is a dominantG gene (technically, it’s “incompletely dominantG“). A dog with one copy of the gene will have partial lightening (a normal merled coat). With two copies, the effect is doubled, resulting in some to most of the coat turning white.”
Being completely blind and deaf, there are some special precautions that Aiden takes with his friend.
Since his dog is blind and deaf, her ability to sense the environment around her is very different than most other creatures. One of the cutest things we have ever seen is the way that Aiden wakes her up!
Waking her up is a cute and fun ritual that Aiden performs daily.
Since she can’t sense the environment around her with hearing or sight, Aiden can’t call her name or whisper to wake her up. It would also be too much to put his hand on her because it would be a shock to feel someone touching you and have no idea who it is!
Getting down on his belly, Aiden gently blows on Plum’s wet nose.
As he gently blows on her nose, she jumps up, confused and startled as to what is going on! It is beautiful the care that Aiden takes with her.
Plum moves around until she feels the comfort of Aiden’s arms around her.
When she first wakes up, she is a bit confused and startled (as we all are if someone wakes us up)! She feels around until the arms of her friend Aiden touch her. Once she feels familiarity, you see the happier dog in the world come out.
You can tell that this is one strong bond.
The care that Aiden takes with his pet is extraordinary and beautiful. There is a gentleness that is obvious in the way he approaches her.
Aiden used the hashtag #doublemerle, and there seems to be a community of people living with double Merle pups! Check out Aiden’s video at the bottom!
Here is another example of a cute little family! They taught this Aussie how to wake up his deaf and blind brother gently!
@aussiebears_coop_len##Aussies ##doublemerle ##deaf ##specialneeds ##australianshepherd♬ This City – Sam Fischer
Regardless of the need and sacrifice required, these people love their friends. There is a good lesson in that kind of love!
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@aiden_m365Yes I know I have a hole in my shirt lol ##plum ##deaf ##blind ##doublemerle ##fyp ##fypage ##cute ##dog
