Taking in a blind and deaf dog requires a lot of extra work. One must be responsible and capable in all aspects before deciding to have a dog with special needs.
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However, when Aiden Mann met Plum, none of these things halted him. The veterinary assistant from Nashville, Tennessee instantly knew that he was the right human dad for the adorable pup.
Aiden has two dogs: Lola, a Staffordshire bull terrier and a Great Dane mix, and Plum, a miniature Australian shepherd.
Plum was born as a “double-merle”, causing her to be deaf and partially blind.
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Merle-to-Merle Breeding is when two merle-patterned dogs mate. The pups born from merle-to-merle breeding have high tendencies of having ‘double merles’ or ‘lethal whites’.
According to Pet Helpful, “These are dogs that have very little or no colour to their coat at all. Double merles are highly likely to suffer from eye or ear deformities (in some cases both), which at the most extreme can result in complete blindness and deafness.”
Sadly, that’s what exactly happened to Plum.
Aiden, however, was ready to take the challenge head-on!
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Before he even met Plum, Aiden’s colleagues used to work with animal rescues and were fostering Plum and her furry brother.
Back then, Aiden was looking for foster homes where the dogs can stay. However, when he met Plum, he fell in love right at first sight.
He knew right there and then where she was meant to be forever – in his arms and his home.
“I definitely didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but I did know that I loved her and wanted to give her a good life,” Aiden told Insider.
Although he knew a lot of things about animals, communicating with Plum was still a challenge.
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Eventually, the two figured out how to communicate well with each other.
They were able to establish touch signals to help Plum understand specific commands.
“We have ‘sit’ somewhat down, which is a touch under her chin,” Aiden explained. “And when I want her to follow me or go in a certain direction, I will softly guide her nose in the direction we are going or run my hand along her body in the direction I want her to go.”
Soon, Aiden and Plum, together with Lola, lived a joyful life together.
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The trio was inseparable and they created happy memories despite the circumstance.
And just over two years ago, Aiden shared a video on his TikTok account which went extremely viral! As of this writing, the video has already amassed a whopping 97.3 million views with 17.2 million likes/hearts.
The video shows how he wakes up his beloved pooch which a lot of people find so adorable.
Knowing Plum, her sense of touch and smell were the only ones left for her to use.
Touching or petting her, even when done gently, would still startle her. Mann also tried letting her smell her favorite treat but still didn’t work.
Then he thought of a brilliant idea, by lightly blowing on her nose.
In that 26-second long video, he demonstrated how it’s done.
At first, she still got startled but right after she recognized it was her hooman, it was then all cuddles and kisses.
The video simply shows the kind of relationship that Aiden and Plum have.
You may visit their TikTok account to see more of their bonding moments together.
Watch the video below to see how Aiden managed to learn to wake Plum up without startling him.
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