Video Of A Man Waking Up His Deaf And Blind Dog Goes Viral
There are few things in this world as of late that still spark loads of joy. Thankfully, while we’re in the middle of a global pandemic, we can at least still derive pleasure from adorable videos on the internet featuring precious animals.
And one little dog that is experiencing overnight fame, is Plum. While she is undeniably cute, she’s also deaf and blind – traits that factored into the resulting video that skyrocketed her to fame.
Her owner, Aiden Mann, recorded a video of himself gently trying to wake her up without scaring or upsetting her. The result was something that will make you squeal “awww!”
Aiden works as a veterinary assistant in Nashville, Tennessee. A natural animal person, Aiden really loves dogs. Five years ago, he adopted his Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Great Dane mix named Lola. Then, last summer, he decided to expand his family by adopting Plum, the adorable deaf and blind miniature Australian shepherd.
Aiden’s girls are living their best life with their owner, and the three often go on adventures together at the dog park, as well as a nearby creek. He’s even set them up with their own Instagram account.
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25-year-old Aiden had initial hesitations about adopting a special needs dog. However, he fell hard “the second after” his coworker introduced him to the precious pup they’d been fostering.
As he shared with Insider, “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 was fully committed to the challenge of figuring out how to create a flow of communication with Plum. Finally, after what Aiden described as lots of “trial and error,” the pair finally managed to settle on touch signals. From there, Plum was able to begin learning commands.
Aiden explained, “We have ‘sit’ somewhat down, which is a touch under her chin. 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.”
Since Plum can’t see or hear, Aiden was left with the task of figuring out how to wake her up without scaring her. He first tried gentle touches, but even the lightest touch would make her jump out of her skin. A second approach that he tried was placing a treat by her nose, but surprisingly, this wouldn’t always get her awake.
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He then found that the one method that worked every time was to approach Plum and gently blow on her nose. Once the problem was solved, he decided to record a video.
He captioned the footage, “People ask me how I wake up my deaf and blind pup without scaring her.”
“I slightly blow on her. She still gets startled until she feels me. Then she wants all the love,” he added.
You can watch the entire morning ritual below:
It is truly heart-warming to watch!
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Returns Without Animals: Click “Next” below!
