Taking care of a dog can be one of the most rewarding things a human can do, especially when that dog sincerely needs you. Like this blind and deaf dog, whose owner wakes up by softly hugging her so he doesn’t spook her. After sharing his love for his dog and how he wakes her on social media, the internet blew up with admiration for the bond they share.

Get the tissue ready, this one will bring on the waterworks!

This dog owner is going massively viral for showing the internet how he wakes up his blind and deaf dog with compassionate cuddles

Aiden Mann is a veterinary assistant from Nashville, Tennessee, who has a handicapped dog named Plum. Being that Plum is both deaf and blind, Aiden must be extremely gentle when waking her up so he doesn’t scare her. In this video, he shows us the process he goes through and it’s the most adorable thing ever.

“People ask me how I wake up my deaf and blind pup without scaring her,” Aiden writes on the video.

“I slightly blow on her, she still gets a little startled”

The video goes on to show how Aiden first blows on her, which still startles her a little bit but less than any other option of waking her. Once she wakes up, he begins immediately showering her with love and cuddling with Plum.

After showing us the sweet wake up call, Aiden’s video goes on to show how despite being deaf and blind, Plum is a spunky dog who absolutely loves life.

How did Plum end up deaf and blind? It all has to do with genetics, but there is a way to avoid this is people would be more cautious about which dogs they’re breeding.

Plum is a double-merle dog, which is why she was born blind and deaf

What’s a merle dog? A merle dog is a genetic pattern can affect a dog’s coat, create patterns or patches of colors in a dog’s coat. It can also affect eye color, usually with blue or odd-colored eyes. It can also affect dogs’ pigment. The two general colors that will usually show up in a dog’s coat from merle are red and blue.

Double-merle dogs are created when two dogs with the merle gene are bread, giving puppies 2 copies of the merle gene and making them a high risk of being either blind, deaf, or both.

When two dogs with the merle gene are bred together, each puppy in the litter has a 25% chance of being double-merle

That means 1 in 4 puppies bred with two dogs with the merle gene is born blind, deaf, or both. Breeding merle to merle, doesn’t even raise the chances of having puppies with the desired merle effect, so why do it at all? It’s incredible to see owners like Aiden Mann, adopting double-merles and helping them live a normal life, but the fact is that it shouldn’t be happening.

Kudos to Aiden for having such a kind and compassionate heart, seeing him with Plum will bring tears to any dog lover’s heart. Unfortunately, double-merles will continue to be born deaf and blind until something is changed when it comes to breeding. To see the heart-warming bond Aiden and Plum have, watch the video below!

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Source: Shareably/AnimalChannel, YouTube, New York Post, Deaf Dogs Rock, Dogington Post