As of: March 8, 2024, 11:00 a.m
By: Lara-Sabrina Kiehl
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Luna is taking the TikTok community by storm.
In a heartwarming video, her owners share their surprise at Luna's deafness - but for them the dog is perfect.
Toni McCain's dog Luna, an adorable Australian Shepherd, was born with a handicap - she is completely deaf.
The family didn't notice this detail until a few weeks after the eight-week-old puppy moved in.
But returning her little protégé was never an option for her.
They had taken Luna too close to their hearts in such a short time.
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“When we met her, we were told she was the quietest of the litter.
It wasn't until a few weeks later that my partner noticed that she wasn't responding to sounds," McCain tells
Newsweek
.
For the two, who have had dogs all their lives, Luna was their first experience with a deaf animal.
Without knowing beforehand, this family also adopted a deaf dog.
Family learns to adapt to the deaf dog
Dealing with Luna was initially a challenge, but this was overcome by developing a new form of dog communication.
Eye contact and hand signals became crucial elements in interacting with the dog, with her even learning to “check in” to make eye contact to respond to hand signals.
An accompanying
TikTok
clip tells the story of Luna, how she came to her owners and how they only found out about Luna's deafness over time.
The recording was published via the account @lulu_the_aussie and thrilled millions of users and made Luna a real community favorite.
Other moments from the fluffy dog's life that were shared on the platform are also particularly popular.
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The connection between coat color and possible genetic defects
The Australian Shepherd, like Luna, is characterized by medium-length, smooth and lush fur.
Coat colors vary, with red, black, red merle (marbled red or brown) and blue merle (marbled black) being basic variations.
Additionally, markings in white or copper color are possible.
However, caution is advised, especially when breeding dogs with the Merle gene.
This can lead to health problems in the puppies, including blindness, deafness, skeletal deformities and heart defects.
Mating two dogs with the Merle gene is considered torture breeding.
The Merle factor, which causes the unique, patchy coat pattern with particularly blue or green eyes, is permitted in some breeds but can cause genetic defects.
In dogs like the Australian Shepherd, Merle factor increases the risk of inherited deafness.
Diagnosis and adjustment of living conditions are crucial because there is no treatment for deafness.
In addition, the Merle factor causes visual impairments.
Find out more about the problematic coat colors of dogs here.
“She is perfect the way she is”
Luna's story inspires
an audience of millions on
TikTok .
The clip has already received over 870,000 likes.
The community speaks out in over 4,700 comments and reports, among other things, their own experiences with a deaf dog.
Below is a small selection of the comments.
“Beautiful girl!
I had a deaf and visually impaired Aussie mix.
She turned 16 and she was my perfect girl.
I miss her every day.
❤️“
“Being deaf is not the end of the world.
I'm glad she was in your hands :) My own little guy is deaf."
“Deaf dogs are the best.
❤️“
"That's incredible.
🥰”
“She is perfect the way she is.
🥰😁”
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at her own discretion. All information has been carefully checked. Find out more about our AI principles here.