11/25/2021
He can be a wild man but sometimes he is just the sweetest little angel, which was the case this afternoon when we were at the beach.
So- no doubt, some are wondering-
Why are his eyes such a beautiful light blue? And why is his nose such a pretty pink?
The answer lies in Piggy’s mission of educating about and advocating for dogs like himself.
Piggy is a double dapple (or merle) doxie chihuahua mix. His parents were both dapple colored which gave him and each of his litter mates a 25% chance of getting two (double) dapple genes. Three out of four puppies were unlucky enough to be double dapple, which led to congenital eye and ear defects. All three are deaf. The other two have eye changes but can see some. Piggy is blind and deaf. The double dapple gene combination is also linked to a mostly white hair coat and not always, but commonly, a pink nose.
This is also seen in herding dogs where it is called double merle. Our dog Gina is a double merle Aussie border collie mix. She has similar eye defects but can see and she is deaf in one ear.
Have a good night everyone!
Image- Piglet in his stroller with his polka dot blanket over all but his face.
