Aston the DeafBlind Trick Dog

Join us to learn more about living with a deaf and/or blind dog.

White and tan double merle dog wears blue goggles and purple vest reading "blind & deaf" as a young woman wears matching colors next to him

White and tan dog wears a colorful birthday bandana and kisses a young womanon the nose

Meet Miriam and Aston

Miriam is 24 years old and has been involved with dog rescue for as long as she can remember. She has fostered nearly 200 dogs over the past decade. She began fostering a deafblind puppy named Aston in May 2021 and adopted him three months later. Together, Aston and Miriam prove that deafblind dogs are capable of incredible things. They have earned six trick dog titles together and Aston is the first deafblind dog to communicate using buttons.

Why Was Aston Born Blind and Deaf?

Aston was born blind and deaf because he is a double merle. A dog with a merle allele (a variation of a gene) typically has a marbled coat pattern with patches of diluted fur. A double merle has so much merle that some pigmentation is deleted to white, which causes risk of hearing and vision impairments.