Born with a rare genetic disorder and both blind and deaf, this dog proves love is all you need.

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PAWsitive Channel and Family Dog Rescue team up to bring a story of a “special needs” dog that isn’t special but amazing! Noel, a nearly all white Australian Shepherd was also born blind and deaf but you wouldn’t believe it just by looking at her. She is helping to spread the word that people shouldn’t overlook a dog just because they are different or may have special needs – these dogs have some of the most incredible spirits on Earth.

“Noel was born a Double Merle- a genetic abnormality that affects many improperly-bred Australian Shepherds,” explains the PAWSITIVE Channel, a group dedicated to helping support local shelters and rescues through the telling of amazing stories. “When parents both carry the dominant merle gene many of their offspring are born a Double Merle with a white coat, hearing deficiencies and vision defects. Noel got all three traits. Most of these ‘defective’ puppies are abandoned or dumped at the shelter. Noel and many of those like her were doomed to die for being ‘special needs.’”

25% of merle to merle offspring have defects.

Noel by all definitions is considered a special needs dog but by looking at her you wouldn’t even know it. What she lacks in sight and sound, she makes up for through her acuity to smell and her sense of touch.

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She was turned into a shelter and then rescued by Family Dog Rescue, a grassroots-grown, 501(c)(3) dog rescue organization founded in 2010 to save 800+ family-friendly dogs a year at risk of euthanasia and place them with loving forever families. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube!

She was adopted into a home with three other dogs who help guide her, Noel has done everything any seeing and hearing dog can do: taking long hikes, riding in a boat or enjoying a car ride.

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She runs, she plays, she loves her family — she lives life to the fullest.

It makes one realize that this special needs dog, according to Donna her owner, “isn’t so special after all.” That being said, everyone should open their heart and homes to these unique pups.

Watch Noel thrive in her new home with parents who find her incredibly amazing:

You can help their efforts by donating to the Family Dog Rescue and following the PAWsitive Channel on YouTube and Facebook.

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Do you have a “special needs” dog at home who is special for a entirely different reason? Let us know in the comments!

Have a rescue story to share? Email me at [email protected].

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