Imagine the shock: the little pup you’ve just watched arrive into the world has come out… pink. And that’s not the only surprising thing you notice about the new arrival, who will later go by the name Piglet. With a jolt of dread, you realize that he isn’t responding to sight nor sound. His life balances on the edge, and you know for better or worse, fate’s wheel hasn’t finished spinning…
Although Piglet’s strawberry shortcake-colored fur is strange, you at least know the cause. In fact, the reason for his unique pigment and his disabilities are the same. You’re familiar enough with dog breeding to recognize a genetic condition when you see it. Piglet’s definitely been bred as a “double-dapple.”
Of course, to the uninitiated, it all takes some explaining. You’d have to tell them about how breeders deliberately pick pairs based on their desirable traits. You would also need to mention that some of them don’t take the health of potential puppies into account, either.
You know better than anyone that careless breeding can result in some unfortunate genetic conditions. Take Piglet’s parents, for example. One was a dachshund and the other a chihuahua, both of which had the double-dapple coloring themselves. That meant Piglet’s risk of a genetic disability was greater.
If they’d asked for advice beforehand, you could have told them breeding two such animals would be a mistake. You could have advised them against it, explained to them how unhealthy that could be for future puppies such as Piglet. After all, the chances of a double-dapple pup being born in such circumstances is fairly high: roughly 25%. And these animals face a slew of health risks.
“What kind of risks?” they might ask. And you could tell them how double-dapple pigments are linked to congenital ear and eye disorders. You’d caution them on how much care and attention a blind or deaf pup would need. And in worst-case scenarios, the baby animal might be born with both conditions.
And that’s how you recognized Piglet’s situation. Fate dealt a bad hand to the poor little pupper. He wasn’t born only partially deaf or blind; instead, he was completely deprived of both senses. Can you imagine how scary that must have been for a newborn? Life had other twists in store for Piglet, too.
For one thing, Piglet wasn’t born alone, but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. In his case, he was part of a group of hoarded pups. His parents — who hadn’t been neutered — over-bred until Piglet shared his space with 37 other little dogs. And while allowing animal hoarding can sometimes be the result of their owners’ mental illness, the welfare of the dogs is important, too.
So with that in mind, you can understand why animal rescuers stepped in and helped out. They sent Piglet to Connecticut in 2017 so he could get some expert care. The veterinarian in question was Melissa Shapiro, who can tell you more about the little pup’s special condition and coloration.
An Instagram post addressed Piglet’s pigment in 2019. Dr. Shapiro wrote, “Common question: Is Piglet really pink? And if so, why? First off, of course he is pink. That’s his name! Piglet, the deaf blind pink puppy.” But what you can see is actually his skin, not his fur.
The post continued, “I know — Piggy’s hair coat is white, not pink. His white hair coat is due to the unfortunate fact that he is a double-dapple…He has such thin short fur on his face and ears that his pretty pink skin shines through…He truly is a pretty pink puppy.”
Dr. Shapiro initially took in tiny Piglet as a foster parent to help him get back to health. He weighed less than two pounds when she first met him. What’s more, the pup’s past had left him with emotional scars, too. Dr. Shapiro told People magazine as much in 2020.
The veterinarian revealed, “He screamed his way through the first few weeks of our ‘foster project.’ We held him, taught him tap signals, and reassured him with a comfortable, reliable routine.” And once Piglet could communicate, some of his anxieties left him. He began to realize he was with people who cared for him.
Dr. Shapiro continued, “In turn, Piglet connected with his human and dog family, gained confidence, and started to settle down.” That’s right, Dr. Shapiro wasn’t the only one helping Piglet adjust to his new life. She also has a husband, three young adult kids, and six dogs of her own, all of whom pitched in.
During her time with Piglet, Dr. Shapiro realized just how much love and care the pink pup would need. It also made her rethink fostering him. Instead, she started to consider offering him a forever home instead. The veterinarian didn’t make the decision lightly, though, as she told People in 2019.
Dr. Shapiro revealed, “It was quite a decision to make. He is a lot of work, and he is like a full-time job, taking care of a little disabled baby. But he’s so cute, and we couldn’t give him away at that point.” And besides, Piglet had already formed a strong bond with his new family.
That new family all worked hard to make Piglet feel comfortable around them. The other dogs also helped him adjust until Piglet got to the point where communication came naturally. This bond is an important aspect of training a dog who can’t rely on sight or sound as others do.
The animal rescue group called Many Tears Animal Rescue (MTAR) agreed that it’s all about forming a bond. To do so, MTAR explained how you have to appeal to the disabled dog’s existing senses. It said, “You need to give lots and lots of praise — by touch — and treats to form this bond.”
Dr. Shapiro already mentioned touch signals, but what are they? They’re basically tapping a select part of the dog’s body to represent different commands. In Piglet’s case, the veterinarian used his back, nose, ribs, chin, chest and neck as call signs. You see, deaf and blind dogs rely heavily on touch.
MTAR added, “Blind and deaf dogs rely mainly on touch, so be sure to pet your dog all over from their ears to their paws. This way they are very used to touch and at ease with it.” It’s not just the sensation of your own touch that helps, though.
The organization’s website continued, “Textures are a great way to guide your blind and deaf dog. Rugs, mats, blankets, etcetera are all ways to guide your dog so they can work out where they are. Blind and deaf dogs use their noses and paws to find their way around.” Such dogs can use their keen sense of smell for navigation, too.
On Piglet’s Instagram page, his family described how he used his sense of smell to identify those nearby. In 2019, they wrote, “Piglet recognizes his dog and human friends by smelling their breath. When he meets new people/friends, he might be neutral. But sometimes, he acts like he’s been reunited with a long-lost cousin.”
And of course, it helps if you have other patient dogs that can keep a blind pup company. Piglet was very lucky in that regard, because all of Dr. Shapiro’s other furbabies accepted their new brother unconditionally. The pupper’s website, Piglet Mindset, recounted how events transpired from Piglet’s own point of view.
It read, “Susie came into my dog beds to comfort me. She snuggled with me to keep me warm so I wouldn’t feel so alone. Zoey, Evie, and Annie played with me gently. And Dean and Gina were very tolerant of my tiny pointy teeth!”
Piglet’s journey didn’t end with his adoption, either: he’s got an important mission in life. Dr. Shapiro informed People, “When we kept him, I said he needs to have some bigger meaning.” Unsurprisingly, many people across social media found Piglet inspiring. A certain teacher from Massachusetts was one of them.
Piglet’s growing online popularity caught the attention of a woman who teaches a third grade class. The plucky pup’s positive attitude and determination in the face of adversity touched her. So she thought Piglet would make a good role model for her children, and decided to use him as an example for the classroom.
The teacher’s Piglet-influenced philosophy was dreamed up to discourage her children from thoughts of ever giving up. Instead, they should view challenges as a good way of growing and adapting, just like a certain pink pooch. The teacher even reached out to Piglet’s human and discussed her teaching approach; it was a conversation with which Dr. Shapiro was more than happy to engage.
Dr. Shapiro wrote on Piglet Mindset, “Piglet was so inspiring to the children that they decided as a class to use Piglet as their growth mindset role model and face each day in a ‘Piglet State of Mind’ to grow as students and individuals.” He helped them outside the classroom, too.
The veterinarian revealed, “When problems arise at home, the children’s parents describe their kids asking, ‘What would Piglet do?’ The students sent beautiful hand-drawn cards with messages to Piglet which left us speechless.” For example, one read, “Dear Piglet, do you love your home? Why are you deaf and blind? Thank you for teaching us about the Piglet Mindset.”
Dr. Shapiro revealed to People how she kept in contact with the teacher throughout the year. “At the end of the year, we surprised the kids. They thought we were going to FaceTime, and we walked in with Piggy in his stroller and three of my other dogs, and everyone was crying.”
This was how Piglet found his calling, and it was just the beginning. Dr. Shapiro and her family have since set up what they call the “Piglet Mindset Outreach program.” The aim of the initiative is to spread the same message to children across the world through the power of the internet.
The Piglet Mindset’s homepage has the title “Piglet’s Mission” which states, “The primary goals of the Piglet Mindset Educational Outreach Program are to reinforce growth mindset lessons and emphasize acceptance, inclusion, empathy, and kindness to all people and animals.” And this guidance is not limited to the classroom. These lessons can be taught wherever they’re needed, even at home.
Animals are great teachers for empathy, and they can help us in other ways, too. Animal therapy is already an established treatment for people with both physical and psychological conditions. It leverages something called the human-animal bond by allowing people to form a connection with an animal buddy. It’s not limited to dogs, either; service animals can be cats, birds and even horses.
Such treatment can be a great help under the right circumstances. A study in 2016 published on the NCBI website provided evidence that the human-animal bond can alleviate stress and anxiety, help people feel more comfortable in social situations, or even reduce physical pain. As such, therapy animals can help alleviate a variety of conditions.
Experts have found animal therapy to be a useful aid to cancer patients, people with PTSD, dementia sufferers, and those with disabilities. It can also aid conditions such as autism, schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). But Piglet hasn’t forgotten his animal friends, either. He’s hard at work to help disabled animals such as himself.
The Piglet’s Mindset website offers a variety of merchandise which help raise funds for animal shelters catering for pets with special needs. Dr. Shapiro reminded People that animal-lovers willing to take on the extra responsibility get so much back in return. “People are afraid to adopt these animals, they think that it’s going to be too much work,” she said.
Dr. Shapiro continued, “But people see Piglet’s page and I get so many notes from people that because of him, they just adopted. It’s rewarding to know that people are taking the lead and being inspired by Piggy.” She’s spreading the word further with another undertaking: new books based on Piglet’s life.
The first title is a book called PIGLET: The Unexpected Story of a Deaf, Blind, Pink Puppy and His Family. It follows Piglet’s journey through life and, by all accounts, is a real tearjerker. The second, which is titled Piglet Comes Home, is a picture book aimed at a younger audience.
Dr. Shapiro wanted Piglet to change lives, and that’s exactly what he’s doing. His popularity is growing, and with it so too does the Piglet Mindset. His human mom informed People, “I made a promise to myself that I would make sure Piglet would have a meaningful, productive life.” She had no clue how his story would change the lives of other dogs, though.
Dr. Shapiro continued, “Since Piglet’s Facebook following was already growing into the thousands, I saw his popularity as an opportunity to raise awareness and funding for special needs dog-rescue groups.” And don’t underestimate the power of little Piggy’s cuteness. “It makes a lot of people really happy to know him.