This is a wonderful family I got to spend some time with and photograph their furry babies. Their little girl, the white Australian Shepherd/Border Collie mix puppy is very special indeed. She is what is called
homozygous merle meaning that the person who bred her litter irresponsibly bred two dogs who both were merle-factored, which resulted in 2 of 6 puppies being homozygous merle, or "lethal white" which is often linked to blindness, deafness, and other problems. This beautiful girl is fully deaf, and partially blind. However, she is the happiest puppy I've ever met, bounding around with her tiny dog-siblings and enjoying life! She is also very lucky to have such devoted owners.