• Cute badge
  • win badge

This Dog's Adorable Defect Saved His Life

Kiss the boxer's defect is what makes him special.

Julie Gerstein
by Julie Gerstein

BuzzFeed Staff

Meet Kiss.

Courtesy Michayla Lupien

He's an adorable — VERY ADORABLE — 4-year-old boxer pup who was born with a neurological disorder that prevents him from retracting his tongue.

Courtesy Michayla Lupien

Yup, his tongue hangs out 24/7.

Courtesy Michayla Lupien

According to his vet, Nancy Bureau, Kiss has two rare nerve disorders, which disturb both his tongue motion and the facial nerve on the right side of his face. They're both nonfatal disorders and don't put him in any pain.

Kiss was living in a kill shelter and on the list to be euthanized when Dawn Korres spotted him in a Los Angeles, California, shelter.

Courtesy Michayla Lupien

Korres had recently lost her dog of 13 years, Shakira, and wasn't sure if she was ready for another pet.

But, she told 9 News, "I knew it in my heart when I saw his picture and I saw him at the shelter that he was gonna be mine."

Korres took him home five months ago and the two have been inseparable ever since.

Here he is celebrating Christmas (or Kiss-mas!).

And New Year's.

Korres hopes that in getting the word out about Kiss and his amazing tongue, she can help raise awareness about differently abled animals.