Tag: Smiley

R.I.P. Smiley, Blind Puppy Mill Survivor Who Became an Inspiring Therapy Dog

Smiley, a 16-year-old Golden Retriever who spent most of his life inspiring people with special needs, crossed the Rainbow Bridge today.

“Dogs can come back from anything. They forget their past,” his dog mom, Joanne George, a dog trainer who lives in Stouffville, Canada, told CBS News two years ago. “We as humans, dwell on the past.”

The particular dog George she was referring to was Smiley, who spent the first couple years of his life in a puppy mill. If that alone wasn’t bad enough, Smiley was born with dwarfism — and without eyes.

George rescued Smiley when he was 2 years old. “He was very scared,” she told ABC News. “[The dogs] had never been out of that barn.”

Although Smiley initially cowered at the sound of George’s other dog, a partially deaf Great Dane named Tyler, the two became best friends as Tyler helped bring Smiley out of his shell. “Tyler was so bouncy and crazy and happy-go-lucky, and [Smiley] turned into the same dog,” George told ABC News. “He came out from underneath the tables where he was always hiding.”

As Smiley blossomed, George noticed the positive effect he had on people who were naturally drawn to and inspired by her special dog. “I realized this dog has to be a therapy dog — I have to share him,” she told CBS News.

Smiley and George joined the St. John Ambulance therapy dog program in Ontario. Smiley helped children with special needs learn to read through a library literacy program, and also comforted people at funeral homes and nursing homes.

Until Smiley came along, the employees of one nursing home had never seen a mute patient named Teddy express any emotion.

“One day, Smiley put his feet up in front of [Teddy], and he started smiling and making noise,” George told CBS News. “All of the nurses rushed into the room and said they’ve never seen him smile — never seen any kind of reaction.”

Smiley touched hearts around the world when he became a social media sensation, with nearly half a million followers on Facebook and Instagram.

In July, veterinarians found tumors on Smiley’s liver and stomach. As his health quickly deteriorated, George made the difficult decision to end his suffering. “It’s the only way we can repay him for all he’s done,” she wrote on Smiley’s Facebook page yesterday. “He’s had enough.”

Farewell, sweet Smiley. All around the world, many of us are shedding tears for a dog we never had the privilege to meet. My heart goes out to George and her family. How lucky Smiley was to have such a loving and devoted dog mom.

“Please, in honor of Smiley — see the world around you with your ❤️, be kind to others and give back in any way you can,” George wrote on Smiley’s Facebook page today in her announcement of her beloved dog’s death.

Let’s all do it.

Photo via Twitter

Blind Puppy-Mill Survivor Smiley Helps People with Special Needs

“Dogs can come back from anything. They forget their past,” Joanne George, dog mom to a 12-year-old Golden Retriever named Smiley, told CBS News. “We as humans, dwell on the past.”

The past that Smiley bounced back from included spending the first couple years of his life in a puppy mill. If that alone wasn’t bad enough, Smiley was born with dwarfism — and without eyes.

George, a dog trainer who lives in Stouffville, Canada, rescued Smiley when he was 2 years old.

“He was very scared,” she told ABC News. “[The dogs] had never been out of that barn.”

Smiley was very anxious about living in a home, George wrote on her Training the K9 Way website. “He cowered at the sound of another dog eating. The scars on his face and ears told me the stories of what it was like living with so many dogs in such deplorable conditions.”

Smiley soon bonded with George’s other dog, Tyler, a partially deaf Great Dane.

“Tyler was so bouncy and crazy and happy-go-lucky, and [Smiley] turned into the same dog,” George told ABC News. “He came out from underneath the tables where he was always hiding.”

As Smiley blossomed, George said she noticed the positive effect he had on people.

“People were so drawn to him, so inspired by him. I realized this dog has to be a therapy dog — I have to share him,” she told CBS News.

Smiley did just that. He and George joined the St. John Ambulance therapy dog program in Ontario. Smiley helps special-needs children learn to read through a library literacy program, and also works at funeral homes and nursing homes.

The employees of one nursing home had never seen a mute patient named Teddy express any emotion, until Smiley came along.

“One day, Smiley put his feet up in front of [Teddy], and he started smiling and making noise,” George told CBS News. “All of the nurses rushed into the room and said they’ve never seen him smile — never seen any kind of reaction.”

Teddy is now the first patient Smiley visits whenever he goes to that nursing home.

“I think that’s when I realized how truly inspiring he can be,” George told CBS News.

Her advice for pet parents of blind dogs: “Don’t be his eyes, don’t run his life, don’t keep him in a bubble.”

Smiley is able to get around without much difficulty, George told ABC News. He raises his feet as he walks.

“He’s feeling with his feet,” she explained. “Does he bump into things? Of course he does. But he does it very carefully.”

(Silvie Bordeaux, dog mom of Muffin, a blind Toy Poodle, invented the ingenious Muffin’s Halo Guide for Blind Dogs, which provides padding and prevents dogs from bumping into things or falling down stairs, as Muffin once did.)

Smiley is now 12 years old and starting to slow down, but, George told CBS News, his “tail will never stop wagging.”

“The quote, ‘The dogs we really need are the ones that come to us,’ is very true in this case,” George told Head-Lites. “I am a better human being and mother because of him.”

Photo via Twitter

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