Smiley is our November 19, 2017 Pup of the Week

Humans have been blessed with five senses, but we dogs have so many more.  Our sense of smell, and hearing, is much stronger than human’s senses.  We can even smell those difficult areas our parents work so hard to keep scent less. We hear everything.  We know what is coming around the corner.  We know what he is building in there.  If humans heard what we can hear the makers of anxiety medication would rule the world.

It’s nice to touch things. It’s a useful tool but is nothing like taste.  That is fantastic.  We would lick the world if we could.  Finally, there is sight.  It is important to us, there is so much to see, but it pales next to smell and hearing (and, if someone is barbecuing, taste.  If we had a choice between looking at steak and tasting it we would pick tasting  every time.)

Which brings me to our Pup of the Week.  His name is Smiley, and he has been at Rainbow Bridge a month.  He is a modest boy and did not want any recognition, but sometimes a girl needs a subject to blog about.

Smiley was due at Rainbow Bridge 13 years ago.  He was born without eyes at a horrific breeding kennel.   Dozens of dogs had been saved, but those deemed unadoptable were going to be euthanized.  Who would adopt a dirty, matted dog without eyes?   The answer was veterinary tech, Joanne George.

Smiley began life with his new family unsocialized and scared but his mom worked with him every day, and a caring, infectious personality emerged.  Smiley started visiting George’s grandmother at a nursing home, and then he became a therapy dog becoming so famous he met the Prime Minister.

While Smiley went through life without being able to see his other senses were enhanced; especially those senses special to dogs.  The empathy sense to know when a human needs loving, the happiness sense that lets us know when someone needs a smile and causes us to act goofy; the cute sense when we know humans need to go “awww” and we become incredibly cute; and the loyalty sense that makes us never want to leave your side.

Smiley led a happy life for more than a dozen years with his family and the thousands of distressed people he made smile.  Over the summer cancer invaded his beautiful, caring body.  His mom tried to help him fight the disease, but there are some battles that cannot be won.  Smiley’s loving mom relieved his suffering, sending huge clouds of tears to us, from pet lovers all over the world, along with Smiley.

When he arrived at the top of the Bridge he stopped, blinked his eyes and for the first time in his life, he could see.  “You are all so beautiful,” he cried.  He then ran to us, rolled on his back, and let us kiss and nuzzle him while he laughed.  “The sky is so blue; I never imagined such a deep blue.”

He stood up and began to run around looking at the grass, the trees, the butterflies, the water.  “It is all so wonderful,” he gushed.

I approached him and told him I could show him a lovely vision.  We went down to the river, and I pointed to the image of a beautiful woman in the water.  “Who is that?” he asked.

“That is your mom,” I told him.

He gasped, reached into the water, and said she was the most gorgeous vision he had ever seen.  I told him we would teach him how to watch over his mom every day and even visit her.  He hugged me gratefully.

And that is what Smiley has been doing since he arrived.  Taking in the beautiful sights, he missed and watching his family and those he comforted, who were helped by using his enhanced special senses.  

He is now complete, but he was always perfect.