Dog born without eyes helps other see bright side of life

Being born without eyes and with dwarfism did not stop a golden retriever in Canada from helping people see the bright side of life.

The dog, named Smiley, was rescued from a puppy mill at age two, and has since spent the last 10 years as a therapy dog, CBS News reported.

"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," his owner Joanne George told CBS News.

"Dogs can come back from anything, they forget their past... We as humans, dwell on the past," she added.

Smiley was certified as a therapy dog and joined the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog program, visiting and comforting patients at retirement and nursing homes.

He also joins special needs children at a library reading program.

One visit to a nursing home proved particularly memorable—one of the patients who had no speech and could not communicate suddenly started "smiling and making noise" when Smiley put his feet up in front of him.

"All of the nurses rushed into the room and said they've never seen him smile—never seen any kind of reaction," George recalled.

Smiley is now 12—quite old in dog years, but tech site Mashable said he keeps up with therapy dog training via Facebook.

"He also likes to do normal dog stuff, like begging for treats and napping away the afternoon with his other animal pals," Mashable added. — Joel Locsin/BM, GMA News