Smiley the Golden Retriever had a rough start to life. He was born without eyes and spent the first two years of his life stuck in a puppy mill where conditions left a lot to be desired. Not only was Smiley missing his eyes, but he had other issues including a form of dwarfism. This meant that the chances of him finding a family of his own was very slim.

However, all that changed when veterinarian Joanne George was sent to the puppy mill where Smiley lived. She had been ordered to go euthanize 20 of the 85 dogs at the puppy mill. When Joanne arrived at the puppy mill with her assistant, they couldn’t believe the conditions they were seeing. Just the smell was hard to bear. But they knew they couldn’t go through with what they were sent there to do.

Instead of euthanizing the 20 dogs, they decided to take them home and find them loving homes. All of them found a home except for little Smiley. That’s when Joanne knew he was just meant to be hers. She soon discovered that although Smiley was a bit different, he was one of the most loving and eager to please dogs anyone could ever ask for. She quickly trained him to be a therapy dog.

Smiley spent the next years of his life spreading his love and joy to schools, nursing homes, and anywhere else that could use a bit of extra joy and love. If there was ever anyone who knew what it was like to be down and out, it was Smiley.

Finally, at the age of 15, Smiley passed over the rainbow bridge, but he’s still bringing smiles to the faces of those who remember him or who see the video below.

A recent video released by Joanne shows Smiley in his ripe old age enjoying a frolicking walk through the snow. Although he was blind and had lost most of his hearing in his old age, he still was filled with joy.

Joanne adjusted her voice in the video so Smiley could hear her high pitched tones, and with her help, he frolicked in the freshly fallen snow as if he’s still a young pup. You can’t help but smile watching him.

Check out the video below and be sure to share it with your family and friends. How can you not smile seeing how happy this little fella ended up being after such a rough start?