Smiley

All of the orphans who come to AGB are special. Every single one of them is unique in personality, looks, and demeanor. Most of them come in and we can get them vetted, fostered, and adopted fairly quickly thanks to a fabulous team of volunteers that work very hard to get them home. And then some of them, like Smiley, are extra special and require an extra special amount of time and services and an even more special foster and adopter.  

Smiley came to us in February 2024 with a happy, sassy attitude and an inability to control some of his motor functions. Instead of walking, he danced all the time. While this was cute, it also made him a bit of a hard case – other dogs were frightened of his sudden movements, so he had a difficult time around other dogs at the vet and he had a hard time in some foster homes. Our medical team got to work on him quickly and, after heading to Huntsville for a neurological workup, it was found that his cerebellum was small and he had excessive spinal fluid. Long story short, he would have movement difficulties for the rest of his life. In addition, he had no vision in one of his eyes. We have no idea if he was born this way or if it was caused by trauma. What we did find out was that Smiley didn’t know he was different – he was just Smiley – a sweet, goofy, loving boy who just wanted to find a home. We were very concerned if he would ever have that. And then along came a miracle – a couple met him at our monthly meet and greet at Hollywood Feed and they fell in love with him. 

His new mom says it best: ” We weren’t looking for a new fur baby when James came across Smiley’s story on the AGB page.  James tagged me so I would see his story. From that moment we were both hopeful that Smiley would fit into our lives. We knew we were in a place to care for a pup with special needs, but weren’t sure how our dogs would react. There was an AGB meet and greet for that Saturday. We went to meet him and took our two doggies with us. The first meeting didn’t go as well as we had hoped, but we were still interested in seeing if it would work out. We were given the opportunity to foster for a little while and see if we were a good fit for Smiley. If things went well, we planned to adopt. To say he fits in perfectly is an understatement.  Immediately our Golden mix became his best friend/sister. Even our senior dog has gotten in on the fun of playing with him.  We’ve enjoyed watching their bonds grow. As for James and I, he’s completely stolen our hearts and sometimes steals our spot on the couch. We have adjusted quite well to his coordination issues, and he’s adapting very well too. We are so thankful for the opportunity to adopt this sweet, handsome boy and complete our family.  He’s the fur baby we didn’t know we needed until we saw him.  We aren’t changing his name, because once you meet him, you understand why Smiley is his name.”