Pirate the Papillon ready for service

XENIA, Ohio (WDTN) - Pirate the Papillon is on the path to helping others.

Big or small, each dog has a job to do and as they practice their service skills, there's a little guy just waiting in the wings.

He'll soon be more than just a spectator. Pirate the Papillon will be, himself, a service dog.

"He's confident and outgoing and everything you would want in a service dog. Just gonna be a really good candidate," said Karen Shirk, Executive Director, 4 Paws for Ability.

You might not believe it to look at him. As you can see, 3-month-old Pirate only has one eye. "When his eyes started to open, only one opened."

Pirate's owner was breeding for show dogs, but realized he was destined for something different. "She knew she'd been given a really special boy and knew he needed to do something great," said Shirk.

The Oregon breeder gave Pirate to 4 Paws for Ability to be trained as a service dog, but first, Pirate needed surgery to remove the blind eye behind his closed lid.

He's healing this week, preparing for his future helping a child.

"Our Papillons do hearing ear work, seizure alert, diabetic alert and companionship. So there's nothing that would require that he have two eyes and if anything maybe having one eye would heighten his other senses."

So while most people couldn't picture little Pirate as a service dog, he's envisioning it just fine.

By the time he's two years old, his new family at 4 Paws for Ability says he could be helping someone who's hearing impaired or alerting a child's parents of an oncoming seizure and most importantly, serving as a best friend.

4 Paws for Ability is a non-profit and Pirate's medical bills wiped out its veterinarian fund.

Visit 4 Paws for Ability online to help with Pirate's bills.