Though Pirelli -- a handsome golden retriever-- was born with just three paws, he’s still fulfilling his mission to lead a life of service.
Canine Assistants, a nonprofit that trains service dogs, bred Pirelli to work with people with physical and intellectual disabilities, WXIA reports. But when he came into this world with a section missing from his back foot, veterinarians realized the pup had a whole other purpose to offer up.
Named “spokesdog” for the Georgia-based organization, the 8-month-old’s role is to spread a message of tolerance.
"Pirelli is just an exquisite example that life isn't about how you get from place to place, or what you see or hear. It's so much more than that," Jennifer Arnold, founder of Canine Assistants, told HLN. "Imagine what he will be able to do for kids who won't be teased because he will teach kids the right way to think."
Pirelli, who wears a cushioned boot on his tender limb, has been given the job of traveling to schools and encouraging students to accept one another, no matter what they look like. Arnold hopes that Pirelli will succeed in preventing bullying by demonstrating that appearances aren’t what matter most.
"[Dogs] don't look at the container," she told the news outlet. "To the dog, their person is perfect, the way they are. They just overlook disabilities, like it's nothing."
In addition to serving as an educator, Arnold hopes that Pirelli will also function as an inspiration to people living with disabilities.
"Just because you're born with a disability of some sort -- whether you can't see, you can't hear, or you need a chair to get from place to place,” Arnold told WXIX, “it doesn't mean that you can't change the world."
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