The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

These photos make me smile. What a patient pup! Somehow I don't think my kitties would be so accomodating.

[snakemama]

A well-known and loved member of the reptile community fell over the 4th of July this year and is now paralyzed from the waist down. In an effort to help his family defray the massive costs of his initial and ongoing care, the entire reptile community banded together and raised thousands of dollars to help him out. Many breeders auctioned off valuable animals and donated the proceeds to his family. He's doing quite well, in large part thanks to all of the donatoins (and his incredibly supportive lady!)

[Catty1]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/good-news/pour-forward-stories-kindness-canadian-streets-204758922.html

‘Pour it forward’ stories of kindness from Canadian streets

Have you ever had a total stranger pay for your purchase before walking away? Turns out, many people placing orders across Canada have experienced this kind gesture. On Saturday, we ran a Maclean's story of drive through goers dabbling in the art of pouring it forward at Tim Hortons: Winnipeg motorists paying for lunch and coffee orders of the strangers lined up behind them. It may be spreading through the city now, but the tradition of "paying it forward" has been around for a while — for centuries, according to Maclean's.
One Yahoo! Canada News reader explains the practice was popular at the Golden Gate Bridge toll booth in the '70s. And based on other responses, this trend's been rolling through our country for a while, too.

[ More Good News: Scott Sowle provides footwear for the homeless ]
Suzzanne McDonald, from Guelph, Ont., wrote that she saw quite a few customers do so during her five-year stint at Tim Hortons.
For the past eight Decembers, Ryan Berry's coworkers have been getting gift cards and using them to pay it forward for other people's orders at a coffee shop.
"One of the best team building things we do in a year," he wrote on our Yahoo! Canada News Facebook page.
It's refreshing to hear of such kindness, as news of online bullying and violence continues to spread. And some take this beyond paying for your donuts and bagels.
"Doesn't only have to be Tim's. I've done it at the grocery store. The gesture makes you feel emotionally rich," posted Rosie on Yahoo! Canada News.
"The first time it happened to me I was floored," stated Jeremy, who now returns the favour whenever he has spare change. He enjoys seeing the treated drivers of the cars behind him as they try to chase him down to see who he was.


Garry B had experienced this firsthand in a Toronto airport three weeks ago, when a woman grabbed his shirt and said: "I'll buy."
"At first I thought it might be some trick to talk about my insurance needs," he wrote. "[But] It was just indeed a kind stranger."
But the most touching story we've seen so far came from a man who had an oyster dinner with his wife to mark their fifth anniversary. When the couple asked for the bill, the two were told that a stranger sitting beside them paid it all, almost $300.
"He had paid and left without saying a word," the commenter wrote.
"Come to think of it, I've never returned that favor to anyone. I will very shortly."

[kuhio98]

Lost Backpack

About six months ago I found a backpack/work bag in my front yard, thought it belonged to my son and just took it inside. Decided to take a look inside and found a wallet with over $700 in it! Plenty of ID but from another state, but then I found a mobile phone and search through until I found 'Mother' and then rang that number. Lady said her 26 yr old son had been in my suburb the night before and left his bag on the roof of his car when he drove home so it must have fallen off at the corner near my house. She was shocked when she picked it up to find all the money still in it. They had recently moved here and knew nobody so she was very happy to find someone honest. I kept thinking "of course the money would still be there, he earned it not me!"

[Taz_Zoee]

When I was a little girl we had gone to the grocery store. When we went out to our car we noticed someone had left their purse in a cart in the parking lot. My dad found the woman's ID and we took her purse to her house. She also had a lot of money in it. The woman was sooo happy she wanted to give my dad some of the money. He refused.

Also, my parents owned a Drycleaners for over 40 years. Our policy was to return any money found in pockets that was over $5. I think the largest amount we found was a few thousand dollars. I always think "how could you misplace that much money!?"

Oh, and the next time I go to Starbucks I am going to pay for the person behind me. My only problem with that is I have personalized plates on my car.

[kuhio98]

Stephanie Klinzing, the mayor of Elk River, Minnesota, challenged the people in her town to perform 1,000 acts of kindness in a month. Elk River's 24,000 residents answered the call, with good deeds like giving out cookies, paying for other people's groceries, and babysitting for free. After a month the people of Elk River had surpassed their goal with 1,400 good deeds -- and they don't plan to stop anytime soon.
The owners of Blue Marble ice cream shops, in Brooklyn, New York, are expanding their business to Butare, Rwanda. Alexis Miesen and Jennie Dundas are building their first store there, which will be run (and co-owned) by Rwandan women.

[kuhio98]

Laura Miller’s first act of anonymous kindness was placing a single lavender hydrangea bloom on the windshield of a stranger’s car in July 2009. Ever since, Miller has left a trail of small favors for unsuspecting residents of Pittsburgh. Nothing expensive, but delightful nonetheless: Starbucks gift certificates, uplifting messages, rolls of quarters, and other treats. “If I had the money, I would do it every single day,” says Miller, who recently revealed her identity at a fund-raising party, helping to attract other well-wishers to the effort. She now counts more than 1,600 people across the world in her cause for kindness. “It sounds dramatic, but I wish for a world where we all take care of each other,” says Miller.