The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

The Miracle Rescue By Jan, Duluth, Minnesota



I adopted a two-year-old poodle/terrier mix from our local shelter, and named her Angel. She came from another shelter as a stray who had been abused.

Angel was very skinny, extremely shy, and afraid of everyone. I fell in love with her immediately. Since I have multiple sclerosis, I believed that this dog would be perfect for me. We would take care of each other.

I live alone in a high-rise building on Lake Superior with other seniors and disabled tenants. Within weeks, with lots of love, patience, and socializing with neighbors and pets, Angel became a totally different dog.

My little soul mate is now the happiest and most popular dog in the building. She loves everybody, giving kisses to everyone she sees. She never misbehaves, snaps, or barks at anyone. Angel brings her favorite toy or treat to me when I’m feeling bad, or she jumps on my bed and whines until I lie down. She then lies beside me.

One night, Angel became restless and woke me up. I rarely go out late at night, as Angel uses a puppy pad after dark. This time, though, because of her odd behavior, I decided to get dressed and take her out. She was whining and seemed anxious.

I took her around to the parking lot side of our building, back by our garage.

She always stays by me, either on or off the leash, but this time she pulled as hard as she could and whined. I unhooked her leash, thinking she must have to go badly. Instead of running to the grass, Angel hurried into the parking lot and darted between two vehicles. I found her sitting next to Wayne, one of our tenants, who was on the ground. He lay in a fetal position with his walker nearby.

I stooped down to ask what had happened. Not fully conscious, Wayne mumbled that he had fallen. He wore shorts and a light jacket, although it was 38 degrees. He couldn’t move. He said he’d recently had surgery on both knees and was in a lot of pain.

I feared he might have also broken something. After calling 911, I asked him how long he had been lying on the cold pavement. He said, “About an hour, I think.”

I squeezed my knees under Wayne’s head to lift it off the ground. He was freezing, so I tried to cover him with my body and coat. We stayed like this, with Angel near him, until the police and ambulance arrived. The paramedics quickly transferred Wayne to a gurney and bundled him in warm blankets. Soon he was on his way to the hospital.

I have no idea how Angel knew about the injured tenant. We live on the eleventh floor, and our apartment faces the lake. Our windows were closed, and I had a small fan running.

The next day, I called the hospital and talked to Wayne. He told me he had suffered a severe heart attack and had no idea why he was outside by his van at that hour. He kept thanking me. I told him it was God and Angel he should thank.

[Taz_Zoee]

The Miracle Rescue By Jan, Duluth, Minnesota



I adopted a two-year-old poodle/terrier mix from our local shelter, and named her Angel. She came from another shelter as a stray who had been abused.

Angel was very skinny, extremely shy, and afraid of everyone. I fell in love with her immediately. Since I have multiple sclerosis, I believed that this dog would be perfect for me. We would take care of each other.

I live alone in a high-rise building on Lake Superior with other seniors and disabled tenants. Within weeks, with lots of love, patience, and socializing with neighbors and pets, Angel became a totally different dog.

My little soul mate is now the happiest and most popular dog in the building. She loves everybody, giving kisses to everyone she sees. She never misbehaves, snaps, or barks at anyone. Angel brings her favorite toy or treat to me when I’m feeling bad, or she jumps on my bed and whines until I lie down. She then lies beside me.

One night, Angel became restless and woke me up. I rarely go out late at night, as Angel uses a puppy pad after dark. This time, though, because of her odd behavior, I decided to get dressed and take her out. She was whining and seemed anxious.

I took her around to the parking lot side of our building, back by our garage.

She always stays by me, either on or off the leash, but this time she pulled as hard as she could and whined. I unhooked her leash, thinking she must have to go badly. Instead of running to the grass, Angel hurried into the parking lot and darted between two vehicles. I found her sitting next to Wayne, one of our tenants, who was on the ground. He lay in a fetal position with his walker nearby.

I stooped down to ask what had happened. Not fully conscious, Wayne mumbled that he had fallen. He wore shorts and a light jacket, although it was 38 degrees. He couldn’t move. He said he’d recently had surgery on both knees and was in a lot of pain.

I feared he might have also broken something. After calling 911, I asked him how long he had been lying on the cold pavement. He said, “About an hour, I think.”

I squeezed my knees under Wayne’s head to lift it off the ground. He was freezing, so I tried to cover him with my body and coat. We stayed like this, with Angel near him, until the police and ambulance arrived. The paramedics quickly transferred Wayne to a gurney and bundled him in warm blankets. Soon he was on his way to the hospital.

I have no idea how Angel knew about the injured tenant. We live on the eleventh floor, and our apartment faces the lake. Our windows were closed, and I had a small fan running.

The next day, I called the hospital and talked to Wayne. He told me he had suffered a severe heart attack and had no idea why he was outside by his van at that hour. He kept thanking me. I told him it was God and Angel he should thank.

Wow, this definitely brought on the tears. Amazing!!!

[kuhio98]

There are many other wonderful, inspirational pet stories here: http://www.guideposts.org/inspiration/pet-stories

A sweet video: http://www.guideposts.org/video/pet-.../rescue-at-sea

[kuhio98]

The Kind Stranger

One day I was riding home and my bicycle broke. There weren't many people around and I was pretty scared being all alone, but I stopped and tried to fix it nonetheless. A complete stranger, also riding a bike, stopped by and fixed it for me. It's such a small thing, didn't take more than a minute, but he was so reassuring and nice - even offered me a handkerchief to clean my hands. It was over a year ago and we'll probably never meet again, but I still pray for his safety and wellbeing every night. A random act does change many things!

[kuhio98]

Little Bird

My children laugh at me as I always pick up worms or other small creatures that are stranded on the footpath when we are out walking. I maintain that if we are kindest to the smallest of living things we will also view all life as precious. Well as I returned home from walking my dog outside my front door I saw a small sparrow lying on its back by the side of the road, with its legs twitching in the air. Seeing it was in danger of being crushed, I carefully picked it up and took it inside with me and seeing it had no obvious injury I put it in the garden where I leave the bird seed for our feathered friends, happily within an hour it had recovered and flown away. I know this is a small thing but it made me feel happy all day.

[kuhio98]

Pulling children out of Nepal's prisons

Pushpa Basnet doesn't need an alarm clock. Every morning, the sounds of 40 children wake her up in the two-story home she shares with them.

As she helps the children dress for school, Basnet might appear to be a housemother of sorts. But the real story is more complicated.

All of these children once lived in Nepal's prisons. This 28-year-old woman has saved every one of them from a life behind bars.

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world -- according to UNICEF, 55% of the population lives below the international poverty line -- so it lacks the social safety net that exists in most Western nations. Space is extremely limited in the few children's homes affiliated with the government.

So when no local guardian is available, an arrested parent often must choose between bringing their children to jail with them or letting them live on the streets. Nepal's Department of Prison Management estimates 80 children live in the nation's prisons.

"It's not fair for (these) children to live in the prison because they haven't done anything wrong," said Basnet, who started a nongovernmental organization to help. "My mission is to make sure no child grows up behind prison walls."

Basnet is one of several in Nepal who have started groups to get children out of prison. Since 2005, she has assisted more than 100 children of incarcerated parents. She runs a day care program for children under 6 and a residential home where mostly older children receive education, food, medical care and a chance to live a more normal life.

"I had a very fortunate life, with a good education," Basnet said. "I should give it to somebody else."
Basnet was just 21 when she discovered her calling, she said. While her family ran a successful business, she was studying social work in college. As part of her studies, she visited a women's prison and was appalled by the dire conditions. She also was shocked to discover children living behind bars.
One baby girl grabbed Basnet's shawl and gave her a big smile.

"I felt she was calling me," Basnet said. "I went back home and told my parents about it. They told me it was a normal thing and that in a couple of days I'd forget it. But I couldn't forget."

Basnet decided to start a day care to get incarcerated children out from behind the prison walls. While her parents were against the idea at first -- she had no job or way to sustain it financially -- eventually they helped support her. But prison officials, government workers and even some of the imprisoned mothers she approached doubted that someone her age could handle such a project.

"When I started, nobody believed in me," Basnet said. "People thought I was crazy. They laughed at me."
But Basnet was undaunted. She got friends to donate money, and she rented a building in Kathmandu to house her new organization, the Early Childhood Development Center. She furnished it largely by convincing her parents that they needed a new refrigerator or kitchen table; when her parents' replacement would arrive, she'd whisk the old one to her center.

Just two months after she first visited the prison, Basnet began to care for five children. She picked them up at the prison every weekday morning, brought them to her center and then returned them in the afternoon. Basnet's program was the first of its kind in Kathmandu; when she started, some of the children in her care had never been outside a prison.

Two years later, Basnet established the Butterfly Home, a children's home where she herself has lived for the past five years. While she now has a few staff members who help her, Basnet is still very hands on.
"We do cooking, washing, shopping," she said. "It's amazing, I never get tired. (The children) give me the energy. ... The smiles of my children keep me motivated."

Coordinating all of this is no easy task. But at the Butterfly Home, the older kids help care for the younger ones and everyone pitches in with household chores. The atmosphere feels like an extremely large family, a feeling that's fostered by Basnet, who smothers the children with love. The children reciprocate by calling her "Mamu," which means "Mommy."

"I don't ever get a day off, but if I [didn't] have the children around me, it would be hard," she said. "When I'm with them, I'm happy."

All the children are at the Butterfly Home with the consent of the imprisoned parent. When Basnet hears about an imprisoned child, she'll visit the prison -- even in remote areas of the country -- and tell the parent what she can provide. If the parent agrees, Basnet brings the child back.

She is still eager, however, for the children to maintain relationships with their parents. During school holidays, she sends the younger children to the prisons to visit, and she brings them food, clothing and fresh water during their stay. Ultimately, Basnet wants the families to reunite outside prison, and 60 of her children have been able to do just that.

Parents like Kum Maya Tamang are grateful for Basnet's efforts. Tamang has spent the last seven years in a women's prison in Kathmandu. When she was convicted on drug charges, she had no other options for child care, so she brought her two daughters to jail with her. When she heard about Basnet's program, she decided to let them go live with her.

"If Pushpa wasn't around, (they) could have never gotten an education ... (they) would have probably had to live on the streets," she said. "I feel she treats (them) the way I would."
Tamang's oldest daughter, Laxmi, said she can't imagine life without Basnet.
"My life would have been dark without her," said Laxmi, 14. "I would've probably always had a sad life. But now I won't, because of Pushpa."

In 2009, Basnet started a program to teach the parents how to make handicrafts, which she sells to raise money for the children's care. Both mothers and fathers participate. It not only gives them skills that might help them support themselves when they're released, but it also helps them feel connected to their children.
"Often, they think that they're useless because they're in prison," Basnet said. "I want to make them feel that they are contributing back to us."

Making ends meet is always a struggle, though. The children help by making greeting cards that Basnet sells as part of her handicraft business. In the past, she has sold her own jewelry and possessions to keep the center going.

Her biggest concern is trying to find ways to do more to give the children a better future. She recently set up a bank account to save for their higher educations, and one day she hopes to buy or build a house so they'll always have a place to call home. Their happiness is always foremost in her thoughts.

"This is what I want to do with my life," she said. "It makes me feel (good) when I see that they are happy, but it makes me want to work harder. ... I want to fulfill all their dreams."

[kuhio98]

Because Online Friends Make a Real Difference

"My 4-year-old son, Cole, has lymphoma. I've gotten a lot of support from the women at CafeMom.com, but one mom, Linda, is amazing. For Cole's birthday she got people from all over the country to send him cards. The response was overwhelming. With a sick child every smile is precious, so I'll always be grateful for these moments of joy."
-- Michelle Chunn, Sacramento, California