The good guys thread

**kuhio98** · 06-22-2013, 09:16 AM

Local woman helps nurse hummingbird back to life
By Tom Plahutnik

FRANKENMUTH, MI (WNEM) - WNEM.com was alerted to a nice story out of Frankenmuth where a local woman helped get a hummingbird back in the air after being trapped in a garage.

It happened Thursday morning to Jim and Kathy Haney when the bird flew into their garage and couldn't find its way out. Jim Haney tells the rest below:

This little bird flew into our garage and couldn't find his way out. After sitting on a wire all night, it appeared that he didn't have the energy to fly away even when we touched him gently. Julianne Haney carefully pried his little feet off the wire and carried him to our feeder where he drank his fill and flew away. Everyone is happy.

Kathy Haney filled in an extra detail and said Julie stood on the roof of her car in the garage to gently get the bird off the wire, as he had a really tight grip on it.

All's well that ends well, right?

**kuhio98** · 06-23-2013, 09:17 AM

Passerby who happens to be daughter of baseball's Joe Torre catches falling baby

New York (CNN) -- A 1-year-old boy who plummeted two stories from a fire escape in Brooklyn on Wednesday was saved when a quick-thinking passerby saw the child and caught him as he fell, according to police.

The woman who caught the baby is Cristina Torre, daughter of famed Major League Baseball manager and former National League All-Star catcher Joe Torre.

The boy crawled through the window of a second-story apartment after pushing aside a piece of cardboard that blocked an opening beside the apartment's air conditioning unit, according to NYPD Detective James Duffy.

He then climbed onto the fire escape and fell onto the awning of a frozen yogurt shop directly below the apartment and bounced off, Duffy said.

That was when 44-year-old Cristina Torre, who happened to be passing by, saw the situation and positioned herself beneath the awning in time to catch the child, Duffy said.

Joe Torre released a statement Wednesday night saying, "I am very proud of my daughter Cristina's actions today during an incident in Brooklyn involving a small child. Fortunately for that child she was in the right place at the right time to lend a hand."

The boy's parents were charged with child endangerment, Duffy said. Three other children, aged 2, 3 and 5, were taken into the custody of Child Protective Services.

**phesina** · 06-23-2013, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by kuhio98

Local woman helps nurse hummingbird back to life
By Tom Plahutnik

FRANKENMUTH, MI (WNEM) - WNEM.com was alerted to a nice story out of Frankenmuth where a local woman helped get a hummingbird back in the air after being trapped in a garage.

It happened Thursday morning to Jim and Kathy Haney when the bird flew into their garage and couldn't find its way out. Jim Haney tells the rest below:

This little bird flew into our garage and couldn't find his way out. After sitting on a wire all night, it appeared that he didn't have the energy to fly away even when we touched him gently. Julianne Haney carefully pried his little feet off the wire and carried him to our feeder where he drank his fill and flew away. Everyone is happy.

Kathy Haney filled in an extra detail and said Julie stood on the roof of her car in the garage to gently get the bird off the wire, as he had a really tight grip on it.

All's well that ends well, right?

What a lovely story! Thank you!

**phesina** · 06-23-2013, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by kuhio98

Passerby who happens to be daughter of baseball's Joe Torre catches falling baby

New York (CNN) -- A 1-year-old boy who plummeted two stories from a fire escape in Brooklyn on Wednesday was saved when a quick-thinking passerby saw the child and caught him as he fell, according to police.

The woman who caught the baby is Cristina Torre, daughter of famed Major League Baseball manager and former National League All-Star catcher Joe Torre.

The boy crawled through the window of a second-story apartment after pushing aside a piece of cardboard that blocked an opening beside the apartment's air conditioning unit, according to NYPD Detective James Duffy.

He then climbed onto the fire escape and fell onto the awning of a frozen yogurt shop directly below the apartment and bounced off, Duffy said.

That was when 44-year-old Cristina Torre, who happened to be passing by, saw the situation and positioned herself beneath the awning in time to catch the child, Duffy said.

Joe Torre released a statement Wednesday night saying, "I am very proud of my daughter Cristina's actions today during an incident in Brooklyn involving a small child. Fortunately for that child she was in the right place at the right time to lend a hand."

The boy's parents were charged with child endangerment, Duffy said. Three other children, aged 2, 3 and 5, were taken into the custody of Child Protective Services.

Wow! Well done, Ms. Torre!

**kuhio98** · 06-24-2013, 09:16 AM

An Alaskan malamute with a nose for mischief finds a new mission in life: paying daily visits to an ailing neighbor.

By Ron Berler, New York, New York

Casey wasn’t the most popular dog in her owner Carol Baird’s neighborhood of Dalton, Georgia. A huge, burly Alaskan malamute, she had a heart of gold but a nose for trouble.

She’d slip out the Baird family’s back door and trot down the street without a care. Most people gave her a wide berth. That was hardly surprising. From a distance, Casey looked a lot like a wolf.

She behaved like one too, or at least had an appetite like one. Neighbors often stormed over to complain. “Your dog got out again, and ate all of our dog’s food!” or “Casey’s turned over our garbage!”

So when a man rapped on Carol’s door, said he lived three blocks away and then asked for her dog’s name, Carol braced herself. What did Casey do this time?

“We have a sliding-glass door that we usually keep open in the summer,” the man began, “and every day for the last several weeks your dog has wandered off the street and come uninvited into my house.”

That dog, Carol thought. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I don’t know why Casey gets herself into such mischief. A lot of it’s our fault. We have to start watching her more closely. But honestly, she means no harm...”

“No, you don’t understand,” the man interrupted. “I came over to thank you.”

The man must have seen the confusion on Carol’s face. No neighbor had ever said anything positive about Casey before. They usually wanted to know who would fill up the two-foot hole she’d energetically dug in their backyard.

But not this neighbor. He explained that his father, who had Alzheimer’s, lived with him and his wife and needed constant monitoring. The father rarely moved from his easy chair in front of the TV in the living room and was often agitated. Caring for him had exhausted the man and his wife.

“I couldn’t remember the last time we had two hours to ourselves,” the man said. “And then, one day, your dog showed up.”

Casey wandered into the house through the sliding door and made straight for the man’s father. “She sat right beside him, like she had planned to visit him all along,” the neighbor said, his voice filled with wonder.

He saw his father turn to Casey and begin to pet her. He stroked her and stroked her, and fell peacefully asleep. “He slept two full hours,” the neighbor said. “It was the biggest midday reprieve my wife and I have had in years.”

Casey returned the next day, and every day after that, as if she had an appointment to keep. Each time was the same. She’d pad to the old man’s chair and sit by his side, letting him pet her till he dozed off.

“To my wife and me,” the neighbor said, “Casey was a gift from heaven. That’s why I’ve come to see you today. Is Casey here?”

“Yes, she is,” Carol said. “Casey!”

The big malamute trotted up, looking at the neighbor with searching eyes. The neighbor gave a gentle pat. “You must have known, didn’t you?” the neighbor said to Casey. “That’s why you just stopped coming a couple of days ago.”

“Known what?” Carol asked.

“My father died in his sleep the night after Casey’s last visit. She knew her job was over.”

**kuhio98** · 06-25-2013, 09:16 AM

Bare??? Bear?????

**kuhio98** · 06-26-2013, 09:55 AM

Boy swims 1/2 mile to rescue family

BENZIE COUNT, Michigan -- Quick thinking by a 14-year-old Benzie County boy may have saved the lives of his family after their boat capsized on Crystal Lake Sunday.

Logan Snyder said when the boat overturned and his family went in the water, he made sure they were okay and went into action.

“I reached under [the boat] and got more life jackets and I swam to shore after that,” said Logan.

That's when Logan's journey to shore began.

“I was swimming backwards and I took a 30-40 second break and I kept on swimming and stopped about four times. Then I got to shore, finally, and I looked around and I found a person and I was like ‘I need help big time. My family is out there,’” said Logan.

After drifting down the lake and swimming for more than half a mile, Logan found Bill and Laurie Harris.

“They needed help. We're the only ones along here that were actually home,” said Laurie Harris who helped rescue the stranded boaters.

Bill took his boat out to rescue Logan's family, nine month old Aubriana and her 28 year-old mother Krista and 29 year-old father Jeff.

“My husband said he took on water with our boat coming in, so it was pretty rough,” said Laurie.

When the family got to shore they were greeted with towels after spending nearly one hour in the water.

“When they came in the mother was definitely crying. I think they were kind of in shock not realizing, believing what had happened. The baby was crying but as soon as they checked her out… she was fine and then she was happy as can be and the mom was just very relieved,” said Laurie.

“I started crying,” said Krista Witherell, rescued boater and mother of nine month Aubriana. “My baby is going to be okay. Logan is okay. We're all okay.”

As the weather warms up and people take to the water, authorities say it's important to always remember to wear a life jacket. If something goes wrong you can buy time for emergency responders to rescue you.

**kuhio98** · 06-26-2013, 02:10 PM

From People Magazine:

Like any other dog, Oscar Madison loves to run and chase his canine pals at the park. But unlike other dogs, Oscar wheely gets around.

In place of his hind legs, Oscar makes his way around with the help of a wheelchair, and happily joins his fellow four-legged friends in a boundless display of endearing energy at a New York City park.

With his drooling grin and flopping ears, it's hard to imagine this precious pup was ever abandoned, and then put on death row by animal services. But NY Pet-I-Care, Inc. found Oscar a happy home, and now, "he can run as fast as any other dog," says his owner on Facebook.

By the looks of it, his two-wheel drive probably makes him the one to beat at the dog run!

**kuhio98** · 06-27-2013, 10:26 AM

Kiehl's Crème de Corps
This luxe body lotion is a treat for the skin -- and for the eyes, with packaging designed by artist Kenny Scharf.

Plus, 100% of the proceeds benefit RxArt, a nonprofit that fosters expression with art programs for children in pediatric hospitals.

Buy it now at kiehls.com, $30

**kuhio98** · 06-28-2013, 03:27 PM

**kuhio98** · 06-29-2013, 12:23 PM

Police officer rescues fledgling owl from roadway

SAGINAW, MI (WNEM) - A local citizen is drawing attention to the act of kindness shown by a local law enforcement officer after he rescued a young owl in peril.

Sandy Miner, a volunteer with the Wild Life Support Team, stopped by the Saginaw police station to express her gratitude for Sgt. Mark Scott's rescue of a screech owl.

Miner said that two nights ago, Scott was working in the southeast side of the city when he came across a fledgling owl in the roadway. He scooted the owl away from the road so that it wouldn't become road kill, only to come back and find it in the roadway again the next night.

Scott then contacted 911, who reached out to Miner's organization and sent her out to help the bird.

"I think it's important for people to understand that police officers are compassionate too," said Minor. "Sgt. Scott didn't have to stop. This owl would have died if Sgt. Scott had not come to the rescue. It hasn't been eating and that's why it couldn't fly away."

The Wild Life Support Team has been in operation for 33 years and has a facility to house and help the animals they rescue - but it is not open to the public. The group does not rescue mammals. Miner said she specializes in the rescue of big birds and is state and federally certified to do so.

**kuhio98** · 06-30-2013, 12:18 PM

The Golden Hat: Talking Back to Autism Book
This touching book was a passion project for Kate Winslet and her friend, Margret Ericsdottir, whose son is living with nonverbal autism. The book features candid portraits of celebrities and their answers to the question, "What is important to you to express?"

Proceeds from the book go to building innovative living campuses for people with autism and raising public awareness of their talents and intellectual capabilities.

Buy it now at shop.goldenhatfoundation.org, $30

**kuhio98** · 07-01-2013, 01:35 PM

WILDLIFE SUPERVISOR ART YERIAN, 42
Olga the Otter's brave savior

Just past noon on New Year's Eve day, staffer Art Yerian was making his rounds at the Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park on Florida's Gulf Coast when he noticed something amiss in the alligator pond. There, where 17 of the carnivorous amphibians are kept, "I could see bubbles," says Yerian, "like a little submarine." Scanning an adjacent pen, Yerian quickly realized what had happened. Olga, an 8-year-old sea otter, had pried loose a grate in her enclosure and paddled through a 6-ft. barrier into the gator pond. As a crowd of visitors gathered, Yerian grabbed a net and ladder, hopped a 4-ft. fence (catching a shoelace and crashing onto his back) and waded into the knee-deep pond. "There was no way I was going to let Olga get munched in front of 3,000 people—not to mention kids," says Yerian, the father of two. Struggling for footing on the slippery bottom, he used the ladder to sweep the water for Olga and to keep the alligators at bay. But in churning the water, Yerian got the attention of a 15-ft. gator, which rushed him, mouth wide open for the kill. Scrambling to safety, Yerian asked for a long pole to ward off further attack. "Since he came after me," he explains, "I was going to go after him so he wouldn't charge again." Finally steering Olga back onshore, Yerian scooped her into his net, to the cheers of the crowd, and hauled her to safety. How to explain the risk he'd been willing to take for an otter? That's easy, says colleague Susan Lowe: "He treats every one of the animals like it's his own."