The good guys thread

[cassiesmom]

(Reuters)
The Dallas Zoo will raise a pair of cheetah cubs with a Labrador retriever puppy, believing the dog will be a calming influence on the big cats as they grow to adulthood.

The 8-week-old male cheetahs Winspear and Kamau have arrived in Dallas, the zoo said, after a team of experts spent two weeks with them at their birthplace, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va.

They will be raised alongside an 8-week-old black Labrador retriever puppy named Amani, the zoo said in a statement on Thursday.

"Zoological experts have found that because dogs are naturally comfortable in public settings, Amani will provide a calming influence for the cubs, as well as another playmate as they grow to adulthood," the statement said.

Cheetahs are endangered with an estimated 10,000 in existence, the zoo said. In the wild, adult cheetahs are the world's fastest land animals reaching speeds of 60 miles per hour (97 kmph), according to National Geographic.

Now weighing about 8 and 6 pounds (3.6 kg and 2.7 kg), the cheetahs are expected to grow to about 3 feet (1 meter) tall at the shoulder and weigh up to 140 pounds (63 kg), the zoo said.

[kuhio98]

CMN Miracle Kid saves family from sinking boat


CMN = Children’s Miracle Network http://childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org/


LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - A Sudan, Texas girl is being called a hero after rescuing a family on Buffalo Springs Lake over the weekend.

It's a scary story with a happy ending and the hero of the story is a familiar face on KCBD.

Natalee Olivarez says she was out on the lake with her family on Saturday evening when she noticed a nearby boat was overtaken by waves, causing the occupants to jump out in the middle of the deep lake.

"The first thing I saw was a man holding a baby and the baby was going under," said Olivarez, 16.

Natalee Olivarez is a 2013 CMN Miracle Kid and she proved to be a miracle child in more ways than one this year.

"When I realized they needed help, my reaction was to jump in the water and get to the first person that I could," Olivarez said.

Olivarez says that was the little baby. However, her job was far from over.

"I saw a woman holding a two-year-old and I helped get the two-year-old on our boat. Then I pulled a little boy about five away from getting squished between our two boats and treaded water until I could find the time to put him on our boat. Then I helped another little girl about 11," she said.

Natalee has been fighting a chronic pain disease for the past three years. But through treatments, she says the pain stopped a few months ago. And she believes she was there for a purpose.

"I believe that God put me in the right place at the right time and gave me the strength and courage to jump in the water to help pull the people out."

Olivarez is a 2013 CMN Miracle Kid. You can see her story here. http://www.kcbd.com/story/22544038/c...talee-olivarez

[kuhio98]

Cheryl and Keith Wyse Adopted Four Girls With Brittle Bone Disease



Cheryl Wyse already had two great teenage sons, but the yearning for a girl never left her. So, in the mid-1990s, she and husband Keith looked into adopting from China.

They never imagined their quest for a daughter would lead them to a new life as parents of four girls whose bones are so weak a mere cough or sneeze can break a rib.

"When I met them," says Cheryl, 53, of her two oldest, "they looked so fragile. They captured my heart. I just wanted to mother them."

But make no mistake. While the Wyse girls of Archbold, Ohio, have Osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease, they share an indestructible spirit.

From Rachelle, 15, who has endured more than 75 bone breaks while maintaining a straight-A average (along with twin Rebekah), to 7-year-old Lydia and 4-year-old Esther, both abandoned as babies, the four overcome daunting obstacles in the most matter-of-fact manner.

[kuhio98]

Family speaks out after mystery diner's good deed, encouraging note

CHINA GROVE, NC - A family in Rowan County got an unexpected, and inspiring, note when they were out to dinner on Friday. A photo of the note is going viral.


Ashley England went to dinner at the Stag-N-Doe pizza restaurant in China Grove with her family on Friday evening, including her 8-year-old son, Riley. The family was sitting at the table when Riley, who has special needs, began to get "a little rowdy."

"He threw the phone and started screaming," she recalled. "The past few weeks have been very hard and trying for us - especially with public outings. Riley was getting loud and hitting the table and I know it was aggravating to some people."

Just when England was ready to leave, a waitress appeared.

"I'll try to do this without crying," the waitress told the family. "But another customer has paid for your bill tonight and wanted me to give you this note."

The note read: "God only gives special children to special people.”

Riley is non-verbal and has been through three major brain surgeries for a severe form of epilepsy. The seizures started when he was 18-months-old, robbing him of his speech. His mom says he had more than 100 seizures a day.

Riley's frustration with being unable to speak, often leads to outbursts England says causes many to cruelly judge her son.

"Until a person has walked in the shoes we have walked in," she said. "They have no right to say one thing."

What they should focus on instead? Remembering the one thing she longs to hear from Riley.

"They take just a simple 'I love you' from your child for granted," she said.

"Because you have never heard that from your son?" asked WBTV's Brigida Mack.

"Never," England replied, getting choked up. "Never."

England says the kindness of the mystery diner made her cry.

"To have someone do that small act towards us shows that some people absolutely understand what we are going through and how hard it is to face the public sometimes," she said. "They made me cry, blessed me more than they know - I felt like out of all the rude negative comments that we are faced with - these outweighs them. The people who care!"

She says she wants to say thank you to the person that paid for their meal and sent the encouraging words.

"Little did he know what struggles we had been facing lately and this was surely needed at that moment," she said. "Thank you!"

[kuhio98]

Roseville Girls Look to Help Santa Cruz Teen Pay for a Heart Transplant


If all goes as planned, a green bracelet will help save the life of 18-year-old Gavin Jack.

“It kills me to know that he’s going through this right now,” said Kyli Oleson.

Oleson wants to help Jack get a heart transplant.

“It’s not fair that it costs $75,000 to save a kid’s life,” said Oleson.

Oleson lives in Roseville and Jack 160 miles away in Santa Cruz.

“It hurts, I know it hurts,” said Oleson.

The two have never met.

“When I found out about Gavin’s condition, it hit home for me. He’s also in high school and I realized that could be me,” said Oleson.

It started as a senior project at Granite Bay High School and quickly turned in to an all-out fundraiser.

“If I reach the goal of 300 bracelets [and] t-shirts in one month, that’s already $7,000 alone,” Oleson said.

And this purple-y nail polished 9-year-old is the artistic master-mind behind the bracelets.

“It makes me feel good he could die at any time now I know I am helping someone and changing his life,” said Angelina.

Oleson and Angelina met through the “Beside the Blue Foundation” – meant to help law enforcement families across the state who may have financial hardships.

“The goal is to sell 300 bracelets and 300 t-shirt by the end of the month,” Oleson said. And if they do, they could end up saving the life of a total stranger.

For more info on how you can help Gavin Jack, go to http://www.facebook.com/teamgavinj

[kuhio98]

[kuhio98]

LUBBOCK, TX - Last Sunday, Shannon Torrez's dog Asia became a mother. The Sharpei and Pitbull mix gave birth to one puppy named Raider. It was a surprise to Shannon, but nothing compared to what came next.

"I got a call from a friend of mine that three kittens had been dropped off on her front porch in a little bucket and she didn't know what to do with them. I went and picked them up, figuring I was going to have to bottle feed them for a little while before adopting them," Shannon said. "When I got home Asia was kind of throwing a fit that I had the kittens and she wanted to see them. I put them up to her and she didn't want to me to get them out of her sight."

Asia immediately began taking care of the kittens. She cleaned them, nursed them and protected them.

"The first couple of days she wouldn't leave their side at all. It took her a few days for them to get settled in and for her to get comfortable before she would even leave the box," she said.

Although it seems unusual, it's something that veterinarians have seen before.

"It occurs actually pretty often," said Dr. Lane Preston with the Animal Medical Center in Lubbock. "She goes ahead and adopts those kittens as her own even though they're not hers. They don't smell like dogs but the urge to mother and nurse is greater than all of those things."

He says this usually occurs when female dogs go through their heat cycle. Their bodies think they are having a puppy and even if they aren't, the dogs still produce milk.

Sometimes the dogs can suffer health problems when they have milk without puppies to drink it, so this kind of surrogate mothering is encouraged.

"There are times when we have to tell the people, do you know of anybody that has some puppies or has some kittens that you could put on this mom to help her out a little bit?"

The kittens are about three and a half weeks old right now. They will stay with Shannon and Asia for another four weeks.

"I honestly thought she would take them in, you know clean them, keep them warm at least, but that I was going to feed them because she is much bigger than they are. But no, they got the hang of it and she has no problem with them," said Shannon.

Dog milk is close enough to cat milk that the kittens should suffer no ill effects.

Torrez has tentatively named the cats Jade, Jewel and Gunner.