The good guys thread

[Catty1]

Vancouver man tracks down owners of SD card filled with world-tour photos



By Nadine Kalinauskas | Good News – 23 hours ago






On October 10, Vancouver photographer Thom Hamilton found an SD card containing 1,200 photos of an around-the-world trip on a sidewalk in Stanley Park. On October 19, he was finally able to track down the owners of the card: Maree and Jock Lindberg of Busseltown, Western Australia.

He mailed the couple their SD card via FedEx this morning.


The Australian couple were just a week away from completing their trip around the world when their camera was stolen.
"They were devastated," Hamilton told the Province. "That was all their memories."

To identify the card's owners, Hamilton combed through their photos and traced their journey, which started on July 22, to Norway, Denmark, Holland, France and Canada. Vancouver was their final destination before returning home.

"As I started seeing images, I kind of saw a really big story developing in front of my eyes," he recalled. "It started painting a picture that it was a retirement couple who are on the trip of a lifetime, possibly."

Hamilton posted some of their photos on his Facebook page and appealed to local media, but no one identified them.

"I empathize with the people in the pictures," he explained his motivation for trying to help to the Province. "Being a photographer, I could image what it would feel like to lose an entire vacation of pictures. I hope that someone would put in some effort to find me."










On closer inspection of the photos, Hamilton realized the couple was probably Australian. Their itinerary was a logical one if they started there, and a T-shirt in one of the photos promoted an annual charity event in Western Australia.

Hamilton contacted Perth Now, the largest newspaper in Western Australia, which ran the story of the lost photos.

"This was a trip literally around the world, so these memories need to find their way home," Hamilton told the newspaper.

Readers recognized the couple.
"Next thing I know is I had a friend request, someone was telling me they’re the cousin of the couple in the photos, and then the whole thing just took off," Hamilton told CTV British Columbia. "Within about half an hour I had an email from Maree, who was actually the owner of the card."

"It's a little bit mind-blowing that there’s almost 7-billion people on the Earth, they could have been from anywhere, and within 10 days, by the start of a Facebook page, this all fell into place," he added.



The Lindbergs had been travelling the world this summer, visiting apprentices who had lived and worked on their farm over the past 20 years.
"So they were going from country to country to country to check in on some people they had taught throughout their life," Hamilton said.

Maree Lindberg told Hamilton that their camera bag had been stolen in Vancouver.
"I can still hardly believe it, I never imagined that I would see any of the photos again," Maree wrote in an email to Hamilton. "I also want to say a huge thank you to you for all the effort you’ve gone to to locate us."

Hamilton is now considering a trip to Australia to meet the Lindbergs.

[kuhio98]

Brandon Elementary students swap birthday presents for charity work

LUFKIN, TX (KTRE) - It's not every day that a 10-year-old would decide to swap birthday presents for charity work, but that's exactly what five Brandon Elementary students did.

The girls asked the community over the weekend to donate $1,000 to the American Cancer Society for their birthdays and the community listened.

"We really didn't want presents this year because we just really like to help other people and there are some other people that go [to Brandon Elementary] that don't ever really get any of that kind of stuff," said Autumn Squires.

Lauren Lear, Paige Rawlinson, Reagan McDuffie, Aubrey Lindsey and Autumn Squires decided a couple weeks ago that they wanted to host a birthday party to help raise money for several organizations they liked. They even asked guests to bring canned goods to donate to local food banks.

"It feels good. Our goal is trying to do like people can copy like they can do the same thing that we did," Lauren Lear said.

"Yeah, like, we're trying to get more people to not get presents and start doing donations to give to other people," Paige Rawlinson said.

Sheila Skelton, the director of the HOST lab at Brandon Elementary, said she felt so inspired by what the girls were doing she even donated.

"I think it shows leadership skills. I think—well, I know their families personally so I know how they've been brought up in their homes, and I know they've been taught that to give to others and to help other people and I think it just shows good leadership skills," Skelton said.

The girls say they are unsure if they will donate each year, but would like to send donations to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

"Half of the kids in America or in the World or something go to St. Jude's to get surgery because they have some kind of cancer and we just don't want," Lauren Lear said.

The American Cancer Society's Lufkin office says they think the girl's charitable work is great, and are very impressed with the girl's initiative to help aid cancer research.

[kuhio98]

The Daily Treat: 'Subway Kittens' Find Fur-ever Home with Brooklyn Couple



No need to do away with the hipster wardrobe, Arthur and August – the 'Subway Kittens' have permanently moved to Brooklyn.

In August, the feline duo stopped service along New York City's B and Q lines for several hours when they somehow managed to find their way onto the subway tracks. Following their rescue, the pair was fostered by Steven Liu, a 25-year-old Bushwick, N.Y., resident, and his roommates to prepare them for adoption. "They're still really shy. I think they've been stray for a while," he told the Daily News at the time.

Last week, roughly six weeks after their rescue, Animal Care & Control designated them ready to be brought home by a loving family – and Katherine and Keith Lubeley rose to the occasion. The married couple tell New York magazine they were immediately interested in bringing home the pair.

"We had been thinking about adopting rescue cats for a while and specifically wanted two bonded kittens, so it wasn't out of the blue," said the couple. "Just perfect timing. And these two have a crazy special bond!"

Keep up with your favorite celebs in the pages of PEOPLE Magazine by subscribing now.

And with a few days under their belts in their new surroundings, Arthur and August seem to be adjusting well, as evidenced by the photos Katherine has shared on her Twitter feed.

"They've found all the apartment's soft, sunny places and quiet nooks," said the couple. "They are having a rollicking good time getting to know their new kingdom."

[kuhio98]

7-year-old wants to give Christmas to homeless

SANDY — Hailee Strandgard’s desire to give homeless people a Christmas started with a lot of questions.

Last year, 7-year-old Hailee’s mother, Trishell Strandgard, was doing an internship at a day clinic for the homeless. Naturally caring and also curious, she “just asked a lot of questions” of her mother about homelessness. She wanted to know about them and their situation, and particularly, if Santa visited them.

“It made me sad that they just didn’t have anything,” Hailee said.

Wanting to help them, she approached her mother.

“She asked me ‘Mom, can I give them all my toys for Christmas?’ I told her she could give them whatever she wanted. And she said, ‘Do you think I could ask other people to help?’ ” Trishell said. “It was really heart-touching to know that my 6-year-old daughter was so in-tune with other people’s needs. I was shocked at first. Most 6-year-olds don’t think of stuff like that. I just cried.”

Trishell said her daughter is always caring for other people, wanting to give her allowance to people on the corner and is generous to people in need.

“She’s a wonderful little girl and we’re blessed to have her in our life. She helps me and her dad be better people every day,” Trishell said.

In 2012, the family put together a charity drive, gathering blankets, toys and stuffed animals. They gathered about a pickup truck bed full of donations for the Road Home.

This year, the first-grader hopes to gather more than last year, as well as get enough donations to make 150 sandwiches for the Salvation Army. The Strandgards are collecting blankets, toys and stuffed animals again, in addition to deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste and canned food. So far, they have collected about twice what they did last year.

“She’s just worked really hard to make it bigger than last year. She’s really worried about people going without for Christmas,” Trishell said.

The Strandgards are collecting the items now through Dec. 3. They can be reached by by email at [email protected].

[phesina]

The Daily Treat: 'Subway Kittens' Find Fur-ever Home with Brooklyn Couple



No need to do away with the hipster wardrobe, Arthur and August – the 'Subway Kittens' have permanently moved to Brooklyn.

In August, the feline duo stopped service along New York City's B and Q lines for several hours when they somehow managed to find their way onto the subway tracks. Following their rescue, the pair was fostered by Steven Liu, a 25-year-old Bushwick, N.Y., resident, and his roommates to prepare them for adoption. "They're still really shy. I think they've been stray for a while," he told the Daily News at the time.

Last week, roughly six weeks after their rescue, Animal Care & Control designated them ready to be brought home by a loving family – and Katherine and Keith Lubeley rose to the occasion. The married couple tell New York magazine they were immediately interested in bringing home the pair.

"We had been thinking about adopting rescue cats for a while and specifically wanted two bonded kittens, so it wasn't out of the blue," said the couple. "Just perfect timing. And these two have a crazy special bond!"

Keep up with your favorite celebs in the pages of PEOPLE Magazine by subscribing now.

And with a few days under their belts in their new surroundings, Arthur and August seem to be adjusting well, as evidenced by the photos Katherine has shared on her Twitter feed.

"They've found all the apartment's soft, sunny places and quiet nooks," said the couple. "They are having a rollicking good time getting to know their new kingdom."

What good news.. And what a great conclusion to the whole story!

May you all live long and happy lives together, Arthur, August, Katherine, and Keith Lubeley!!!

[kuhio98]

I'm a sucker for men who love animals. Especially cats. This story touched my heart.

I am a Merchant Marine Officer and when I reported to one of the ships I worked on, someone mentioned they had a cat on board. I didn't believe this at first, but finally saw her racing down the passageway one day. I also found out the Captain had ordered her to be found and thrown overboard, but the crew had been "unable" to find her. When I asked the Captain this point blank, he said she was feral, mean and spiteful. I love all animals, so I loaded up at first port with every treat and toy in stock at Walmart I think, and proceeded to try and win this frightened kitty over. I knocked out the panel in my stateroom door and set up for her. As she had a way out, it wasn't too hard to coax her in, and before I knew it, she was waiting at my door every night when I got off work and was in my bed until I fell asleep, so happy for attention. My wife said no matter what you do, don't leave her there, and I didn't. I managed to get her off the ship when I signed off, and flew her home to be with us. One month after getting her home, I took a picture of her curled up between my dogs legs and sent it to the Captain who told me how "feral" she was. Bridgette has now been with us over 10 years. Healthy, sweet and loving and I never regretted any part of bringing her home from that ship.

John Ratcliffe
Tuftonboro, NH

[Taz_Zoee]

I'm a sucker for men who love animals. Especially cats. This story touched my heart.

I am a Merchant Marine Officer and when I reported to one of the ships I worked on, someone mentioned they had a cat on board. I didn't believe this at first, but finally saw her racing down the passageway one day. I also found out the Captain had ordered her to be found and thrown overboard, but the crew had been "unable" to find her. When I asked the Captain this point blank, he said she was feral, mean and spiteful. I love all animals, so I loaded up at first port with every treat and toy in stock at Walmart I think, and proceeded to try and win this frightened kitty over. I knocked out the panel in my stateroom door and set up for her. As she had a way out, it wasn't too hard to coax her in, and before I knew it, she was waiting at my door every night when I got off work and was in my bed until I fell asleep, so happy for attention. My wife said no matter what you do, don't leave her there, and I didn't. I managed to get her off the ship when I signed off, and flew her home to be with us. One month after getting her home, I took a picture of her curled up between my dogs legs and sent it to the Captain who told me how "feral" she was. Bridgette has now been with us over 10 years. Healthy, sweet and loving and I never regretted any part of bringing her home from that ship.

John Ratcliffe
Tuftonboro, NH

I'm reading this, thinking where did I see this? Oh yeah!! On the Pet Rescue Site this morning!! I loved it too!!

[phesina]

I'm a sucker for men who love animals. Especially cats. This story touched my heart.

I am a Merchant Marine Officer and when I reported to one of the ships I worked on, someone mentioned they had a cat on board. I didn't believe this at first, but finally saw her racing down the passageway one day. I also found out the Captain had ordered her to be found and thrown overboard, but the crew had been "unable" to find her. When I asked the Captain this point blank, he said she was feral, mean and spiteful. I love all animals, so I loaded up at first port with every treat and toy in stock at Walmart I think, and proceeded to try and win this frightened kitty over. I knocked out the panel in my stateroom door and set up for her. As she had a way out, it wasn't too hard to coax her in, and before I knew it, she was waiting at my door every night when I got off work and was in my bed until I fell asleep, so happy for attention. My wife said no matter what you do, don't leave her there, and I didn't. I managed to get her off the ship when I signed off, and flew her home to be with us. One month after getting her home, I took a picture of her curled up between my dogs legs and sent it to the Captain who told me how "feral" she was. Bridgette has now been with us over 10 years. Healthy, sweet and loving and I never regretted any part of bringing her home from that ship.

John Ratcliffe
Tuftonboro, NH

God bless you, John Ratcliffe.

[kuhio98]

Nurses in Children's Cancer Unit Encourage Their Patients to Be 'Brave'



Fun is a priority at this Minnesota children's hospital.

Two nurses in the cancer unit at the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital recognized that good health care is more than just measuring stats and giving meds, but also keeping up the kids' spirits. So they decided to make a music video to the song "Brave" by Sara Bareilles, and feature their patients in the starring roles.

The video, which has since gone viral, also features 70 staff members singing and dancing, LEX18 reports.

"There aren't always bad times, like you know, you need to be able to laugh about it," Sarah Ewald, a patient battling cancer for the second time, said. "You need to have fun."