The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

Apple Valley (Minnesota) Brothers Save Police K-9 from Drowning

Maverick is a police dog with the Red Wing Police Department. The 5-year-old German Shepard got away from his handler Wednesday after jumping over his 5-foot-5-inch fence.

“He’s curious and he’s active,” police chief Roger Pohlman said. “He likes to run around, get after things.”

He made his way to a nearby pond, where brothers Shawn and Corey Rose were trout fishing for the day.

“He came right up to us,” Shawn said. “He looked like he was kind of hungry, so we fed him a little bit of a sandwich.”

Shawn and Corey played with Maverick before the dog continued to wander the pond. When Maverick approached a hole in the ice, the ice broke off and the dog fell into the water.

“I said, ‘We’re going to have to rescue this dog if it can’t get out,’” Shawn said.

The brothers, along with a friend, ran to help Maverick.

“My buddy Mike grabbed a chisel and started to chisel the ice to see if we could get a channel to shore so he could get up,” Shawn said.

When that didn’t work, Corey reached into the icy water to grab the 90-pound-dog.

“I figured at least if I fall in, I can get him out, and I knew my brothers would get me out,” Corey said.

As Corey pulled the dog out by his collar up onto the ice, Pohlman was driving by in his squad car and saw the whole rescue.

“I thanked them, and I said, ‘K-9 Maverick thanks you, and the police department thanks you,’” Pohlman said. “I said, ‘That is a trained law enforcement K-9.’”

“I was shocked,” Corey said. “I definitely didn’t know it was a K-9 dog, so I was amazed.”

Pohlman said Maverick’s training helped him keep swimming in the cold water, but it was the quick thinking of the brothers that likely helped save his life.

“I’ll remember this day forever,” Corey said.

Maverick is back on duty with the police department.

[Karen]

Even well-trained K9 dogs can get in trouble when off duty! Thank goodness those guys were there to rescue him!

[phesina]

What a nice story! So glad that Maverick was rescued, and in such a wonderful way!

[kuhio98]

Heaven-Sent Help to Pay Their Baby’s Bills

We couldn’t afford our newborn’s nursery bill...
by Grace Booth

How could my husband, Doug, be so calm? Sitting on the edge of my bed in the maternity ward, casually flipping through the newspaper like everything would be fine. Everything during my first pregnancy in 1967 had gone fine up to that point. Doug got me to the hospital in plenty of time; six hours later, baby Liz arrived, perfectly healthy, weighing in at exactly eight pounds. I couldn’t wait to be on our way and start our new life as a family of three. Then came the hitch.

“We just need to settle your bill before you can be discharged,” one of the nurses told us.

“The bill?” Doug and I shared a look. Hadn’t we already handled that? We had accounted for every cost—the hospital fee, the doctor’s delivery fee, and all the maternity fees. We’d budgeted down to our last dime.

“Yes, for use of the nursery. It comes to $50,” the nurse said. “Just head to the front desk and they’ll handle your paperwork.”

Fifty dollars! In the 1960s, that kind of money was hard to come by for us. It would be almost $400 today. “We’ll find a way,” Doug said. He turned back to his newspaper, seemingly unconcerned.

We prepared for this day for months, I thought, frustrated. Lord, don’t you want our family to have a good start?

“Grace, look at this!” Doug pointed out a want ad in the paper. I leaned over to read it. Lost: 1964 Cadillac, Louisiana license plate 835-N62.

“So?”

“I saw this car outside the hospital,” Doug said. “I remember it because it was parked oddly, and one of the tires was flat.”

I was sure he was mistaken. Why would the stolen car be here? But Doug wouldn’t be discouraged. “I’ll be right back,” he said. I wasn’t going anywhere.

Doug darted out to the parking lot and returned minutes later. The car was still there, he said—with the license plate 835-N62. Within the hour, the owners arrived and Doug went out to meet them. He came back smiling.

“The owner was so grateful, he gave me a reward,” Doug said, handing me a check.

A check for exactly fifty dollars.

[kuhio98]

Local (Orlando, Florida) girl runs lemonade stand to help baby get heart transplant
8-year-old raises money for baby's new heart

A local girl's lemonade stand may help a baby boy get a heart transplant.

Caitlyn Lezott, 8, decided to post on social media that she would be selling lemonade to help 3-month-old Beckett get a new heart after her mother told her Beckett's story.

"She read me the story about Baby Beckett and I said I wanted to help," Caitlyn said.

Beckett was born with a bad heart.

"So he's less than 3 months old and is on a donor list for a heart transplant," said Cynterra Lezott, Caitlyn's mother.

"I hope he gets out of surgery soon and has a happy life," said Caitlyn.

Beckett is in a hospital in Gainesville. His mother writes on her blog he is looking good after getting his mechanical heart while awaiting a permanent heart.


Beckett's mother said that she can't wait to meet Caitlyn, Beckett's biggest cheerleader.

[kuhio98]

Country's BBQ waitress returns $1,300 found on table

COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) -

A social media post helped find a couple who left behind a big chunk of change while visiting a local restaurant, and its how the money was returned that has lots of people talking.

Kantessa Smith, also known as Tessa, has worked at Country's Barbeque location on Mercury Drive for nearly four years. But her Tuesday was not like any other - she found $1,300 left on the table.

"I had clean off the tables and I saw a bunch of trash on the tables, so I tried to grab it but when I did, it wouldn't bend so I opened it and I found a lot of money in an envelope so I just went and found my manager," Smith said.

The single mother of two kids returned 13 $100 bills to her manager.

They then turned to social media to find the rightful owners.

"We got cameras everywhere so he found the time that they came and the time that they left and we went in the office and found them on the camera and zoomed in on the camera and we took pictures and posted on Facebook to see if anyone would notice them," Smith said.

The restaurant posted pictures of the couple on their Facebook page, and it spread quickly on social media Tuesday night and Wednesday, with hundreds of shares and comments until the couple was finally located. They returned to the store the next morning to retrieve the money.

Why did she return it? Smith says she was raised to return things that didn't belong to her.

The restaurant is calling Tessa a hero for the good deed. And people love her story so much, someone started a GoFundMe campaign for her. You can donate by clicking here. http://www.gofundme.com/Kantessa

Link to video: http://www.wtvm.com/clip/11330272/co...d-returns-1300

[kuhio98]

From People: Heroes Among Us

After a Tragic Loss, Corey Bergman Gives Sick Kids the Gift of Music

Corey Bergman's son, Jared, was 20 years old, a college student who dabbled in drums and keyboard and was a fan of the Dave Matthews Band, when he died from a viral infection on March 26, 2010.

"When a tragedy like this happens, there's one of two ways a person can go," Bergman tells PEOPLE. "They can fall down and collapse or get up and move forward to try to make a difference."

Bergman and his wife Edda decided to make a fresh start after the tragedy, moving from New York to Miami in 2012. Shortly after, Bergman, now 60, started volunteering at Miami Children's Hospital and Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital. Bergman, who had been playing guitar since he was 11 and has been in a band for many years, would play for patients and their families.

He would even let the kids play his guitar, but it was a bit too big for the youngest kids' small hands. So he decided to try teaching kids the ukulele. Placing it in the hands of one little girl at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, "it was magical," Bergman tells PEOPLE.