Archive for the ‘Touching’ Category
Most beautiful show at sea
A beautiful scene with the clouds, the sky, the sun and the ocean as the leading role players. In the background you see the islands of Desertas.
Location: Caniço, Madeira (Portugal)
Photographer: Hartjesfan (Lilian)
More of these pictures at www.madeiraarchipelago.com
Ugly Dog Needs A Home
With the head of a meerkat and the body of a spotted piglet, ET the dog would come last in any beauty contest.
And sadly for him, he fares equally badly in the popularity stakes.
For the last three months he has been ignored by visitors to the kennels which took over his care after his elderly owner was unable to cope with him.
Yet staff say he has a delightful personality and would make someone a perfect pet.
Beluga whale ’saves’ diver
A drowning diver has told how she was saved by a whale that pushed her back to the surface when she suffered crippling cramps.
Boy Sells His Toys to Help Family
I know the story is about a week old, but I wanted to post it nonetheless.
An 11-year-old Ohio boy is helping ease his family’s financial burdens, one toy at a time.
But it turns out the kid has had a big heart for a while . . .
It’s not the first time Zach has helped those in need. In 2005, he sold Kool-Aid for victims of Hurricane Katrina and raised $400. A few years later, it was “Cocoa for California,” which he sold to help wildfire victims.
Father Digs Son’s Grave to Save Money
BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) – After cancer took the life of a 15-year-old boy, his family dug the teen’s grave themselves to save on funeral costs and also received assistance from complete strangers to give him a proper burial.
Disneyland Surprise Musical Marriage Proposal
This was about ten times better than my marriage proposal . . .
At least the fee was waived
Son’s Death Has Iranian Family Asking Why
On Saturday, amid the most violent clashes between security forces and protesters, Mr. Alipour was shot in the head as he stood at an intersection in downtown Tehran. He was returning from acting class and a week shy of becoming a groom, his family said.
The details of his death remain unclear. He had been alone. Neighbors and relatives think that he got trapped in the crossfire. He wasn’t politically active and hadn’t taken part in the turmoil that has rocked Iran for over a week, they said.
At the crack of dawn, his father began searching at police stations, then hospitals and then the morgue.
Upon learning of his son’s death, the elder Mr. Alipour was told the family had to pay an equivalent of $3,000 as a “bullet fee”—a fee for the bullet used by security forces—before taking the body back, relatives said.
Mr. Alipour told officials that his entire possessions wouldn’t amount to $3,000, arguing they should waive the fee because he is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war. According to relatives, morgue officials finally agreed, but demanded that the family do no funeral or burial in Tehran. Kaveh Alipour’s body was quietly transported to the city of Rasht, where there is family.
A bit of a tear jerking moment
Pixar grants girl’s dying wish to see ‘Up’
HUNTINGTON BEACH – Colby Curtin, a 10-year-old with a rare form of cancer, was staying alive for one thing – a movie.
From the minute Colby saw the previews to the Disney-Pixar movie Up, she was desperate to see it. Colby had been diagnosed with vascular cancer about three years ago, said her mother, Lisa Curtin, and at the beginning of this month it became apparent that she would die soon and was too ill to be moved to a theater to see the film.
After a family friend made frantic calls to Pixar to help grant Colby her dying wish, Pixar came to the rescue.
The company flew an employee with a DVD of Up, which is only in theaters, to the Curtins’ Huntington Beach home on June 10 for a private viewing of the movie.
The animated movie begins with scenes showing the evolution of a relationship between a husband and wife. After losing his wife in old age, the now grumpy man deals with his loss by attaching thousands of balloons to his house, flying into the sky, and going on an adventure with a little boy.
Colby died about seven hours after seeing the film.
Mom and Dad Should Be Proud
Two parts of this story of a sister (valedictorian) and brother (salutatorian) who graduate today stood out:
- But when Karen, 19, first moved from Colombia to Irving 10 years ago, she spoke no English and had to repeat the third grade at J.O. Davis Elementary, where she started out in bilingual classes.
- Both maintained high grades while working jobs to help their single father avoid foreclosure of their house. They haven’t seen their mother since leaving Colombia as children.
Bird uses body as dam to stop drainpipe soaking chicks
A bird used her body as a dam to stop overflowing drainpipe water from soaking her chicks.
The Mistle Thrush had built her nest on top of a downpipe, blocking the water’s passage and causing the gutter to flood.
But desperate to protect her young, she puffed herself up to twice her size and sat in the drainpipe to stop the tide of rain water swamping the nest.
She was so occupied with her task that her mate was left to feed her and their young.
The images were captured by amateur wildlife photographer Dennis Bright at a house in Fareham, Hampshire.
Banker Helps Baby Ducks
This is a few days old as I saw it on the news, but I just took the time to find the story online. It’s cute and touching all in one. Watch and say, “Ahhhhhh.” If you haven’t seen this, watch it, it will be the best two minutes of your day – online at least.
Read the article here.
Dog that chewed off its own feet to escape trap walks again thanks to prosthetics
If there was ever a dog that deserved a second chance, Andre is that dog.
He’s been living with just two legs for a long time.
“He’s just a fun loving guy, very warm personality,” Martin Kaufmann with OrthoPets said.
Andre came a long way to meet Kaufmann in Denver, Colorado.
The 3-year-old Shepherd-Rottweiler-Lab mix is from Alaska and lost his front and back left legs when he was caught in an illegal wild animal trap.
He chewed off his own paws to get free and for weeks, he lived under a truck camper shell.
He only weighed 38 pounds when Alaskan Dog and Puppy Rescue found him.
Andre’s rescuers contacted OrthoPets to make him prosthetic legs.
“With just two legs, he can’t stand up,” Kaufmann said.
Just two days after that first fitting, on Wednesday Andre got his first second chance to stand.
1976 View From the Crown of the Statue of Liberty
I was browsing around Flickr and came across Gregory Melle’s Flickr set.
Take into consideration that the crown has been closed since 9/11 and the towers are no longer standing, I found the photo quite moving.
Hachiko – Japan’s Most Faithful Dog
A friend of mine just got an Akita puppy from one of his friends giving them away. But after only one day, he’s thinking of finding the puppy another owner because he doesn’t know if he has the time or commitment.
His situation reminded me of this story of Japan’s most faithful dog and his statue, and yes, I forwarded him the story.
Loyalty, faithfulness and unconditional love are qualities that have earned dogs the title of “man’s best friend”. One particular Akita dog took these qualities to such an extreme, he has earned a place in the hearts of all Japanese people, and has kept that place for over sixty years!
Nestled amid hoards of harried commuters, a variety of shops and department stores, and a giant television screen that covers half a skyscraper, a life sized bronze statue of a dog can be found at Tokyo’s busy Shibuya Train Station. Despite the diminutive size of the statue in comparison to the massive neon flash of the city, it isn’t difficult to find. Millions of Tokyoites have been meeting at the landmark since 1934 and continue to do so today.
Chu-ken Hachiko (lit. the faithful dog Hachiko) was born in Akita in 1923 and was first brought to Tokyo in 1924. He and his owner, Mr. Eisaburo Uyeno, were inseparable friends right from the start. Each day “Hachi” would accompany Eisaburo, a professor at the Imperial University, to the train station when he left for work. Upon returning, the professor would find the dog patiently waiting, tail wagging. This happy routine continued until one fateful day in 1925, when the professor was taken ill on the job and unfortunately died before he could return home.
Despite the fact that Hachiko was less than two years old at the time, the bond between dog and owner was strong. Hachiko continued to wait each day at Shibuya station for a friend who was never coming back. At times, he wouldn’t return home for days at a stretch.
The Akita became a familiar sight to commuters as he kept his vigil for over ten years. On March 8, 1935, Hachiko finally went to meet his master. He died on the very same spot he last saw his friend alive.
Full Article from FabulousTravel.com
And I learned form Wikipedia that a movie about the dog with Richard Gere will be coming to theaters in August of this year.
