CHAT Heartwarming Memes and Stories

Texican said:

Should homeless people be allowed to have a dog?

You'd rather take a little detour to avoid encountering the homeless, right?

Can you even imagine what it is like to be homeless if you've never lived like this? You just have no idea what a deep hole you will fall into if you lose everything you have built up. There are far too few places for the dogs - there are a lot of people who do not want to part with their animals. Homeless people can't even imagine giving up their dog. Many people never discuss this. The dogs are family members - you don't just give up a child! If you took a homeless man's dog, he would perish. The dog is everything for him - and that's how many people do. They don't go to any facility if they have to hand over the dog. When the going gets tough, they'd rather stay on the road than give up the dog!

Instead of asking the world questions that destroy families, wish there were more homes that allowed animals!

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If you look really close, there's a kitten in that pile of dogs.

Yawey, reach into Dennis' heart and heal the wounds. Show him that he is loved. May everything good from You be his. In the name of Yehsua, Amen.

“My dad has bees.Today I went to his house and he showed me all of the honey he had gotten from the hives. He took the lid off of a 5 gallon bucket full of honey and on top of the honey there were 3 little bees, struggling. They were covered in sticky honey and drowning. I asked him if we could help them and he said he was sure they wouldn't survive. Casualties of honey collection I suppose.

I asked him again if we could at least get them out and kill them quickly, after all he was the one who taught me to put a suffering animal (or bug) out of its misery. He finally conceded and scooped the bees out of the bucket. He put them in an empty Chobani yogurt container and put the plastic container outside.

Because he had disrupted the hive with the earlier honey collection, there were bees flying all over outside.

We put the 3 little bees in the container on a bench and left them to their fate. My dad called me out a little while later to show me what was happening. These three little bees were surrounded by all of their sisters (all of the bees are females) and they were cleaning the sticky nearly dead bees, helping them to get all of the honey off of their bodies. We came back a short time later and there was only one little bee left in the container. She was still being tended to by her sisters.

When it was time for me to leave we checked one last time and all three of the bees had been cleaned off enough to fly away and the container was empty.

Those three little bees lived because they were surrounded by family and friends who would not give up on them, family and friends who refused to let them drown in their own stickiness and resolved to help until the last little bee could be set free.

Bee Sisters. Bee Peers. Bee Teammates.

We could all learn a thing or two from these bees.

Bee kind always.”

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Author unknown

What innocent-seeming picture is actually heartbreaking?


Without context, this photo seems to depict your average ‘90s teenager. But there's a lot more to it.

Many of you recognize her as Rachel Scott. If you don’t, here is her story. Her elementary school had a bullying problem. But Rachel Scott befriended a boy who was severely bullied. They started hanging out a lot and became friends. An international student came to the school and was made fun of because of her native country. She was sitting alone at lunch when Rachel asked to sit with her, and they also became friends.

She founded the chain of kindness movement to combat bullying. This became an elementary school program where every time something kind happen, a new paper chain would be added with the name of the person being bullied and the student who helped out. Kids were also taught to not discriminate against people and how bullying will negatively effect your future. It caught the attention of the district and she became a school activist.

She attended Columbine High School in Colorado. Two students brought guns to school on April 20, 1999, and the infamous shooting ensued. It was the first such high school massacre with so many victims in U.S. history. Rachel was one of the first students shot and killed, just outside one of the school’s exits. A year after her death, her father found the drawing below in her room.



“These hands belong to Rachel Joy Scott and will someday touch millions of peoples hearts.”

This picture gave the Scott family an idea to continue her anti-bully group but with more power. And today millions of schools in America know the story of Rachel and many make chains. The longest one ever made was over 10,000 feet. People also make walls of kind statements using sharpies. And by the end of the year, it gets shown at a Rachel’s Challenge meetup.



Rachel Scott on her Prom night in 1999 (below) just two days before being killed at school.

What does "don't judge a book by its cover" mean? Don't book covers exist just to be judged?

In March of 2019, I was so busy at work that my girlfriend Jessica took to the Book to try and find me some help for a few weeks.

Saturday afternoon, Jess placed an ad that said something along the lines of: “Looking for a painter to help with a project. Must be drug-free.”

We got a phone call that night from a lady who said her live-in boyfriend was interested but didn't have a driver’s license. Jess scheduled an informal interview for the next day and asked the lady to be at the interview also.

The plan was for me and Jess to meet the lady and her boyfriend, Lee, at a local restaurant for lunch at 1:00 pm.

The cool part about interviewing someone with their significant other present is it cuts down on a ton of bs. The anxiety and nervousness which is normal to experience during an interview and can help keep someone on their best behavior, fades quickly in the company of someone they're comfortable with. And if I'm going to have someone on my jobs, I want to know who they really are.

Jess and I got to the restaurant at 12:30 pm. We got a table in the corner and waited.

At 1:00 pm, Jess got a text. “We’re one minute away, sorry!!”

What the heck? Who shows up late to an interview?

Strike one.

At 1:01 pm this guy walks through the door:


I can't even tell you how disappointed I was. It's not like I can have some murderer on my jobs. Let's be real about this. Teardrops=killer. And this guy has three bodies — hell no. Strike two.

A third strike wasn't even needed when I extended my hand to shake his. But here it is — strike three.



Now that I've officially judged this book (Lee) by his cover, let's get through the interview process so I can find a better fit for my company.

I have no problem being straight up, so the first question I asked was: “Why did you murder three people?”

With unwavering eye contact, he said: “I've never killed anyone. Each teardrop is for a friend that died.”

He explained that he was put into foster care at twelve years old.

At fourteen he started inking himself. When his friends died, he’d get a tattoo to memorialize them.

He answered every question that I asked in detail.

This guy knew all the right things to say. He was articulate, funny, charismatic and charming. Just a joy to be around.

So, I handed him a cup. I told him to go pee in it. He passed a drug test and swore he was trying to rebuild his life. I melted for him. I understood.

I hired him on the spot. I couldn't help it. When I hired him, he hadn't worked in six months. No one would give him a shot. He didn't have glasses and couldn't see, nor did he have a driver’s license.

I set deadlines for him to get glasses and a license.

He got his glasses last month. And this week he's taking his driver’s test.

He also is a writer and a rapper (bonus points!).

Don't judge a book by its cover means: Making a decision about all that something is, based on what you see is a mistake.

I needed a painter, but I saw a murderer.

In reality, he is a father, a poet, a rapper, a writer and a painter.

Today, he is also my friend.




Leon

We live in a 4 bedroom home.

And this is us.

Every night and every morning.

This is us.

I used to fight it. I used to tell them that this wasn’t healthy. I’d tell them that they’d get better rest in their own beds. To give it a chance. That their beds are more comfortable than my floor. It never worked. No matter what I said.

Two February’s ago, I spent each night, on the floor, next to Rachel's hospital bed. People tried to tell me to go home. To get some rest. To give it a chance. That my bed would be more comfortable than the floor. It never worked. No matter what they said.

It took me almost two years, but I get it now. No one was going to convince me to leave her side. No matter what anyone said, by her side is where I was going to be. There was no place where I felt more safe, than on the floor, right next to her.

I don’t fight it anymore. It’s been almost 2 years since they lost their mommy. In that time it’s become pretty clear that by my side is where they are going to be. And that to them, no place feels more safe, than on the floor, right next to me.

Credit: Brandon Janous

"A week ago I saw a post on Facebook from a young boy in my town: 'Hi I'm an autistic 19-year-old living on my own and my bike was stolen opposite the Mcdonalds by highstreet. My Grandma got me this bike for Christmas. I have been feeling really down about this as there aren't many things I enjoy in life. My bike is one of those things; thank you to anyone that may be able to help I really do appreciate any information.'

I shared it on Facebook and Twitter but suspected deep down that the chance of him getting his bike back were slim. I had had my own one stolen a few months ago and now the weather was nicer I had been thinking about replacing it. I set myself a budget and had started researching what kind of bike to get.

I went to bed that night so sad that someone would steal his bike that was so precious. I woke up wondering about a GoFundMe but thought it would take too long to do and I didn't want to waste any time. So I decided to use the money I'd set aside for my shiny new folding Carrera Hybrid and get him a new bike instead. Because life is short and kindness can be paid forward. I'm only HERE because of countless random acts of kindness, and I try to do what I can to repay them into the world. I can save up and get myself another bike, another day. AND I got an excellent cuddle and they're priceless.

I didn't just do this for Harvey. I did it for the people who donated to the food bank for me. I did it for the friend who bought SB some shoes when his rubbed sores onto his feet but I had no money for a new one. I did it because a stranger replaced my buggy when it was stolen off my doorstep. I did it for the friend who paid my rent instead of having work done on her house when I was under threat of eviction. I did it for the church who left 2 bags for life of food on my doorstep when I wrote Hunger Hurts. For the firefighter who left me a mini Christmas tree with decorations on my back porch a week before Christmas having clocked during a routine safety check that we had nothing at all. I did it for the friend that drove me to a party to have a good time when I was freezing and starving and hadn't seen anyone for days because I was hiding away. Kindness saved my life. Again and again. I have some to spare.

Do good things. Smile at people. Hug your kids. Phone your family. Check on your neighbours. Give your gloves to that freezing cold homeless person. Hold doors open. Ask the crying person if they are okay instead of looking awkward. Rebuild your communities by looking out for each other. Think of others. Connect. Respond. Love. In the end only kindness matters."

A Father’s Complete Change of Heart



“My dad 17 years ago: I don't want cats in this house!! My dad when I moved: Take what you want but Camila is mine!”

“Her name is actually Paprika but my dad says that she doesn't like that name and that her name is Camila. She also scolded me for putting clothes on her because "the other cats are going to make fun of her"

What are the life hard lesson you should learn early and adopt?

There are three reasons I haven’t sold my 2002 Buick LeSabre.

The first one is because it was Dad’s car. I can remember sitting beside him in that car when the two of us delivered Meals on Wheels every Tuesday. If the three of us were in the car, I sat in the back.

If we drove to Karen’s house for a picnic, they’d play old hymns and sing in harmony together. It was wonderful sitting in the backseat listening to them sing. It brings tears to my eyes as I reminisce about it.



Mother and Dad were about this age at the time of the story.

In a weak moment about three years ago, I looked at other cars. But there were no built-in memories. Besides that, they were squishy inside. Dad’s car has a lot of room. I don’t feel like I’m being compressed when I’m sitting in his car. That’s the second reason. No memories. Too squishy.

The third reason will take a minute to explain.

Dad and Mother were married in the 1940s. They were products of the Great Depression and World War II, so they knew a thing or two about economizing.

Let me give you an example. One of their wedding gifts was a toaster. It was one of those two-slice-pressure toasters. It sensed when bread was placed in the toaster and automatically lowered. It automatically lifted the toast once it sensed that the bread had been persecuted enough.

Of course, over a fifty-year-period, Dad replaced the cord and plug two or three times. He tore it apart a few times and it still worked…more or less. So I decided to get them a new toaster. Fifty years was long enough. As always, they were delighted when they opened their gift. Smiled and thanked us.

The following week Mother called to say they exchanged the toaster for a sweater Mother wanted. Their toaster still worked so they felt perhaps they didn’t need a new one. They hoped I understood.

I understood. They’d been through the Great Depression. I got it. You may think they were a bit hard up for funds. Trust me, they weren’t. They traveled all over the place: Europe, Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, cruised through the Panama Canal. It’s just that they were economical whenever it was possible. Which leads to the third reason.

I learned the value of economy. Which is why I still drive Dad’s old car.

Amen.

What is sacrifice?
https://www.quora.com/What-is-sacrifice

This mother dog's name is Amanda.

There was a fire where she lived. When the firefighters arrived on site, they couldn't believe their eyes. The mother came into the middle of the fire and took her cubs out one by one. She carried them to the trunk of the fire truck, which was the safest place. The firefighters who were watching all this immediately called a veterinarian. One of the pups died due to severe injures caused by the fire. But mother Amanda had managed to save all of her other pups.

Because she is a mother

What made you remember the memories?

Kim Koonce
widow to an OTR truck driverUpdated Thu
What was the most bone-chilling sentence a loved one ever said to you?

“I just want to go home”





It’s been 15 years. I’m just barely able to look at the accident photos.

“I just want to go home”

Those were the last words my late husband said 7 minutes before he passed away in a horrible trucking accident.

It was March 6th 2007. The day that would forever change my life.

I thought it was strange to receive a call from my husband so late in the night. I was already in bed when the phone rang. I picked up the phone to hear my husband's voice on the other end. “Is everything okay?” I asked. “Everything is fine”, he replied. He began to tell me how sorry he is if he woke me but a feeling of urgency came over him with the need to call me. For the next few minutes he began to share his gratitude in letting me know how much I meant to him.

Even though Jeff was the mushy, loving kind of guy, him calling me at 1:30 in the morning was something out of the norm. His voice sounded strange. I told him to please pull over because he sounded tired. He reassured me that he was just a few miles away from the truck stop where he could pull over to get some sleep. I made him promise me that he would. He gave me his word. We hung up saying I love you and he stated, “I just want to go home.” And we hung up.

Seven minutes later, my husband, Jeff died. He got in a terrible accident in his big rig and didn’t survive.

I still think about him every day. My life stopped the day he left. It’s been 15 years and sometimes it still feels like it was yesterday.

RIP JEFFREY

YOU WILL FOREVER BE IN MY HEART


P. S. For those who have asked, the dog was NOT with him that day. And yes, my husband DID fall asleep behind the wheel and ultimately lost his life that dreadful day. For all the truckers out there, I commend you for the job that you do! Thank you for all that you do. Stay safe out there on the road and Keep On Trucking!

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Sad.

Credit goes to Darrien Arnold

“My grandmother is fighting lung and breast cancer for the past 2 years. She lives by herself in a predominately black neighborhood.

She refuses to move in with me because she loves her independence and her home.

Her neighbors (including the 7 year old boy in the picture) helps me get her to appointments and checks on her all times throughout the day. Caleb has been coming to see her persistently for a couple years now but especially since she’s been sick.

They are best friends. Caleb is a stand out kid who has been handed a difficult situation and he has helped my grandmother through hers.

She lights up when she talks about it!

Our families have become so close!”

Update: My beautiful nana passed away August 9th, peacefully in her home.



What a caring child.

Have you ever seen an animal do something heroic?

Yes, these were my dogs. This happened about 35 years ago on 6th Ave, by the Barnes and Noble, in the West Village in Manhattan. I only had Bo with me, he’s the one with the cropped ears, the sire of the other one Pokey. Pokey was nasty, but Bo his sire, was a sweetheart.

These 3 drunk guys started ****ing around and saying shit. I’m ignoring them, I wasn’t a cop then either, it’s escalating, now one of them picked up a piece of aluminum pipe, not lead, just aluminum. I didn’t know if they were going to hit me or Bo.

I gave a warning, Bo was snapping on his lead, one kept swinging the pipe, it was only about 3–4 feet long.

What choice did I have? I let Bo go. Oh my god, they ran on the roof of cars thinking they could get away, Bo jumped right from the ground, onto the roof of the car. It was like a bad police chase. Two twin brothers and a crazy, gigantic, white pit bull running over cars at about 10pm on a Friday night. Mayhem.

Then one of the twins stabbed him between the shoulder blades, it was bad, blood spewing everywhere, then he stabbed him twice in the neck. Bo now was enraged and I think one twin took 17 bites, the other at least 12. The police actually rushed me uptown in the RMP to the Animal Medical Center, they’re an excellent animal hospital. Bo lived, had to stay a few days, had some surgery, lots of drain tubes and his back looked like Frankenstein. But he totally healed up.

Now back at the 6th precinct I pressed charges. They twin brothers were both in the hospital and under arrest, third guy was a ghost and never charged. They best feeling was seeing these two Mutts coming back from the hospital on crutches, pants were cut off and the bandages were impressive. The state dropped the charges, fine Bo won anyway, he was under a 10 day dog bite quarantine in house. We were lucky to have a yard in Manhattan so he was happy.

RIP: Hero EDIT: I actually bought Bo right off the street in Passaic, NJ. He was a wreck with hook worms and fight scars on his front legs. I paid $60 and took him away to NYC.

Great

summerthyme said:

When our youngest son was 18 months old, I'd watch him in his sandbox through the kitchen windows over the sink, occasionally move to the stove for a few seconds... check on the kid. Suddenly, he wasn't there. Man, they can move fast at that age!

I dashed outside, not worried yet. But he wasn't in the barn or machine shop, and hubby was in the fields. Before I could check to see if he'd heard the tractor and headed up for a ride, I saw "his" kitten (she had attached herself to him when they both were just toddling) down at the end of the driveway. Uh, oh... that was odd...

I jogged down to the road, and WAY up by our pond (1/8 mile at least) I saw Sunny, our Akita dog. I called her... she raised her ears and head, acknowledging me... but didn't move. That was odd. I looked closer... and saw the towhead of our son, barely visible above the big dog's back (she weighed 130# at her peak). He was pounding on her with his tiny fists, furious that she wouldn't let him get to the pond. She had apparently paced him as long as he was just walking along the road (which had more buggies than cars... very lightly traveled), but when he headed towards the water, she turned into a wall.

He spent the rest of the day indoors. Sunny dined on steak that night.

Summerthyme

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Great story!

Thanks, Texican. I'm really enjoying this thread.

nehimama said:

Thanks, Texican. I'm really enjoying this thread.

Click to expand...

Thank you nehimama.

With all going on in the world that is not good, we all need an occasional break to realize that there is still good on God's earth.

Texican....

When our youngest son was 18 months old, I'd watch him in his sandbox through the kitchen windows over the sink, occasionally move to the stove for a few seconds... check on the kid. Suddenly, he wasn't there. Man, they can move fast at that age!

I dashed outside, not worried yet. But he wasn't in the barn or machine shop, and hubby was in the fields. Before I could check to see if he'd heard the tractor and headed up for a ride, I saw "his" kitten (she had attached herself to him when they both were just toddling) down at the end of the driveway. Uh, oh... that was odd...

I jogged down to the road, and WAY up by our pond (1/8 mile at least) I saw Sunny, our Akita dog. I called her... she raised her ears and head, acknowledging me... but didn't move. That was odd. I looked closer... and saw the towhead of our son, barely visible above the big dog's back (she weighed 130# at her peak). He was pounding on her with his tiny fists, furious that she wouldn't let him get to the pond. She had apparently paced him as long as he was just walking along the road (which had more buggies than cars... very lightly traveled), but when he headed towards the water, she turned into a wall.

He spent the rest of the day indoors. Sunny dined on steak that night.

Summerthyme
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Somehow, I missed this one.

Summerthyme, what a great dog Sunny was.

Our little ones can get away quicker than we realize.

The DW, the oldest DS who was 2 or 3 and I went to the mall at Christmas time to look at the lights and the mall was crowded. The son decided to breakaway and run thru the crowd. His mom and I were after him and slowly gaining on him when he broke thru the crowd and ran into a restaurant which had two entries. Mom guarded the main entry and I went around to the side entry and went in and this young waitress had the son by the arm and he was not happy about that. He would be less happy in a few minutes. It is troubling when our little ones would disappear.

Young mom's definitely have their hands full is raising children.

We had a 6 foot fence around our back yard with the gates locked to keep our little ones in.

Texican....

Meredith Easton Mendes
Business Owner at Intuitive Guidance (2003–present)2y

What's that one thing your pet did that you'll never forget?

Dalton, my rescue dog was a gentle soul, a mixed breed that I took to work with me. I do intuitive coaching and he knew which people needed love and nurturing, and which didn’t. If someone came in distraught he sat by them or put his head in their lap. Many cried, saying How did he know I needed that?

When we went for walks, he was drawn to anybody who seemed down and out.

Once he refused to walk. He stood in one spot on the bike trail, looking off towards the street, his tail wagging, clearly waiting for someone. Finally, across the way, I saw a young man walking with a caregiver. When they got closer, Dalton bounded over to the young man who was severely disabled, unable to talk. He had known the young man was coming and had to say hello. I’ve NEVER seen him so excited. He sensed the young man’s presence when they drove into the parking lot and had to see him. They bonded instantly.

Another time, a man dressed in Native American garb walked over us to us in the park and said. My dog knew your dog was here. We were 2 miles away and he led me to your dog. Dalton was not fond of many dogs but he kissed this other dog as he would an old friend and they peacefully lay together to “chill” in the grass.


But what I most remember is Dalton running across a park towards a black cat.

NO! the woman shrieked, understandably upset that Dalton was not on a leash. My cat is old and blind, SHe is terrified of dogs

Not Dalts

He gently kissed the cat and the cat knew she was safe

The two of them sat side by side in the grass and I knew I had a special dog

A wise elder perhaps.

It wasn’t “random” that we found each other.

He’s gone now, but I miss him lots.

Many of my clients do, too.
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Our furr buddies can sense beyond what we can and react to what they sense and can bring peace to us.

"As I was coming home from Baton Rouge one of my tires blew out. I was freaking out trying to desperately find someone at the gas station to help.

I so happened to look over and see a Sherriff pumping his gas, so I walk over and kindly ask him if he could help since I was alone and 4 hours from home. He looked at me and kind of brushed me off as if he had better things to do.

This gentleman in the picture named Klennis overheard and saw that the cop wasn't interested in helping me and said "come on I will help you". Klennis knew the tire wasn't any good anymore. I thought I had a spare in the trunk but sadly I did not. Long story but Klennis was able to retrieve a new tire at wall mart and managed to get the tire off the rim to replace it with the new tire. Klennis's son and another young man were able to help the process along. God was truly watching over me on my delay home.

Angels come in all shapes and sizes. Klennis worked 2 continuous hours trying to get me back on the road. He told me he had a daughter who was 21 and he would want the same for her if she was in my situation. I was truly blessed to be able to get back on the road and make it home safe and sound. Klennis Anders if you guys happen to run into Klennis please tell him what a wonderful man he is! My family truly appreciates the selflessness this man offered upon me."

By Lisa James Thompson

s: Facebook
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What a great man with a great son and son's friend.
What we do to and for others is returned to us.

A professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology is earning praise for the unique way he is helping with work-life balance for a student mom.

Troy Littleton, who runs a research lab at the college, put a travel crib in his lab's office to help one of his graduate students, Karen Cunningham, who is the mom of 9-month-old Katie.

When Cunningham brought Katie to the lab for the first time recently, Littleton shared a photo of the little girl and the crib in his office on Twitter. The tweets quickly went viral and sparked a conversation on the struggles working mothers face and how to support them.

"My favorite new equipment purchase for the lab – a travel crib to go in my office so my graduate student can bring her 9-month old little girl to work when necessary, and I get to play with her while her mom gets some work done. Win-win!!”

Known as one of medicine’s most incredible moments, in 1922 at the University of Toronto, scientists went to a hospital ward with children who were comatose and dying from diabetic keto-acidosis. Imagine a room full of parents sitting at the bedside waiting for the inevitable death of their child. The scientists went from bed to bed and injected the children with the new purified extract - insulin. As they began to inject the last comatose child, the first child injected began to awaken. One by one, all of the children awoke from their diabetic comas. A room of death and gloom, became a place of joy and hope. Thank You Dr. Banting and Dr. Best!
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And millions have been saved due to Dr. Banting and Dr. Best.

For 13 thousand dollars, Englishman Brandon Grimshaw bought a tiny uninhabited island in the Seychelles and moved there forever. When the Englishman Brandon Grimshaw was under forty, he quit his job as a newspaper editor and started a new life.

By this time, no human had set foot on the island for 50 years. As befits a real Robinson, Brandon found himself a companion from among the natives. His Friday name was René Lafortin. Together with Rene, Brandon began to equip his new home. While René came to the island only occasionally, Brandon lived on it for decades, never leaving. By oneself.

For 39 years, Grimshaw and Lafortin planted 16 thousand trees with their own hands and built almost 5 kilometers of paths. In 2007, Rene Lafortin died, and Brandon was left all alone on the island.

He was 81 years old. He attracted 2,000 new bird species to the island and introduced more than a hundred giant tortoises, which in the rest of the world (including the Seychelles) were already on the verge of extinction. Thanks to Grimshaw's efforts, the once deserted island now hosts two-thirds of the Seychelles' fauna. An abandoned piece of land has turned into a real paradise.

A few years ago, the prince of Saudi Arabia offered Brandon Grimshaw $50 million for the island, but Robinson refused. “I don’t want the island to become a favorite vacation spot for the rich. Better let it be a national park that everyone can enjoy.”

And he achieved that in 2008 the island was indeed declared a national park.

https://preservingouranimalsinthewild.quora.com/
High Schooler Becomes ‘Mom’ To Tiniest Donkey Who Needed A Friend


It’s fair to say that Payton Dankworth never expected she’d one day become an adoptive parent to a lonely baby donkey — but it’s a role she’s embracing with all her heart.

And her kindness has already changed a life.Two weeks ago, Dankworth, a junior in high school from Texas, got a call from a friend who lives on a horse ranch. While out for a ride, he’d happened upon a starving baby donkey who’d evidently been abandoned by his mother.

Unable to care for the youngster himself, Dankworth’s friend reached out to her for help.

“He asked if I would like to try keep him alive,” Dankworth told The Dodo. “He told me that he wasn’t in very good health and he probably wouldn’t make it through the night. I am such an animal lover, and there was no way I was gonna let that baby die.”

That’s how Dankworth first met Jack. The first night in his new home was indeed touch and go for the emaciated animal. Dankworth stayed up all night to cuddle with Jack and slowly introduced him to food, which he’d so long been without. “This was the first time I have ever taken care of a donkey,” Dankworth said.

But with each day that Jack grew stronger, she proved herself to be a perfect mom“ Jack has shown me that he depends on me, and he really does,” Dankworth said. “He gets a bottle about every two hours, and when I feed him it just makes me happy.”

Thanks to those regular feedings, and plenty of love and affection, Jack began to blossom. Now, just weeks after being rescued from the verge of death, Jack’s zest for life is uncontainable.

As unlikely as it may have seemed at first, Jack is now a bona fide member of Dankworth’s family.

What's something that your dog did to your family that you won't ever forget?
I adopted Tikka four years ago. I was about to walk into Home Depot when I saw the van from the Sam Simon Foundation.

I asked if there were any dogs that really needed a home; who had been there too long. The woman in charge hugged me. She announced “Chica found a home!!!”

The volunteers gushed about this dog. They raved. “She’s the sweetest!” “Oh Chica, she loves people!”. “She’s so good!” I thought they were just giving me the full shpiel. They weren’t.

I changed her name to Tikka. She began following me everywhere. Leashes confuse her; She’s never walked with one. If you let her, she will give you a very thorough tongue bath. She invites you scratch her belly or sits beside you puts her head on your chest.

When I married my husband, Tikka fell in love. She adores my husband but she loved his dog. He had a pit bull named George that had been part of the dog fight world. Instead of being aggressive, he feared most everyone and especially hated loud noises.

Tikka, who had always known kindness and George, who only knew fear became a cozy couple. They slept touching often in the same bed.

George died August first this year. Tikka is far more attached to her humans than ever before. She misses her friend and frankly, so do I.

Tikka can often be found in George’s large bed. We haven’t washed it. I think she still smells George.

I know another dog will come into our lives soon enough. Tikka can help us choose. I figure it’s only fair. This is her house too.

“At the bar entrance, a sign says this…”


“We ask all our customers with all our heart not to be bothered by the number of dogs (street) in the Amazon bar. We are a suitable place for pets and love. We give water and food to these sweet angels.

Sorry if it's hard, but they're not doing anything - they're just coming to find food or shelter from the rain.

Thank you so much for the blessings”

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What was the most legendary thing your grandmother did?

My grandmother was sweet and quiet, but secretly a bada**! She lived in the country and walked about 1/4 mile round trip to the mailbox every day, to get exercise. After my grandfather passed, she still did this walk every day even into her 90’s. One day she walked to the mailbox, fell, broke her hip, and couldn’t stand up. She was completely alone so she crawled on her elbows and forearms back home. That was about 1/8 mile, in the heat of the summer, with ants biting her arms She made it back to the house and called help to get to the hospital, the story has a happy ending). I was away at college. When I asked her about it and exclaimed in shock at what she went through, she literally shrugged and said “I’m just a country person, you do what you gotta do.” *This has gotten lots of attention (thanks!), so I have added a pic I took back in the 70’s of Grandma walking back to the house from the now famous mailbox. She always covered all her skin so she didn’t get wrinkles. The white small building to the right is a hay barn.