It is hard to understand the reason why some people abandon the pets they once took care of. What is even more devastating than leaving a poor animal behind is letting them die without even giving them a second chance in life.
Shelters, no matter how crowded they are, would always offer help if someone decides they no longer want their pet, but despite that, many leave the poor animals at dumping grounds or on the streets.
Recently, police officer Angela Laurella from Florida came across a devastating sight. While on the job, she noticed a dog tied to a pole. The moment she approached closer, the sweet Pit Bull reached out his paw towards her as though he knew she was there to save him.
The dog, who was named Liam, was in a terrible condition. The leash he was tied with was way too short and he was unable to move despite the temperatures reaching almost 100 Fahrenheit the day he was found. Liam was emaciated and dehydrated, with every bone and rib protruding.
Source: YouTube
Laurella was awre she needed to act fast, so she contacted 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida. Although the shelter was over capacity, the founder, Amy Roman, couldn’t say no to welcoming Liam in.
Liam weighted 17 pounds only, and it was very obvious he had a hard life, but despite that, he never stopped smiling and loving everyone around. The staff at the shelter were amazed by his positive spirit and they knew he would start gaining weight, which is exactly what happened.
The road to a complete recovery won’t be an easy one for Liam. He’s still getting treatments and visits the vet very often, but Roman says he is thriving.
Once this loving dog gets better, he would be given up for adoption. One thing is certain, after everything he’s gone through, Liam deserves a forever home.
For more on his incredible life story go to the video below.
If you are a fan of talent shows, chances are you’ll recognize this guy. He was part of American Idol and made it to the Hollywood round but left the show after the group performance.
But 28-year-old Marcio isn’t a guy who quits easily, and this year, he came back even more determined than before to show the world his talent.
However, it wasn’t just his singing that stole the hearts of many Americans. His life story touched many as well.
Marcio Donaldson
“Growing up in the inner city, it was hard,” he said. “It was tough, and a lot of people succumb to the circumstances. So I wanted to be a light for those who don’t believe in dreams or don’t see them being possible or obtainable, you know what I’m saying?”
When they were very little, both Marcio and his sister ended up in foster care. They didn’t have it easy, but that never discouraged him to change his life for the better. So, he found comfort in the music and decided to compete in the show.
However, soon after that happened, he learned his sister was expecting a baby.
“You know how they say the cycle repeats. It started off with my mother in the system. Then me in the system. And then my sister had a child.”
His sister struggled with drug addiction and wasn’t allowed to keep her son. Sadly, that meant the little one would end up in foster care just like his mom and uncle once did.
Marcio Donaldson
But as the baby turned a week old, police and social workers paid Marcio a visit.
“The police and the social worker came to my home, they brought him and here was this week-old baby,” he said. “They said, ‘You have 10 minutes to decide if you will keep this child or he goes in the system.’”
Marcio knew that raising a baby would be a hard job, but he didn’t want his nephew to share his fate so he decided to take him in.
“I had no idea what I was doing. But he’s actually a real gift. I know it was the right decision. And he’s changed my life.”
Singing on the show is now something this incredible man does both for him and the little boy in his life.
“I want to show him what a man can really do when you step up to the plate. I want to give him a better life.”
The audition warmed our hearts and we can’t wait to hear what Marcio has to offer in the future.
In a world that seems to be getting darker and more depressing all the time, it can be hard to stay motivated. I mean, what can we really do to help when the planet’s problems are so massive?
Well, personally, I think there’s only one way to go: treat others the way you’d like to be treated yourself.
Small acts of kindness can do more good than than we may ever know. Take this story about a woman who saw a lovely family and decided to do something nice for them. She had no idea how much her little gesture would come to mean to them.
Hopefully, it will inspire others to lend a hand family, friends, and even strangers. Every little little thing helps.
On June 8, Joyce Rhinehart went to Rita’s Italian Ice to treat her grandson Blake to some ice cream. When she and Blake were about to leave, Joyce noticed a family enjoying ice cream together on a bench outside.
“Something urged me to ask them if I could take their picture,” Joyce writes on Facebook.
She snapped a photo with her phone and then handed it to the daughter of the family so she could send herself the photo. The family thanked Joyce and she dropped off Blake at his home and forgot about the sweet moment.
Facebook
But the story doesn’t end there. A few days later, Joyce received a text from an unknown number. When she opened it and read it, Joyce got chills – and then began to cry.
“Dear madam, you took our picture in front of Rita’s on June 8th. My wife has passed away yesterday and this is the last picture we have together as a family. Please accept my deepest gratitude for your kindness, it means the world to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Never underestimate the power of a simple act of kindness. You never know, it could mean the world to the person on the other side.
Please help share this message of kindness, humanity, and community. If one share can make this world a little brighter, then it’s worth it.
Former President Donald Trump could be heard saying during interviews that he wasn’t the kind of father who would change diapers. On top of that, his busy lifestyle and even busier schedule prevented him from spending enough time with his children when they were young. However, that doesn’t mean he’s not a devoted father. On the contrary, Trump nurtures quite close relationship with each of his children. In fact, most of them were by his side every step of the way during the presidential campaign and his presidency.
His youngest child, son Barron Trump, is rarely seen in public. Rumors were that he wasn’t allowed to speak to the media unless his parents allowed him to.
Well, for a child of a former president and someone influential like Donald Trump, Barron resembles a humble young man.
Shutterstock/ Debby Wong
In an interview with Parenting in 2015, Barron’s mother, Melania Trump, revealed that he loved playing with planes when he was young. She also added that he was allowed to draw on the walls and never had a traditional nanny as she was the one who was by his side while growing up, preparing his food and taking care of him herself.
“We let him “His imagination is growing and important. He draws on the walls in his playroom, we can paint it over. One day he was playing bakery and he wrote ‘Barron’s Bakery’ on the wall with crayons. He is very creative, if you say to a child ‘no, no, no,’ where does the creativity go?” she told Parenting, as quoted by Metro.
When Trump became a president, Barron was the first boy to live in the White House since JFK Jr. The three most recent presidents, Barack Obama, George Bush Jr and Bill Clinton, have all been fathers to girls only.
Barron was at the same time the only child of a president who didn’t attend Sidwell Friends. Instead, he studied at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland.
Shutterstock/Evan El-Amin
Now, Barron attends the private school Oxbridge Academy which offers sports such as basketball, swimming, track & field, and golf. There is also a flight simulator at the school. At the same time, it offers various activities for the students, as well as lessons in kindness.
“Oxbridge’s Culture of Kindness includes learning how to listen and pay attention not just to what someone is saying, but how they are saying it,” the school tweeted recently. “Eighth graders Charlie Wiggle, Margaret Toner, and Marco Raffinengo participate in this exercise in dignity and respect,” ending with “#kindness.”
Oxbridge’s Culture of Kindness includes learning how to listen and pay attention not just to what someone is saying, but how they are saying it. Eighth graders Charlie Wiggle, Margaret Toner, and Marco Raffinengo participate in this exercise in dignity and respect. #kindnesspic.twitter.com/iejuUEjMcg
When it comes to sports, everyone knows that Barron is into soccer. Previously, he played for DC United’s under-12s, as well as Arlington Soccer Association’s under-14 teams. “When my son heard [president of FIFA Gianni Infantino] was going to be [in Washington], he said, ‘Dad, I’d like to meet him,’” Donald Trump recalled in 2018. “Barron loves soccer. And soccer has to be one of the fastest-growing sports in the world.”
Barron is 15 years old, but he’s already 6 feet 7 inches tall, which makes him the tallest person in the family.
Being the son of a former president, Barron will get protection. But for the Oxbridge Academy, handling the Secret Service will be a completely new experience.
“They want to have little impact on our day-to-day operations. They’ve done this for other former presidents’ kids. They’re fantastic,” Scott Siegfried told The Palm Beach Post.
Country singer Willie Nelson is said to be incredibly personable and very much comfortable around fans. Over the course of his long and very successful career, he has won 10 Grammys and received 50 nominations. Among the rest, he earned a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.
As Willie started writing songs at age 7 and joined his first band at 10, there was one person who was by his side throughout the years and supported his dream of becoming a star, his sister Bobbie. Both Willie and Bobbie were born during the Great Depression and as he wrote in his memoir, ”might sound corny, but the truth is we were dirt poor in material possessions, but we were rich in love.” Although Bobbie was two years older than him, he always referred to her as to his little sister.
The siblings were raised by their parental grandparents, who were the reason why Bobbie and Willie got hooked on music from early age. “I liked the arrangement because our grandparents were kind and caring. But I was also comforted by the knowledge that my mom and dad lived right next to us. Willie and I saw them every day. My parents rounded out my world. So to see that world fall apart scared me to death,” Bobbie was reported to have written in her brother’s memoir, Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of the Family Band.
Both Bobbie and Willie started performing during their childhood and created beautiful music together.
Gary Miller/Getty Images
At the age of only 16, Bobbie married husband Bud Fletcher, who organized a music group for her and Willie. The Texans was quite a band.
Although their marriage was a good one, the two eventually divorced in 1995 and that was when the band disassembled.
“I never did want to divorce him,” Bobbie said.
“I really loved the man. We didn’t either one want a divorce. But Bud was sick, and I think it was due to drinking. I might be wrong about that, but I was very young and didn’t know exactly what the problem was.”
Gary Miller/FilmMagic
Unfortunately, Bobbie lost the custody of her three sons, Randy, Michael, and Freddy. The judge believed that her career choice, which included a lot of traveling and performing, made her an unfit mother.
During her tough times, Willie was there for her every step of the way. He even moved to Forth Worth to support her when she hit rock bottom. It wasn’t until later when she married again that she was able to have her sons with her again. After Bonnie’s third and final marriage failed, she went to Nashville to be with Willie.
During the early 70’s, Willie’s career took off and he invited Bonnie to play the piano on his albums, including The Troublemaker, Shotgun Willie, and Phases and Stages.
The siblings reached fame and toured together for many years.
“Our whole life has been one song after another. Learning to play music and his beautiful ability to write songs. I love to play his music. It’s actually my favorite thing in the world to play with Willie,” she told Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2007.
Bonnie went through many heartbreaks over the years. She lost two of her sons and that crushed her. Her son Michael died at only 36 years old due to leukemia. She was still mourning his death when her son Randy died in a car crash.
It was the music she created and played together with her brother that she found solace in.
Unfortunately, Bobbie passed away on March 10, 2022, at the age of 91.
Willie Nelson lost his little sister whom he was very close to his entire life. “My bond with Bobbie is a testimony to the healing power of family. Ironically, perhaps, our bond was born out of the collapse of our original family,” Willie Nelson wrote his memoir.
The family released a statement which read: ”Her elegance, grace, beauty and talent made this world a better place. She was the first member of Willie’s band, as his pianist and singer. Our hearts are broken and she will be deeply missed. But we are so lucky to have had her in our lives. Please keep her family in your thoughts and give them the privacy they need at this time.”
Getting close to wild animals can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but we can all agree that it can be a very dangerous one, too.
The Assateague Island, which is on the coast of Maryland and Virginia, is a breathtaking tourist attraction not only because of the astounding surrounding, but also because of the wild horses residing there. However, no matter how majestic and elegant the horses look, tourists should have in mind that they are wild, which means they should be handled with care and only be approached from a safe distance.
“Horses bite, kick, & charge. Keep at least 40 feet away,” is just one of the many signs placed on the island.
Source: Facebook Video Screenshot – People of The Ocean City Boardwalk
Unfortunately, this didn’t stop one of the tourists from getting violent towards one of the wild creatures. Because of no apparent reason, she took a shovel in her hand and decided to hit the animal with it. Someone saw her intention and started filming the incident because they knew it would end badly. On the video, one of the onlookers could be heard saying: “They’re going to kick you,” but the woman proceeded with hurting the poor horse.
Of course, that’s exactly what happened. The powerful animal responded instantly and kicked the woman. She fell into the sand but didn’t seem to be heavily injured.
Source: Facebook Video Screenshot – People of The Ocean City Boardwalk
After the video went viral, the Assateague Island National Seashore Law Enforcement Rangers and the National Park Service released a statement regarding the incident.
“These horses have learned where to find food and how to get it. They can bite or stomp a food package open, they can kick open an unsecured cooler, they can eat right out of open beach bags. The horses will stage an all-out assault on the beach in the pursuit of food. This is so dangerous for visitors,” the NPS said, as reported by Miami Herald.
Source: Facebook Video Screenshot – People of The Ocean City Boardwalk
“Assateague’s horses are beautiful, tough, and wild. They have learned to survive in a harsh environment. Feeding and/or petting them is detrimental to both visitors and horses.”
“Visitors are kicked, bitten and knocked down every year as a direct result of getting too close to the wild horses. Treating wild horses like tame animals takes away the wildness that makes them special. Protect your family by respecting theirs. Give the horses the space they need to be wild.”
Source: Facebook Video Screenshot – People of The Ocean City Boardwalk
Everyone who has seen the video agreed that the woman got what she deserved for messing with the wrong animal.
You can take a look at the incident in the video below.
Police officer Roger Caron is one of those people who never stop doing what they do best, and in his case that’s making sure everyone around him is perfectly safe and sound. Although he retired from the force nearly 30 years ago, he still spends his days as a safety and security officer at the Pascack Hills High School.
All the kids know him very well and feel secure whenever he is around. They know they can count on him if they come across any problem.
Source: NorthJersey.com
He pays attention to every student and prevents any bullying or fighting, and never lets anything gets out of his hands.
Source: NJ.com
This past April, while officer Caron was on his job, one girl’s behavior caught his attention. He could see she was walking in a strange manner and suspected something was wrong.
“She was stumbling a little, moving very quickly,” he told CBS New York.
The closer I got to her, I realized there was a problem.”
Source: Video Screenshot
17-year-old Sarah was rushing to class, trying to finish her sandwich while on the run, when a french fry got stuck in her throat. She tried taking it out, but in vain. The girl was choking and she couldn’t do anything to save herself.
“Every step I took, I got very weak,” she said.
After a couple of seconds, I felt myself fading.”
Source: YouTube
Luckily, officer Caron acted quickly and approached young Sarah whose face had turned blue by the time he came closer. He is trained to help in situations like this and knew exactly what he needed to do. He gave her a few thrusts using the Heimlich maneuver.
A couple of seconds later, the french fry came dislodged and Sarah could breath again. Everyone who witnessed the amazing scene said officer Caron did something truly incredible and saved the girl’s life. According to NewJersey.com, Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali described the incident as an
“excellent job by hero Special Law Enforcement Officer II Roger Caron.”
Source: YouTube
Officer Caron however believes he was only doing his job: “It’s a wonderful feeling to know you can help somebody, and that’s what I took away from this.”
Sarah however, says he will always be her hero.
“There’s such a special bond I have with him now. He’s a hero,” she told CBS New York.
She has always dreamed of becoming an officer and what happened only strengthened her desire to pursue a career in the police forces and study criminal justice.
Source: YouTube
Chocking is more common that we assume and being able to act accordingly when someone is chocking is crucial for saving the person’s life.
Below are the steps of the Heimlich maneuver:
If someone can cough, speak or breathe, encourage them to continue trying to cough out the item. If they cannot cough, speak or breathe, move on to step 2.
Stand behind victim with one leg forward between their legs.
Reach around the stomach to locate their belly button
Place the thumb side of your fist against the person’s stomach just about the belly button.
Grab your first with your other hand and thrust inward and upward into the stomach using quick jerks.
Source: Ritesh Bawri
Take a look at the moment of rescue!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
Source: CBS New York
Although eating healthy is essential for having a fit body and being in a good physical condition in general, doing it is not really as easy and as straightforward as it looks. With the tight schedules, most of us barely find the time to consume any food, and cooking it ourselves is many times quite impossible.
But when it comes to our children, we do our best to teach them to eat healthy from an early age so that it becomes their habit.
One mom from Canada, however, complained that her young son’s school staff went too far when they regarded his home-brought lunch unhealthy and threw it in the trash.
Durham Catholic District School introduced a healthy eating initiative and started serving the kids healthy food only. They asked from the parents to support this idea and mind what they put in their children’s lunch boxes.
So, this mom packed her son a slice of banana bread that he loved. To her surprise, the teacher considered the choice unhealthy because it had chocolate chips in it so she just took it and threw it in front of everyone. The crying four-year-old boy who was in distress had grapes for lunch that day, as it was all he was left with after his lunch was taken away from him.
Mom Elaina Daoust was left infuriated because her son had to go through such an unpleasant experience.
“He came home with a chart (listing healthy snack ideas) and told me he and the teacher talked about it and healthy choices. She also sent a note to me. I was really, really, really mad for several reasons,” Elaina told The Star.
Some of the items the staff forbade from being eaten inside the school building were Goldfish crackers, juice boxes, granola bars, chocolate milk, string cheese, and fruit snacks.
As it turned out, Elaina’s boy wasn’t the only one who was left without his lunch as around 30 other parents said their kids experienced the same thing.
But the school believes they have all the right to take the unhealthy food from the kids as healthy eating is now part of the school curriculum and students have to distinguish between what’s healthy and what’s not.
However, not everyone agrees with the school’s policy as James MacKinnon, a teaching and learning consultant with the school board says “There is nowhere in our policy or procedures that says our staff is allowed to take food away from a student.”
What do you think of this school’s policy? How would you react if you were in this mom’s shoes? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
