One of the best things parents can do for their babies is allowing them to be raised around dogs. We all know that dogs are man’s best friends, and their relationship with tiny humans is probably the purest of all.
Being around dogs and getting to take care of them helps little children learn responsibility. At the same time, they would always have a loyal friend by their side.
One cute little baby girl named Sophie and the family’s dog named Wicket, a Shih-Tzu and Yorkshire Terrier mix, had some fun time together. Sophie’s dad found their bonding time too cute not to film it and share it with the rest of us to see it.
Source: Shorkie Puppies
It looks like tiny Wicket wan’t to communicate with his human sister, and she’s more than happy to answer back, although neither of them can actually speak.
As Sophie uses her hands and her baby talk in order for Wicket to know what is that she wants to tell him, he barks and wags his tiny tail as though he wants to assure her he understands her point.
Source: Shorkie Puppies
Shorkie dogs are considered designer dogs because they are a mix of a Shih-Tzu and a Yorkshire Terrier. What is interesting about this breed is that they are extremely sociable and friendly, and in case they are separated from their owners, they can easily develop separation anxiety. They are also easy to train.
Sophie is one lucky girl because she gets to grow up around such a cute dog like Wicket.
For the video of the two friends which attracted the attention of over 22 million people go below.
One would say that stories like this one, of two complete strangers who had much more in common than they assumed, could only be seen in movies, but fate proves otherwise.
When two young women named Lizzie Valverde and Katy Olson attended a writing class at the Columbia University, none of them could possibly imagine that it would be life that would write their story for them.
Source: YouTube/ CBS Evening News
As the two presented their narratives during the class, something felt off. Many of the details they shared overlapped. It was as though their stories were written by the same person. Could that be just a coincidence, or there was more about these two students than met the eye?
After the class was over, Katy was eager to learn more about Lizzie’s life, who was given for adoption as a young baby, just like Katy was. Their conversation revealed more shocking details. It looked like Lizzie knew a lot about Katy’s younger sister whom she never met. But then something clicked for Lizzie, and she uttered: “I don’t know your sister, I think I am your sister.”
Source: YouTube/ CBS Evening News
Katy and Lizzie were separated when they were still babies. Their mother, who battled drug addiction at the time she had them, was forced to give them for adoption because she was practically homeless and had nothing to offer them. She loved them unconditionally, but she wanted them to have a chance for a better and more decent life than she was able to provide for them.
Source: YouTube/ CBS Evening News
Lizzie was adopted by a family from New Jersey, while Katy was raised by a family from Florida which later moved to Iowa.
After their initial encounter, Lizzie and Katy had a long conversation. “We went straight to the bar,” Katy told ABC News. “And we just ordered pitchers of beer and just started going back and forth with our lives and biographical details… Like, do you like chicken wings? I like chicken wings. Do you have a weird pinkie toe? I have a weird pinkie toe.”
Source: YouTube/ CBS Evening News
Katy, who had already tracked her biological mother down some years ago, couldn’t wait for the three to reunite. Their mother, Leslie Parker, was over the moon when she heard she could finally see and hug her other daughter.
Eventually, the three got together. “We were all talking and laughing,” Katy said to ABC. “We talked about a wide variety of subjects … my birth and why she wasn’t able to keep me … all the way to who’s your favorite male celebrity.”
Katy and Leslie also attended Lizzie’s graduation and were by her side during this significant moment of her life.
“To see both my moms together — that’s a pretty intense moment,” Lizzie shared with ABC. “With my family watching … all the people in my life who’ve gotten me to that point — especially my daughter — was really humbling.”
Source: YouTube/ CBS Evening News
These two sisters entered Columbia University as two complete strangers with a shared passion for writing stories, and left as part of one of the strangest life stories there are.
We are extremely glad they found each other after 30 years.
To learn more of this stranger-than-fiction encounter go to the video below.
Some people dream of becoming actors their whole lives and work hard to fulfill those dreams. Others, like great Max Baer Jr. who gained worldwide fame with his iconic role of Jethro Bodine in The Beverly Hillbillies, found themselves in the business accidentally.
Max Baer Jr. was born December 4, 1937, in Oakland, California as the son of boxing legend Max Baer and Mary Ellen Sullivan. He was into sports from early age, but didn’t pursue boxing as a career. Instead, he nurtured his passion for golf and even won the pro-am division of the Andy Williams Golf Classic in San Diego after he paired-up with professional golfer Charlie Sifford.
Back in 1971, Baer told The Times: “Acting, though, is really only a hobby with me. Golf is my occupation.”
However, it was acting that helped him turn into a celebrity adored by millions of fans from every part of the world.
Film Favorites/Getty Images
The story of how Baer found himself in Hollywood is quite an impressive one and resembles a movie plot. One day, as he was riding his motorcycle to Los Angeles, he pulled over at the Warner Bros lot. An executive took notice of Baer, approached him, and told him he resembled James Garner. He then offered Baer to try himself in acting, something Baer found appealing. Soon after, he was given minor roles in series such as 77 Sunset Strip, Maverick, and Hawaiian Eye. At that point, Baer had never acted before.
After an audition, Baer got the role in The Beverly Hillbillies, which followed the life of the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family from the hills of the Ozarks, who move to posh Beverly Hills, California, after striking oil on their land.
Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
“When you play a role like Jethro, it’s for other people to judge because it’s pretty hard to be subjective or objective about yourself,” Baer told Medium.
“You just do the best you can with the material that you’re given, and then you try to add to it [with your performance] as much as you possibly can. But in the end, it’s the audience who has the final say. ‘Well, we liked what you did’ or ‘We don’t like what you did.’ And you really don’t have any other way of evaluating it.”
The show, which was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Show Comedy in 1964 and earned four Emmy nominations, ran for 11 years, with a total of nine seasons and 274 episodes before being canceled in 1971.
Asked if he had a favorite episode, Baer said he simply couldn’t pick one. “Anyway, I really don’t have any favorites because you’re playing the same character over and over. And it’s pretty hard to pick out who you really like and who you don’t. I mean, which one, which particular episode out of 274?” he told The Five Count on KMSU Radio.
Out of all the great actors who made the show what it is today, a true Hollywood classic, Baer is the only surviving cast member.
The passing of Buddy Ebsen, who played the role of Jed Clampett, was a huge blow for Baer. He recalled the last conversation he had with Ebsen after Ebsen’s wife called him to tell him that her husband didn’t have much time left.
Baer, together with Donna Douglas who starred as Elly May, rushed to the hospital to see Ebsen for one last time. “I tiptoed in,” Baer told The Courier-Journal in 2008. “Buddy was lying there with his eye shut and a catheter in him. I put my hand on his head, and he says, ‘Jethro.’ It was so sweet.”
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
After the show was over, offers for other series didn’t come pouring for Baer. Somehow, everyone saw him as Jethro so he had a hard time landing a role. He did make guest appearances on several shows like Love, Fantasy Island, and Murder, She Wrote.
Baer then decided to turn to producing and directing. Some of his films are Ode to Billie Joe and the small-town psycho cop film Macon County Line (1974). Baer made millions with the latter and became a successful businessman. In 1991, he decided to purchase the rights to The Beverly Hillbillies name from CBS.
Youtube/thethundervalleyresort
Baer was married once, to Joanne Hill. They two stayed together from 1966 to 1971. After the divorce, Baer never married again.
Speaking of why he didn’t become a father, the actor revealed to Fore Magazine: “I never had any kids because I don’t think I could have been the father that my father was to me.”
Later in life, Baer dated Chere Rhodes, a model from California who was 30 years his junior. Unfortunately, she lost her life in a tragedy which took place in January 2008 in what was ruled a suicide.
Dakota Nelton, a sophomore from Gray, Louisiana, took a leap of faith when he asked one of the girls from the school to be his date for the homecoming dance. He wanted the proposal to be a unique one so he made a poster which he held in his hands when he asked her the question.
There were other students there who were in anticipation to hear the girl’s answer. Unfortunately, she rejected him in front of his classmates who started laughing at him.
Dakota felt embarrassed, not because he got a “no” for an answer but because the rest of the students made fun of him.
Source: YouTube/ WGNO-TV / ABC26 / WNOL38
“It was actually a pretty tough moment standing in a small circle with that one shake of the head and you just got to find your way out of that circle,” the teen told WGNO New Orleans.
He hoped no one would remember the rejection in a day or two, but that wasn’t what happened. Someone took a video of Dakota’s unsuccessful proposal and posted it online. It showed him approaching the girl with the poster, a bag of candy, and a smile on his face. A moment later, his face changed completely, the smile was gone, and a sense of devastation could be felt at Dakota.
Source: YouTube/ WGNO-TV / ABC26 / WNOL38
Luckily, the video wasn’t only seen by those who mocked him, but by a group of girl who wanted to step in for him, too.
A few days later, as Dakota entered the school, he saw 13 girls standing in the corridor and holding posters in their hands. Dakota was confused at first, but he soon realized they were inviting him to be their date.
Speaking of the beautiful surprise, Dakota said: “I felt like one of the popular kids in the school, which I’m not.”
Source: YouTube/ WGNO-TV / ABC26 / WNOL38
The girls wanted to make sure Dakota was aware that he was “loved and worthy, and deserves to be going to homecoming with somebody.”
We are so glad Dakota had the last laugh.
Source: YouTube/ WGNO-TV / ABC26 / WNOL38
This story shows the pressure teens feel when they need to find a date before prom or homecoming.
For more on this brave teen’s story please go to the video below.
Most highschoolers have fond memories of what many consider the most beautiful period of one’s life, the high school years.
It is the time when we make friends and learn a lot about life. It is also the period when most of us fall in love for the first time.
Veterans Memorial High School’s students and teachers were all eagerly waiting for the homecoming to take place. Little did they know, however, that this event would make headlines all over the country because of something two students did.
Brandon Moreno and Madison McDaniel were one of the couples nominated to be crowned the new school’s royalty for 2019 and they ended up winning the titles.
Being crowned the King and the Queen made Brandon and Madison feel special. They were very excited, happily accepted their crowns, and took some photos to preserve the special moment forever.
However, just a moment later, Brandon and Madison, who are a boyfriend and a girlfriend, announced they were giving up their crowns because they believed someone else deserved them more. This came as a huge surprise to everyone, but before they made this decision, they thought it through the night before the homecoming event.
“We were just stoked to be nominated,” Brandon told KZTV. “She said like, ‘if we won wouldn’t it be cool if we gave the crowns?’ And I was like yeah for sure that’ll be awesome.”
Source: YouTube/ KZTV Action 10 News
Brandon and Madison gave their crowns to another couple, Robyn Ponce and Seth Thompson, who were shocked to hear their names.
“There was a standing ovation,” Principal Scott Walker said. “There was chills, myself included, a lot of tears of joy. It was just one of those moments that you’ll never forget.”
Robyn and Seth are both part of the special class. The school’s special education teacher, Edna Salazar, said she was very glad and proud they could feel included on that special day.
Source: YouTube/ KZTV Action 10 News
“It was beautiful in itself just seeing (McDaniel) place the crown on her,” Salazar told KZTV. “It was truly amazing and seeing the smile on her face and the shock on his face was just priceless.”
The school posted the inspiring story on their Facebook page and thanked Brandon and Madison for their selfless act and their inclusive thinking.
“Congratulations Madison McDaniel and Brandon Moreno on Homecoming Queen and King. What you two did tonight handing your crowns over to two very special people shows where your hearts are. Congratulations Robyn Ponce and Seth Thompson as the 2019 Homecoming Queen and King! You are all so special!”
For more on this touching story check out the video below.
Hannah Hill, a waitress at the Stockbridge Waffle House has had a hard time making ends meet. Having a child at home she was supposed to take care of and another one on the way, this young mother worked hard to provide food for her family.
One evening, however, when she least expected it, her luck was about to change.
The day started like any other, with nothing out of the ordinary in sight. Hannah was on the job when Bishop Eusebio Phelps and his family entered Waffle House.
Facebook: New Faith Christian Church
Something was telling this man that the waitress who served them, Hannah, was in need of help. He started a conversation with her when she opened up and explained how life was hard at the moment.
Phelps turned to his wife and told her they needed to help this young mother.
After the meal, Phelps gave all the money he had in his wallet to Hannah as a tip, but he knew this encounter wasn’t just a chance meeting when he learned that Hannah was planning on naming her unborn baby Samuel. Both Phelps and his wife knew it was faith that brought them to Hannah as the son they lost seven years ago was also called Samuel.
Facebook: New Faith Christian Church
After giving it some thought, Phelps and his family decided to change Hanna’s life. He took to Facebook to tell his followers about the encounter with the young woman and asked them to donate money for Hannah so that she could provide her children with a better life. The members of the New Faith Christian Church and other people from the local community were more than happy to help and managed to raise $12,000 for the expectant mother.
Hannah had no idea so many people stepped in for her until her mother-in-law called her one day and told her to get to Waffle House as soon as possible. Once at the restaurant, Hannah received the surprise of her life. When she heard what Bishop Phelps did for her, she was overwhelmed with emotions.
On top of the presents and the money they raised for her, they also offered Hannah free daycare services for both her children at the Church daycare.
Facebook: New Faith Christian Church
Not many people would do what Bishop Phelps and his family did for a complete stranger. It is because of kind-hearted people like them that this world becomes a much better place.
For more on this touching story go to the video below.
All of Katie Keizenber’s friends know that the senior at Stillwater High School in Oklahoma loves Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. She can recite the lines to his movies, she’s followed his wrestling career and believes that he is an all around super guy. Most of the world agrees with that these days.
Her love for “The Rock” is what made her do it. She couldn’t think of anyone she would rather go to the senior prom with than the wrestling superstar. Katie gathered up all the courage she could and wrote to Mr Johnson asking him to be her date. When he responded you won’t believe how he did it… this is something she will always remember.
Katie assumed he was too busy since she didn’t hear back from him. It made perfect sense because of his schedule. Then something perplexing happened. Katie was sitting in her classroom one ordinary day. Just like every other day the announcements started over the speakers in the class. Katie knew that was not the regular kid that was doing the announcements. There was a different yet familiar voice echoing in the the room.
It was her beloved Dwayne! He had called to the Stillwater High administration and secretly recorded the daily announcements. First, Dwayne greeted the student body and wished them well. Then he turned his attention to Katie! The moment Dwayne mentioned her name, the entire classroom turned around in shock! Was she dreaming? Could this be happening? The Rock regretfully had to decline the invite due to some schedule conflicts. But he did have something special up his sleeve for Katie!
Watch as Dwayne surprises Katie. This is how more of Hollywood should treat their fans instead of ignoring them. Dwayne is a stand up guy, going above and beyond for his biggest fan.
If you want to see what “The Rock” did for his biggest fan check out the video below.
How far would you go to help a complete stranger? A woman named Amarri Hernandez and her boyfriend were at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport when they witnessed a heartbreaking scene.
An elderly couple were about to walk through the security gate when the man was asked to leave the package he was holding in his hands behind. He asked whether it was possible to leave it at “lost and found” because it was a gift for their granddaughter, but the security guard told him to put it in “File 13,” and pointed to the trash.
The elderly man didn’t have a choice but to get rid of the gift. His eyes went teary and it was very obvious that his heart broke into a million pieces.
Realizing that the package meant a lot to the elderly couple, Ammari decided to take it out of the trash. When she opened it, she saw a beautiful snow globe with a photo of the couple on one side, and another photo of a beautiful girl and a dog on the other. At the bottom of the snowball there was an engraved message which read: “We love you, Katie. Nana and Papa.”
Ammari was determined to help find the elderly couple and return the gift which obviously meant a lot to them.
All she needed to do was post a plea on Facebook and the Internet community did its magic. In a very short period of time, the post was shared over 40,000 times. One of the people who stumbled upon it was an employee at Things Remembered, where the snow globe was made. He gave Ammari the contact number of Linda and Bill Modry who purchased the gift from their store.
Ammari contacted Linda and returned her the gift. Linda explained that it meant so much for them because it was for their granddaughter whom their son adopted.
This story goes to show that there are still good and decent people out there.
To see Linda’s reaction on getting the gift go to the video below.
