Blind and autistic Kodi Lee leaves America’s Got Talent judges in awe

By
Monica Pop
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Every now and then, someone really special takes the stage of our favorite show, America’s Got Talent, and leaves us speechless. This time, it was the 22-year-old Kodi Lee. He’s both blind and autistic, but that never stood on his path of practicing music and showing the world how talented he really is. 

His mother Tina was by his side on that special evening when he got to sing in front of the panel of judges and the audience who was eagerly waiting to hear what he had to offer. 

Tina said how her son showed love for the music ever since he was just a little boy and she knew he would turn into an amazing entertainer one day. Well, she was right, as her boy really is one of a kind. 

“We found out that he loved music really early on,” she said. “He listened and his eyes just went huge. And he started singing, and that’s when I was in tears, because I realized he is an entertainer.”

“Through music and performing, he was able to withstand living in this world, because when you’re autistic, it’s really hard to do what everybody else does.”

“It has actually saved his life, playing music,” Tina added. 

Kodi was born with optic nerve hypoplasia and had to undergo a life-saving surgery when he was just a five-day-old baby. He really didn’t have it easy while growing up, but music was there to remind him of the good things in life. 

His official site states, “Born with optic nerve hypoplasia, surviving a life-saving surgery at five days old, and being diagnosed with autism at an early age has never stopped Kodi from reaching for his dreams.”

His dream is to be a rock star one day, and we believe he’s on the right track of accomplishing that.

What this amazing man has to offer is astounding. 

Before he sat down at the piano, his mother gave him a quick pep talk and he was ready to shine. 

He chose to perform rendition of Leon Russell’s ‘A Song For You’ and it sounded absolutely breathtaking, leaving both the judges and the audience cheering. Kodi’s voice resembled an angelic sound.

After his 40-second-long performance, everyone was wiping their tears away. It was both sensational and spine-tingling. 

We all agree that Kodi is a real star in the making. 

‘I can’t stop crying!’ Julianne admitted, while Howie told Kodi: ‘I will tell you that all four judges and everybody in this room were up on their feet. You were wonderful.

Dog’s Left Worried Sick As His Favorite Toy Undergoes ‘Surgery’

By
Monica Pop
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Dogs are like little children. They like to be loved and hugged, and they definitely enjoy goofing around with their human families and their four-legged palls. Despite all this, there is something else sweet Leo loves, and that’s his favorite toy, a brown stuffed animal. 

“It is his favorite toy,” Hayley Alaxanian, Leo’s owner, told The Dodo.

However, just recently, the poor toy suffered a terrible injury as Leo somehow made a hole in its stomach. This meant the stuffed animal had to undergo ‘an emergency surgery’ so that his tummy could be sewed back. 

“[My dad] took the toy away from him and put it away so he couldn’t reach it, but he was crying and trying to reach for it,” Alaxanian said. “That’s when my dad decided to get his sewing kit out and started sewing it back together.”

Leo seemed to be worried sick for his stuffed friend’s well-being. He’s such a caring boy. 

Thankfully, Alaxanian’s dad nailed it at using a needle and a thread, although it was the first time that he tried sewing a toy together. 

Seeing it repaired was a huge relief for everyone in the family, especially Leo who was looking forward to playing with his pal again. 

“That is the first time I’ve seen him sew a dog toy together,” Alaxanian said.

We hope Leo will be more careful the next time he’s around his plush toy. But in case he rips any part of the stuffed animal’s body, Alaxanian’s daddy will be there to fix things. After all, he loves Leo to the moon and back and there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to see him happy. 

“It is the sweetest thing ever,” Alaxanian said.

Little Johnny’s story takes an unexpected turn and we can’t stop laughing

By
Monica Pop
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Little kids are really fun to be around, well, except when they are not revealing things about you in front of others. As you knows, many of them don’t really know how to keep a secret and love to share stories of what’s going on inside the house.

The following story is fictional, but it’s bound to make you burst out laughing. And yes, it will teach you to be careful what you say or do in front of small children.

Little Johnny sees his dad’s car passing the playground and going into the woods. Curious, he follows the car, and sees daddy and aunt Jane passionately kissing and eagerly taking off each others’ clothes.

Johnny finds this so exciting and can barely contain himself as he runs home and starts to tell his mother excitedly.

“Mommy, Mommy, I was at the playground, and daddy and….”

Mommy tells him to slow down, but that she wants to hear the story.

So Johnny tells her. “I was at the playground and I saw daddy’s car go into the woods with aunt Jane. I went to look and daddy was giving aunt Jane a big kiss, then he helped her take off her blouse, then aunt Jane helped daddy take his pants off, then aunt Jane laid down on the seat, then daddy…”

At this point, mommy cuts him off and said, “Johnny, this is such an interesting story, let’s save the rest of it for when we’re having dinner. I want to see the look on daddy’s face when you tell it tonight.”

3 hours later, the whole family is gathered at the dinner table. Finally, mommy asks Johnny to tell his story.

“Well, I was at the playground, and I saw daddy’s car go into the woods with aunt Jane. I followed them to see what they were doing, and then I saw how daddy gave aunt Jane a big kiss, and then he helped her take off her blouse.”

Johnny made a pause where his mom had interrupted him earlier, and looked at her. She smiled and nodded for him to continue.

The little boy said:
“And then aunt Jane helped daddy take off his pants, and then daddy and aunt Jane did that same thing mommy and uncle Jack used to do when daddy was in the Army!”

Senior Dog Adopted After Seven Years at Shelter Is Transformed by Family Life

By
Nicole
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She had completely changed!

This is the story of Pirate, a 12.5 years-old senior dog who had spent a great portion of her life not in a loving forever home, but at an animal shelter. Formerly a stray, visitors always walked passed her due to her age – no one gave the senior dog a chance. However, one woman and her husband, did. Once Jennifer Hoyt, with her husband in tow, walked into the doors of the Oahu SPCA shelter, she took notice of the senior canine and requested an appointment to meet Pirate in person almost immediately.

The couple were shocked to find out that Pirate the already senior dog had spent half her life in the shelter being overlooked by potential adopters for 7 years. For Pirate, the hope of a forever home seemed so far away until the couple came. Although Jennifer and her husband did not own a house yet, that did not stop them from adopting Pirate soon after they’ve met.

At first, the couple purchased a dog bed for Pirate for in her kennel, and visited every day for many months to keep her company. When they finally got a house and introduced Pirate to their new home, she was a dog transformed. With the new nickname ‘old lady puppy’, Pirate begun to show many sides of personality which no one else had seen before.

Pirate welcomes the couple home daily from work, is a natural at dog training and is always on her best behavior. Hooray for Pirate!

Watch the story unfold in the video below!

No One Imagined Stray On Death’s Door Could’ve Ended Up So Gorgeous

By
Monica Pop
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Skye was only one year old when animal control officers took her off the streets of Palm Valley, Texas. The emaciated Husky mix was left to fend for herself and was in need of some serious medical assistance. However, instead of rushing her to the vet’s, the officers brought her to a high kill-shelter. 

There, she was immediately placed on the list to be euthanized. Shelters like these have no enough funds to take proper care of the animals that come to them, so they put them down, especially those who suffer from serious medical conditions.

The staff, however, though Skye deserved a chance as they could see sparkles in her eyes. She wanted to live and they were willing to do their best to make that happen. What the kind-hearted people from the shelter did next was to contact the Rescue Dogs Rock NY and ask whether they could take Skye in and pay for her treatments. 

Luckily, they said yes and that’s when Skye got her second chance to live. Now, after she was treated for her mange and the tick-borne disease, all they needed to do was to find her a foster home. 

The first family that took her in helped her recover completely, and Skye was later placed in another foster home. The great news came when her foster parents decided to give her a permanent home. 

The New York woman knew Skye would fit in just perfectly. She’s great with small children and other dogs, and it was all this family asked for in a dog. 

The transformation of Skye is incredible. She doesn’t resemble that scared and sick dog any more. Her fur grew back and it’s whiter than ever. 

People looking at her before and after photos have hard time believing it’s the same dog. She turned into a gorgeous animal thanks to all the good people involved in her rescue and recovery. 

Next time when you see unhealthy stray on the streets think of Skye and know other dogs can have the same fate as her. All we need to do is give them love. 

Woman Missing for 16 Days Found Alive in Forest with Burns to Feet and Ankles

By
Monica Pop
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The thought of getting lost in an unknown and scary place is beyond terrifying itself. So when 35-year-old physical therapist and yoga instructor Amanda Eller was reported missing after she wandered into the Hawaii wilderness, everyone was worried sick for her safety and her fate. 

The search was on for 16 days when the woman was spotted from the air. 

The person reporting her missing was Eller’s boyfriend, Benjamin Konkol. He said how he last saw her on May 8 when she went hiking. After she didn’t get home that night, he alerted the authorities. 

“She’s my soulmate, she’s the love of my life and I feel that she’s still out there,” Konkol said during a May 16 interview with ABC News.

“I’d really like to stop spending my evenings alone and have my love back.”

The rescue teams were looking for Eller tirelessly and her family and friends never lost hope that she’s there somewhere, waiting for someone to spot her. 

“We found her in a stream bed, she was waving up at us while we were in the helicopter, and we got her out nice and safe,” Berquist told ABC News Radio on May 24.

“She was not injured. She has a little bit of exposure from the sun, a little bit of sunburn. She lost her shoes a few days in. But no injuries.”

The injuries Eller sustained were minor, knowing how long she was in the wilderness all by herself. 

“She was very alert, she knew her father’s phone number, she knew who she was, where she was, knew exactly how long she had been out there — very surprised to see us,” Berquist, the person who spotted her said.

“I’ve never felt something quite that overpowering.”

Rescuers took her out of that place by air lifting her, after which she was rushed to Maui Memorial Medical Center. She was in a good physical and mental condition. 

“I think she took a good fall. They found her in a deep ravine, basically unable to get out, as I understand it,” John Eller, Amanda’s father, told KGMB/KHNL.

“The rescuers had to be airlifted out as well, because it was so tumultuous.”

WARNING: The following image my be disturbing to some viewers.

Julia, Eller’s mom, couldn’t wait to see and embrace her daughter. She received the news about Amanda’s rescue with excitement. She later told KHON-TV how Amanda survived by eating berries. 

“I felt in my heart she was alive,” Julia Eller said. “I never gave up hope for a minute.”

“Even though at times I would have those moments of despair, I stayed strong for her because I knew we would find her if we just stayed with the program, stayed persistent and that we would eventually find her.”

The Ellers are beyond thankful to everyone who got involved in the search and helped in locating their daughter.

“The Maui community here — caring and helping in the search,” Julia Eller said, “we couldn’t have done it without every person in so many ways.”

Dog Rescued From “Nightmare Mansion” Got a Chance for a Better Life

By
Monica Pop
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Rescue stories of vulnerable and neglected animals who can’t fight for themselves remind us that not everyone is heartless towards these poor souls. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has done so much for the animals in need, and this time, they saved a group of 84 Great Danes from a New England mansion that was a headquarter of an illegal puppy mill.

The conditions in which the dogs were kept and bred were inhumane. There were feces all over the place and pieces of food were thrown around the rooms. 

Some of the dogs were caged while the rest were running free. 

After the rescuers stepped foot inside the place, they shared a post explaining what they really stumbled upon, saying, “The first thing that hit [rescuers] was an overpowering rancid and putrid smell, with ammonia levels so high in some room that the rescuers’ eyes teared up.”

“There were feces and debris smeared across all the walls to the point where the windows were opaque.”

“There was no sign of available water, just some remains of raw chicken parts strewn around the dogs.”

While all the rooms were full of dogs, there was one bedroom in which only two Great Danes were placed. One of them was a senior whom they named Wanda.  

Morgan, a rescuer at HSUS, told The Dodo: “We have these really dramatic pictures of [Wanda] in this person’s bed, and it was completely covered in feces.”

The dogs were unhealthy, filthy, and in need of medical assistance. The rescuers from HSUS asked to be given legal custody of the dogs that were placed at a shelter after the rescue. The battle over the custody lasted for 14 months. 

During that time, Morgan and Wanda became best friends. It was obvious that the dog found in her rescuer someone she could love and trust. 

Speaking of that period, Morgan says:

“All the volunteers would say, ‘You know that she’s your dog, right?’ She picked you. That’s your dog.’”

Welcoming the dog in her home didn’t sound like the best idea because of Morgan’s husband’s health condition at the time, but she still did it as her gut feeling was telling her it was the right thing to do. 

“It was probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” she later revealed.

The bond between the two is stronger with each passing day and Wanda loves being around her human mommy so much that she follows her wherever she goes. Morgan admits that Wanda is her “soul mate” and says how neither she, nor her husband can imagine their life without the new addition to their family. 

“I literally spend my whole life caring for animals, and I don’t think I’ve loved an animal on Earth as much as I love her.”

It’s amazing how Morgan helped Wanda put her sad past behind her and start her life over. She now gets to spend her days surrounded with people who love her unconditionally.

We hope each of those 84 dogs trapped at the mansion will find their happy ending, too.

Nearly Extinct Pink Dolphin Gives Birth To Pink Baby

By
Monica Pop
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When Captain Eric Rue first spotted the incredibly unusual pink dolphin named Pinky, she became an instant sensation. Everyone wanted to see the unique mammal that spends her time in the Calcasiey river in Louisiana. Her popularity grew so high that there’s even a Facebook page of her where people can see photos of her swimming and playing in the water. 

Although it’s still not completely clear how Pinky got her color, many experts claim it’s due to a rare genetic mutation. Technically, Pinky is an albino, which means her cells don’t produce enough melanin and it leads to discoloration of the body. 

Ever since people learned of this pink river dolphin, they couldn’t help but wonder whether her babies would be of the same color as her. The curiosity is now satisfied as Pinky was recently spotted swimming with her calf, and guess what, it’s pink too. 

This means that the little one inherited its mother’s genetic mutation and their population may increase in the future. 

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed river dolphins as endangered. It is estimated that there are currently close to 9000 pink dolphins around the world most of which can be found in Hong Kong and the Amazon rivers.

Because of her very light color, Pinky’s body shouldn’t be exposed to the sun too much. 

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