A Nebraska family was recently reunited with their dog, Chong, who had been missing for FIVE YEARS. He turned up at an Indiana truck stop . . . about 640 miles from home. (Here is a local news report. And here’s video of the reunion.)……………73-year-old Dave Whitlow has spent the last eight years volunteering as a “cuddler” in the NICU at Children’s Hospital of Richmond, Virginia. Dave goes two days a week to comfort premature and critically ill babies. Before holding them, he learns about their condition from nurses and keeps a close eye on their monitors, treating every cuddle very carefully. He says the role is the best job he’s ever had, and before returning each baby to their bed, he whispers the same message: “Grow strong, grow smart, grow kind.” (Here’s a news report.)………..And finally…………..
Jory Thomas, a 14-year-old ranch kid from Montana, used his rodeo skills to save a man who was drowning in the river. The man had been with a group floating down the river, but had fallen in, and was struggling. Like a scene out of a Western movie, Jory took his 12-foot lasso in hand, and threw his loop toward the drowning man. Jory said, “First instinct I thought was try and rope him and drag him out before he gets too far down the river. “Luckily, I caught him first try . . . I felt pretty good afterwards that I knew he was okay and was out of the water.” (Here’s an interview with Jory.)