When one California woman found out that her husband was slowly forgetting the life they shared for over 50 years, she refused to just sit by and let it all vanish from his memory.

Two years ago, Vernon Robinson was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s after he and his wife Willa started to notice signs of the disease when he would ask her the same questions, forget people they had met, and call multiple times in a row without realizing it. “When the doctor gave us a final diagnosis, it really hit us,” Willa,68, said. “Even though we had seen the signs, when it’s final, it’s kind of a different atmosphere.”

“It’s terrible, I’ll tell you, but we’re surviving. It’s okay. There’s nothing we can do about it,” Vernon said. Since the diagnosis, the couple has been learning to adjust to the changes caused by the disease. “I’m still learning how to react and how to not get too emotional, not get too upset,” Willa explained. But one thing Willa refused to accept, was her husband forgetting the life and love they share.

To help him remember, Willa wrote the book 52 Ways to Love My Man, which includes 26 of her favorite memories as a couple and 26 stories written by their closest friends and family members. “I usually go through it every day — a section at a time I read,” Vernon said. “It brings back a lot of memories and different experiences and different people in the book. It’s real nice.”

“I can see the good that it does with him, by reading the book and looking at the pictures,” Willa said. “The hope is that he will always remember who we are.”

Can you believe what this woman did to help her husband remember the life they’ve shared? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: Inside Edition]

Wife Writes A Book To Help Husband With Alzheimer’s Remember is an article from: LifeDaily

After almost an entire year apart, one Connecticut mom decided to do something special to surprise her kids when she found out that their dad was finally going come.

“We’ve never had a big homecoming, and now they’re all a little bit older and kind of get it a little more, so I wanted to something big for them,” said mom Alisa Rosson, whose husband, Sgt. Antoine Gibeau, just completed his deployment in Africa that kept him from seeing their three kids for 11 months.

With the help of Prospect Elementary School’s principal, Rosson planned for her husband to make a surprise appearance at a school assembly this past Monday. “Their mom came to see me at the end of last week,” Principal Rima McGeehan said. “Since we already had a community meeting planned, I suggested surprising the kids at the end of the meeting.”

Nine-year-old Tyler, seven-year-old Gavin, and five-year-old Madison were sitting among the rest of the 600 students, but when McGeehan introduced the ‘special guest’ the three kids ran up and gave their dad a huge hug. “I can’t even describe it, it’s so amazing,” Gibeau said. “I didn’t sleep all last night.”

Watch the entire video below to see the awesome moment this soldier dad surprises his three kids at school.

Can you imagine how hard it must have been for these kids over the past year? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: WFSB]

Soldier Dad Surprises Kids At School After A Year Apart is an article from: LifeDaily

Firefighters will do whatever it takes to rescue a life in danger no matter what species, so when Florida firemen received a call about a horse in a deadly situation, they refused to give up on her.

Earlier this week, crews from Hillsborough County Fire Rescue arrived at the scene and found a 25-year-old horse named Kiersa stuck in extremely dense mud, which was up to her shoulders and chest and made it impossible for her to move even as the men climbed in and tried to dig her out.

The firefighters quickly realized that the suction of the mud was too strong for them to break, but rather than give up and leave her to die, they called in some extra help. Shortly after, HCFR Heavy Rescue 11, Dr. Alexandra Urban from the Brandon Equine Medical Center, The Polk County Sheriff’s Office State Agriculture Response Team, Hillsborough County Public Works (DPW), and RVR Horse Rescue responded to the scene. Together, they gave Kiersa sedatives so she wouldn’t hurt herself trying to get free and then got to work.

The rescue teams worked together to put padded straps around Kiersa and used a crane to carefully pull her out and place her back on dry land where the vet was able to examine her. Dr. Urban administered IV fluids and antibiotics and just 30 minutes later, Kiersa was awake and back on her feet.

Watch the entire video below to see how these determined rescuers managed to save this trapped horse.

Can you believe how thick and deep the mud was? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: Facebook/Hillsborough County Fire Rescue]

Firefighter Free Horse From Neck-Deep Mud is an article from: LifeDaily

Last month, one newlywed Texas couple lost everything when a tornado hit the area and decimated everything in its path, including their home with all their belongings inside.

“Literally our house was just leveled. It wasn’t destroyed, it just wasn’t there,” Justin Duke said. “It was a small, little yellow farmhouse on top of the hill. The perfect starter home.” But of everything Justin and his wife Ariel lost, they were devestated most that her wedding band and engagement ring had been lost in the storm and scattered somewhere in the debris that extended miles in every direction.

The couple had been out searching for the rings, but as days past they started to think they’d never see the sentimental rings ever again. But before totally giving up, they posted photos of the lost rings on Facebook in hopes that they might be returned if someone stumbled upon them. “By the time I had come across it they had kind of given up,” said Nathan Wright, a hobby metal detector. “It was about eight days since it happened and they had a bunch of people out there using rakes and doing everything they could to find it.”

“It’s pretty hard to detect somewhere like that because there’s so much debris and metal spread everywhere,” Wright said. “Their place wasn’t even recognizable that a house was there. It was just broken wood and debris scattered over about 100 yards.” Despite the odds, Wright still felt he had to try and covered about half an acre in the first two hours of looking.

“I got into one area when I started finding earrings,” he said. “The first one I found I was like, ‘OK this could be a pretty good sign.’ I got a signal that I thought was going to be another piece of trash and I bent down and moved a little bit of debris away, and right up under the grass was the engagement ring. I hollered out and was so excited. I’d spent three hours doing some heavy praying I was going to be able to find it.”

Miraculously, Wright even managed to find the second ring about 30 feet away.”This one was about an inch dug into the ground,” he said. “I bent down and knew the gold looked exactly like the engagement ring. To be able to find both of those in the debris-strewed field like that was unreal. I’ll remember that forever.” Wright immediately went to Justin and Ariel and surprised them with the incredible news. “He pulled out the wedding band and we were like, ‘OK cool,’ Then he said, ‘Well if you’re excited about this then you’re really going to like this.’ He pulled it out and there it was. We were just in shock,” Justin said. “I was so thankful he found them. It was amazing. It really was,” said Ariel.

“There is a miracle that can come out of tragedy,” said Justin. “It seemed like we were on downward spiral, but with him finding the rings, we’re on an upswing and getting on with life. We’re going to see what the good Lord has in store for us.”

Watch the entire video below to see how this couple reacted when a stranger found and returned their lost wedding rings.

Can you believe this stranger managed to find both wedding rings after a tornado scattered them in a field? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: Nathan Wright]

Man Finds Woman’s Wedding Rings After Tornado Destroyed Home is an article from: LifeDaily

Dogs are known for having an incredible sense of smell, but one dog in China is being hailed a hero after her acute nose caught the scent of a baby in grave danger.

The dog had recently been had just been welcomed into a home on farmland in Chongqing, China, so when it suddenly darted out the door on May 6, owner Yang Jiali ran out after to find it and make sure the dog didn’t get lost. When she eventually caught up, however, Jiali found her dog frantically digging through the dirt in one specific spot.

Moments later, Jiali saw a white piece of cloth sticking out of the dirt, and as her dog continues to dig, she realized there was a baby underneath. She immediately uncovered the baby and found his mouth full of dirt, but he was miraculously still alive and had a pulse.

When she went over she was amazed to see a crying infant wrapped in a piece of white cloth in the hole. “The baby looked pale. His breathing and heart rate were slow. He had low body temperature, and his whole mouth was full of mud,” said Song Yue, an assistant doctor.

The baby is thankfully expected to make a full recovery, and cops have now started an investigation to find the boy’s parents, who cops suspect only buried the baby because they thought he had died.

Can you believe this dog managed to save the newborn in time? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: Pear Video]

Hero Dog Saves Newborn That Was Buried Alive Just In Time is an article from: LifeDaily

When a fire destroyed one Michigan family’s home, firefighters worked tirelessly to get everyone out alive, including the family’s beloved dog and cat.

A fireman managed to find the family’s dog, Chloe, and used an improvised oxygen mask to revive her. Tragically, however, the crews never managed to find their cat named Ringer and the Marr family assumed he was either killed or ran away. “Looking for that cat, we picked up furniture, looked around beds, looked in every nook and cranny for that cat,” said Chief Ronald Wise of the South Haven Area Emergency Services.

It’s been two months since the fire destroyed the home, but when Christine Marr visited the house recently, she decided to take along Chloe for the first time. Within minutes of being back inside the house, Chloe was sniffing at a particular hole in the floor and when Marr looked inside, she was stunned to see Ringer staring back at her.

“This cat’s a miracle. This cat has been in this area for two months with no food or water. And Chloe just found him down in this hole,” said Marr. “To know that Chloe had found the cat, that’s amazing. She’s a true hero, she is. To get that cat, you wouldn’t think the cat would live that much longer,” said Wise.

Ringer had no access to regular food or water for two months so lost half his body weight and is malnourished, but his vet expects him to make a full recovery within a few weeks. “We’re assuming he was eating bugs and spiders and stuff under there,” said Marr. “I think he used a bit more than just nine lives.”

Watch the entire video below to see how this family reacted when they realized their beloved cat was still alive.

Can you believe this cat was found alive two months after a fire destroyed his home? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: FOX17]

Cat Found Alive Under The Floor Two Months After House Fire is an article from: LifeDaily

Dogs would do anything for their human companions, and when one Florida police officer was about to be shot while chasing a suspect, his K-9 partner didn’t hesitate to jump in the way to save his life.

This past Friday night, deputies from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office spotted a wanted man and chased him when he tried to flee until he crashed his vehicle. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw was trying to approach the suspect when he started firing his gun in the cop’s direction.

However, before one of the bullets had a chance to hit Bradshaw, his K-9 partner Casper jumped in the way and took the bullet to save his life. Thankfully, Casper wasn’t killed instantly and he was rushed to a veterinary hospital as soon as possible. “Casper came into us last night after suffering a gunshot wound in the left hip. He was stable when he arrived. Once we determined that the bullet had not harmed any internal organs, we proceeded to remove the bullet surgically,” said Michele Tucker, a vet with the Palm Beach Veterinary Specialists.

After the bullet was removed in surgery, Casper was taken to rest overnight, but the very next day he shocked everyone with his progress when he was back on his feet and walking around. “He has recovered well from anesthesia. He’s on antibiotics,” Tucker said. “We’re just happy that this is not a significant trauma and thankful that he’s done well and appreciative for all that he’s done for the county.”

Watch the entire video below to see the incredible moment this heroic dog got to go home.

Can you believe this dog is back on his feet after taking a bullet for his handler? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: Facebook/PBSO – Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office]

Police K-9 Back On His Feet Days After Taking A Bullet For Partner is an article from: LifeDaily

Most toddlers want toys for their birthday, but not 4-year-old Jaxton Betschart. 

According to Jaxton’s mom, Elyse Betschart, Jaxton has decided to use his birthday money to help two shelter dogs find loving homes. Last weekend, Elyse brought Jaxton to the Charleston Animal Society shelter where Jax chose 2 pit-bull-mixed breed dogs to sponsor- paying their adoption fees with his own money. 

Jax was drawn to a black and white pup named Penelope, as he especially liked the black patches around her eyes. 

As they headed to the front desk to sponsor Penelope through CAS’s Sponsorship Program, which allows donors to pay the adoption fee for a specific pet, Jax noticed a dog named Tank. “Mommy! He’s big and chunky just like me!” Jax exclaimed. 

Being only 4, Jax asked his mom to adopt Tank so the two of the could play Incredible Hulk together. Elyse explained to her son that Tank couldn’t come home with them, but Jax could do something even better- he could become Tank’s Guardian Angel and help him find his perfect home, just like he did with Penelope. 

“A lot of people don’t realize that sponsorship is an option, but you can actually tie that money to a face,” Elyse told iHeartDogs. A CAS staff member even snapped an adorable photo of Jax proudly displaying his guardianship certificate in front of Tank’s cage, and the photo quickly blow up!

Jax’s kind gesture inspired others to learn how to become Guardian Angels to CAS shelter pets. In just a few days, Jaxton inspired a “Give-alanche” of donations and sponsorships. Tank and Penelope were adopted immediately, as well as many other animals sponsored thanks to Jax’s example. 

If you’re wondering why Jax didn’t get to adopt a pet of his own, the Betscharts are a military family, moving from city to city every 3 years. They already have 4 rescue dogs and 2 rescue cats, and unfortunately, they are unable to adopt pit bulls due to breed specific bans imposed by military housing. 

They do dream someday of starting their own dog rescue. Elyse tells iHeartDogs.com: “Animals are a huge part of our lives. Knowing that my son was the catalyst for the community coming together to give shelter dogs a voice makes me feel incredibly blessed. I feel like I’ve done my job- like I can retire as a mom!” 

If this sweet rescue story touched your heart, please SHARE it with your friends and family on Facebook!

If you want to become a Guardian Angel for a shelter dog in need, click here to visit the CAS Adoption Sponsor page.

[Featured Image Credit: iheartdogs.com]

4-Year-Old Uses His Savings To Rescue Two Dogs At Animal Shelter is an article from: LifeDaily

Dogs are known for being loyal companions, but one Argentinian dog is making headlines for what he did when his owner was knocked unconscious and had no one around to help.

Earlier this month, Jesus Hueche was doing yard work around his home in Bahia Blanca, but was left unconscious after he fell six feet out of a tree he was pruning and cracked his head on the pavement below. No one else was home besides Hueche’s four-legged best friend named Tony, who immediately ran out and saw his owner was badly injured.

Thanks to Tony’s barks, neighbors spotted Hueche lying on the pavement and immediately called for an ambulance. And as they waited, neighbor’s were amazed to see that Tony refused to leave his owner’s side. And even when the EMTs arrived, Tony stood close by to make sure that Hueche was in good hands, and even tried to climb in as they loaded him in the ambulance.

Once at the hospital, doctors determined Hueche sustained slight skull trauma and treated him for his injuries before releasing him to go home and return to his worried dog. “He goes everywhere with me and lies in my bed until my wife kicks him out,” Hueche said. “One day we saw him on the street and adopted him, gave him love, food and is part of our family. For me he’s like a son.”

Can you believe what this dog did until paramedics arrived to save his owner? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: Defensa Civil Bahia Blanca]

Dog Refuses To Leave Owner’s Side While Waiting For Help is an article from: LifeDaily

All parents know to warn their kids to look out for poisonous snakes and stay away from wood piles, but few know to stay away from a tiny, fuzzy caterpillar.

However, Florida mom Ang Staggs is now warning parents everywhere about how dangerous these innocent looking insects are after a brush with one left her 5-year-old son in the emergency room screaming in agony. “He started screaming, screaming and screaming,” Staggs said. “He screamed, ‘Get them off me!'” Staggs rushed her son up to the bathroom, but when she got a closer look, there were no ants or bite marks of any kind.

“He started to hyperventilate from screaming, and I was trying to figure out if he got into stinging nettles, but this scream was blood-curdling,” Staggs said. “Then it clicked…” Staggs told her dad to go outside to look for a caterpillar. “He comes back in and says ‘there’s a fuzzy looking thing out there, but I don’t think it’s a caterpillar.'”

“When my dad said a ‘fuzzy-looking thing’ my heart dropped,” Staggs said. “I knew exactly what it was before I even got out there.” When she ran outside, she saw the poisonous puss caterpillar on the porch, which her son must have stepped on after taking his shoes off to go inside.

Staggs carefully put the insect in a ziplock bag and rushed her son to the emergency room. “Mommy, am I going to die?” the little boy asked his mom. “That’s how bad it was,” Staggs said. “By then his foot was turning red on the bottom of his toes and the pain was radiating to the top of his foot.” Once at the hospital, doctors immediately gave the boy Benadryl and a narcotic painkiller and kept him for three hours to make sure the reaction didn’t get worse. “The doctor compared the pain to your skin being on fire. It’s as if you are being burned. We tell our kids to stay watch out for snakes, stay away from piles of wood, but who thinks to say watch out for this caterpillar?”

“He’s a little bit sore today, but much better than yesterday. I just wanted to put this out there to warn EVERYONE that these things are out now, and you would never expect it to be a caterpillar. I have never seen my child in so much pain, and I have never felt so helpless in my life. They are not big bugs, and they do not look like a typical caterpillar. Be aware of what is around you, look on the ground, tables, chairs, your kids ride on toys, anything that is outside, even your patio.”

Did you know how dangerous these fuzzy caterpillars are? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured Image: Facebook/Ang Staggs]

Mom Warns Parents After Son Is Stung By Poisonous Caterpillar is an article from: LifeDaily

A South Dakota woman who is grieving the loss of her daughter and mother-in-law due to a collision has learned more devastating news in recent days. 

Cynthia Mathis told Inside Edition that her world was changed forever when she received a phone call last September informing her that her loved ones had been in a devastating car wreck on Highway 14. “I don’t know how they got my number, I can’t remember,” she told InsideEdition.com, recalling what became the worst day of her life. “They said Cheryl Hartman, my mother-in-law, was in an accident. And I knew my kids were with her. I said, ‘Are they okay?’ and they said, ‘You need to get down here now.’”

Mathis and her husband arrived at their local hospital where they met their 4-year-old daughter Jasmine just as she was being rushed in. After checking on their oldest daughter who was suffering from a bad concussion, a compression fracture, and a broken collar bone, they learned Mathis’ mother, 62, had died on the scene. 

Completely devastated, Mathis made her way back to her youngest daughter Jasmine, when they learned Jasmine did not wake up from her first surgery. The Mathis family then had to mourn the loss of their daughter and mother while tending to their other daughter- it was heartbreaking. 

In this time of turmoil, Stephanie Lea Blaine, 33, a woman Mathis had known for years from work, decided to create a GoFundMe page to help raise funds for the little girl’s funeral. “It was her idea,” she told InsideEdition.com. “What she was supposed to do was let me put my [bank information] into it, because that’s how you do it when you set it up for somebody else — but she went and set it up in her bank account.”

Mathis watched donations rise to $3,905, but every time she asked Blaine for the money, she came up with an excuse for preventing the transfer. During this time, Mathis delayed the joint funeral she planned for her daughter and mother-in-law as she waited for the money. 

“She [said] she didn’t know how. That it was technology and she didn’t know what she was doing,” Mathis said. “I got tired of being given the run-around and I went and contacted GoFundMe myself.” GoFundMe informed Mathis that Blaine had withdrawn $3,500 and deposited the money into her bank account. 

“[I thought] are you kidding me? I have enough that I’m trying to deal with and now I have to deal with this on top of everything else?” Mathis said. “But it did give me a focus point to put all my anger about everything on.” GoFundMe kindly shuttered the fundraising page and reimbursed Mathis the money Blaine took from her. Blaine was charged with a felony, grand theft and she could face five years in prison if convicted. According to Inside Edition, she is due in court on May 25. 

Watch the video below and please SHARE this story with your friends and family on Facebook!

[Featured Image Credit: YouTube- Inside Editon]

Woman Steals Thousands From GoFundMe She Created For Friend’s Child is an article from: LifeDaily

The California-based dog rescue Hope For Paws recently received a call about two dogs by the railroad tracks, one of which had died two weeks prior. 

The other dog, a pit bull, sat vigil and refusing to leave her best friend’s side. Rescuers, JoAnn Wiltz and Lisa Arturo found the scared dog and approached slowly, trying not to scare her away. 

Lisa tried feeding the dog french fries to gain her trust, and while she ate them, she was still petrified of any human interaction. While it is unknown exactly how long this sweet pit bull has been on the streets, it is apparent she has experienced immeasurable sadness in her young life. 

JoAnn eventually placed a Lucky Leash around the dog who they named Cassandra and quickly she began to calm down. Cassandra was then on her way to Hope For Paws rescue, where she would receive a warm bath. “A warm bath is very therapeutic and is a good way to start bonding,” Hope For Paws wrote on their YouTube channel. 

A few days later, Cassandra was off to foster care, and there she would have a new life, a new friend, and a new beginning. 

If you are interested in adopting Cassandra, apply on DoggieBonez.com. 

Watch her incredible rescue and transformation below and please SHARE it with your friends and family on Facebook!

If you would like to donate to Hope For Paws and help other dogs like Cassandra, who would otherwise have no other chance at a happy life, please click here.

[Featured Image: YouTube/Hope For Paws- Official Rescue Channel]

Homeless Pit Bull Sits By Her Dead Friend For Two Weeks is an article from: LifeDaily

When one animal rescuer discovered a plastic tub abandoned outside the Patterson Animal Hospital, she knew that when she opened it up there would be an animal inside.

However, when veterinary technician Jennifer Patterson brought the box inside and cut it open, it was so much worse than she ever imagined and she was beside herself. The tub had been stuffed full with 10 puppies struggling to breathe and stay cool. “Oh my gosh,” she said. “It is packed full, packed full. It is wet and hot in there.”

“I got angry, first. It’s just not fair to us because I knew we had a full kennel, all of our pens were full. Where are we going to put these guys? If people would contact us, we’d give them resources and we’d try to help them out before just dumping them on our doorstep and making us decide what to do,” said Patterson, who filmed the moment and shared it online so people could see what they had to deal with every week.

Because the shelter was at full capacity, the team didn’t have enough resources to save them and faced having to euthanize them all. “We try to save euthanasia as a last resort, but unfortunately there are animals with conditions that are financially untreatable by the rescue,” veterinarian Yolanda Burton Patterson said.

Yet before they gave up, the team created a GoFundMe page to see if they could raise enough funds to care for the puppies and build a larger shelter so that they won’t have to turn any animal away in the future. The campaign quickly raised $75,000, which provided treatment for all the animals and will help build the new shelter, and thankfully all 10 puppies have since been adopted.

Watch the entire video below to see the moment this rescuer realized what was inside a plastic tub left on her doorstep.

What would you do if you found baby animals crammed into a tub like this? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: Paws and Hooves Rescue Foundation]

Woman Finds 10 Puppies Crammed Into Abandoned Tub is an article from: LifeDaily

It’s not unusual to see garbage bags tossed on the side of the road waiting to be picked up, but one Texas woman knew something wasn’t right when she saw something moving in a garbage bag near her home.

The woman got closer and realized that whatever was inside was still alive, so she tore it open and found an older puppy staring up at her. “A lady said she found her near her house, so she was most likely dumped,” said Leslie Ysuhuaylas, a texas-based volunteer rescuer for Rescue Dogs Rock. “The lady said she was caring for her and that she bathed her, but she was covered in fleas when she was surrendered. She came in a garbage bag that was sticking to her raw skin.”

The puppy named Alexa was suffering from a severe case of Demodex mange, a condition where mites live in a dog’s hair follicles. “Her skin was very, very raw,” Ysuhuaylas said. “Literally anything she would touch would make her skin bleed… This didn’t just happen overnight. This takes months to happen, especially with a severe case like this.”

“Most dogs die when they get mange that severe,” Ysuhuaylas said. But she refused to just give up on Alexa and drove to Dallas to get her to a vet that could provide the intensive care that would be needed to heal her. “She’s a very strong-willed girl. She’s very trusting and she’s enjoying the treatment and care that she’s getting. We’re hoping that once she starts feeling better, she’ll come out of her shell, and start playing and being a regular puppy.”

“She’s doing very well, considering she’s completely hairless and her skin is still very raw to the touch,” said Stacey Silverstein, co-founder of Rescue Dogs Rock. “Our vet says she’s got an amazing personality and is great with everyone. She likes other dogs and ignores the resident cat.”

Can you believe someone just threw this dog out like a piece of trash? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: Rescue Dogs Rock]

Dog Rescued After Being Thrown Away In A Trash Bag is an article from: LifeDaily

Fidget spinners have become the newest ‘it’ toy amongst elementary and middle schoolers, however, one Texas mom is warning parents about the seemingly harmless toy after her daughter had to have emergency surgery after playing with one.

“On the way home from a fun swim meet, I heard Britton make an odd retching noise in the back seat as I was driving. Looking back in the mirror, I saw her face turning red and drool pouring from her mouth – she could utter noises but looked panicked so I immediately pulled over. She pointed to her throat saying she’d swallowed something, so I attempted Heimlich but there was no resistance. She said she’d put part of her fidget spinner in her mouth to clean it and somehow swallowed it,” mom Kelly Rose Joniec explained.

Thankfully, Britton is doing much better but Joniec has shared their story on Facebook in hopes of warning other parents about the popular toy. “I wish to offer some word of caution to parents. Fidget spinners are the current craze so they are widely distributed. Kids of all ages may be getting them, but not all spinners come with age-appropriate warnings. The bushings pop out easily, so if you have young kids (under 8 yr old) keep in mind that these present a potential choking hazard.”

Did you know fidget spinners could be so dangerous? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: Facebook/Kelly Rose Joniec]

Mom Warns Parents After Daughter Chokes On Fidget Spinner is an article from: LifeDaily

Emergency veterinarians are used to treating animals at their worst, yet one Colorado veterinarian doubted there was anything he could do to save one dog when he laid eyes on her.

This past Monday, a 12-year-old black Labrador Retriever named Polo was shot in the face by a burglar and lay bleeding on the floor all night until her family got home the next morning. They immediately rushed Polo to the VRCC Emergency Hospital, but when the team got a look at her, they were afraid nothing could be done to save the suffering dog.

“It looked like a bomb had gone off,” Dr. Don Beebe said. “You just felt so bad, this sweet black Labrador suffering injuries of this extent.” To get a better idea of the internal damage the bullet caused, they took X-rays and discovered how lucky Polo had actually been. “Got some initial X-rays of her head and we could see all the metal shrapnel throughout her mouth,” Beebe said.

The bullet fractured Polo’s jaw in two places, destroyed several teeth, and nearly severed her tongue, but the bullet somehow missed her brain and main arteries. “Yeah, it is a miracle. She’s lucky that it went just through her nose and into her mouth, and not near her brain or anywhere else where she could have long-term consequences,”emergency vet Taylor White said. “The path of the bullet narrowly missed two major arteries in her jaw bone, and she easily could have bled out and died, and it’s amazing that she’s still with us,” Beebe added.

So far, Polo has undergone two reconstructive surgeries and has stunned the team with her recovery. “We had to go in and remove the tooth fragments, the metal shrapnel embedded deep within tissues. Her poor tongue was almost ripped in two, but there was enough left to salvage,” Beebe said. “She surprisingly came in and was doing pretty well. When we got her on some pain medication, she was wagging her tail for everybody,” White said about Polo, who was able to go home just three days after the shooting

Watch the entire video below to see how far this dog has come in just a few days.

Can you believe how quickly this dog has bounced back from such a traumatic injury? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: KDVR]

Dog Makes Miracle Recovery After Being Shot In The Face is an article from: LifeDaily

Nurses are known for going out of their way to help their patients, but one Georgia nurse went above and beyond to help one patient who was unable to take care of his furry companion while sick in the hospital.

On a recent trip across the country, truck driver Jose Carbajal suddenly started feeling intense stomach pain, and his dog Mr. Midnight could tell something was seriously wrong. “He has a great personality. He is an amazing dog and a great friend. He loves to ride in the truck and look out the window at all the scenery. We have been all across the country and he loves it,” Carbajal said. “For those 15 hours that I was in pain Mr. Midnight knew that something was wrong. He would not eat or drink or be his joyful self. I would catch him staring at me with sad eyes.”

Finally, the pain became unbearable and Carbajal left Mr. Midnight in his truck while he went to Piedmont Henry Hospital to get help. Once there, doctors determined Carbajal’s appendix was causing the pain and needed to be removed immediately. “When I was told by the doctor that I was going to have emergency surgery I didn’t want to do it because I had no idea what was going to happen to Mr. Midnight,” Carbajal said. “He was inside my 18-wheeler waiting for me to come back. I was more worried about Mr. Midnight than I was about myself.”

Carbajal told doctors and nurses about Mr. Midnight, and during the operation, staff asked around to try and find anyone willing to watch their patient’s dog. Word about Mr. Midnight reached Deanna Mahaley, a certified surgical tech at the hospital, and she immediately volunteered to take him in. Mahaley quickly texted her husband before surgery and sent him the information to go get Mr. Midnight. “When I got off work, I went upstairs to Jose’s room and introduced myself, and let him know who it was exactly watching his dog.”

“When I heard Jose had a puppy in his truck, my mind couldn’t get over the fact that the poor thing was probably scared to death that his owner was absent for so long,” Mahaley said. “It was killing me. I honestly didn’t even think about how he’d do in the presence of my animals or kids, it just all happened as if it was meant to be.”

For the rest of the week, Mahaley and her family cared for Mr. Midnight while his owner was recovering in the hospital. And when Carbajal was finally released from the hospital, Mr. Midnight was there waiting to be reunited with his best friend. “They will always have a special place in my heart, and Mr. Midnight will never forget them and all the love they gave him,” Carbajal said.

Would you be willing to look after a complete stranger’s dog? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: Deanna Mahaley]

Nurse Takes In Patient’s Dog While He Was In The Hospital is an article from: LifeDaily

When one North Carolina little girl was just two-years-old, doctors discovered she had juvenile rheumatoid idiopathic arthritis, and since then her mom has tried to do everything to ensure she has the best quality of life as possible.

“She never crawled. She would just scoot on her butt everywhere,” mom Amanda Andrews said about her now 5-year-old daughter named Kayleigh. “We thought it was cute until her knees started getting really swollen and then she just quit walking.” To help Kayleigh stay mobile and live a normal life, Amanda gives her injections of different medicines once a week, but they soon realized the medicine wasn’t going to be enough.

Amanda did some researching and discovered that a service dog could help Kayleigh keep her balance and pick things up when they fall, and started a GoFundMe since they couldn’t afford the high cost of a service dog on their own. Yet soon after, Amanda got a call from local breeder Michelle Stump, who heard about Kayleigh online and wanted to donate a puppy to be trained as a service dog.

“We have about four litters a year, and I donate one puppy per litter,” Stump said. “It’s probably one of the highlights of all the breeding.” Recently, Stump drove the golden doodle puppy named Bayley all the way from Pennsylvania and when Kayleigh met the puppy for the first time, they instantly bonded. “They just become like one and they’re inseparable, and that’s what really needs to happen in successful service dog relationships,” Stump said. “They actually become one, they really do.”

Watch the entire video below to see how one stranger’s generous gift has transformed this little girl’s life.

Can you believe how much this service dog has helped this little girl? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: Facebook/Amanda House Andrews]

Stranger Donates Service Dog To 5-Year-Old With Arthritis is an article from: LifeDaily

When one Pennsylvania woman found out that her friend and former co-worker’s kidneys were failing, she was determined to do something to help.

About a year ago, a 33-year-old mom of one, Rebekah Ceidro, saw a post on Facebook from her friend Chris Moore. The 30-year-old has battled chronic kidney disease his entire life and had just found out that he had about six months to a year before his kidneys would fail completely and he would either need a kidney transplant or would have to go on dialysis.

“I just kept seeing the post and it would tug at my heart. You don’t think about things like that when you are 30 years old. You think about when you are going to get married, not ‘How am I going to save my own life?’” Ceidro said. “I didn’t see any call for action. I didn’t see any people saying, ‘What can I do to help?’ And I just thought I had to do something.”

Ceidro and Moore happened to have the same blood type, so she decided she had to save her friend’s life. However, when she went to the doctor to start the process for the donation, she was told her BMI was too high for her to be a donor.

“What’s uniquely different about the donor operation is that these are people are very altruistically and very nobly putting themselves in harm’s way for someone else,” said Dr. Amit Tevar, associate professor of surgery at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “Our job is pretty simple: it’s to make sure the donors have a safe process and we don’t put them at any undue risk.”

“Admittedly, I was really angry that two individual surgeons would have the audacity to say such a thing, but they were right,” Ceidro said. “My actual thought was, ‘I’m too fat to save my friend’s life.’ And that sucked, but that’s at least something you can change.” Despite the setback, Ceidro was determined to donate her kidney, so started changing her lifestyle immediately to lose the 15 pounds doctors told her she would have to shed to be eligible to donate. “I thought, ‘This is what I’m going to do, I’m going to start running and keep running until I can do a 5K every day,”

“I thought, ‘This is what I’m going to do, I’m going to start running and keep running until I can do a 5K every day,” Ceidro said. Soon after, Ceidro was running about three to four miles a day, was eating healthier, and started weight training. A few months later, she lost about 40 pounds and on May 7, she finished the UPMC Health Plan Pittsburgh Half Marathon.

“The marathon was like this mountain that I needed to climb in my own life to see if I could get to the top. It was a feeling like there wasn’t anything in the world I couldn’t accomplish because I just accomplished this,” said Ceidro, who is now preparing for transplant surgery with Moore in the next three to six months. “I use her courage to give myself courage. If she can do this, then I can do this,” Moore said.

Would you be willing to do this much for a sick friend? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: Today]

Woman Loses 40 Pounds So She Can Donate A Kidney is an article from: LifeDaily

When a team of rescuers from the Humane Society of the United States raided a home in North Carolina last September, they discovered 150 dogs, cats, and goats kept in unforgivable conditions.

With help from the local police department, the hardworking team managed to shut down the puppy mill and rescued every single animal. But of all the animals they saved in the raid, one small poodle named B.B. caught their eye. B.B had been found inside a small, rusty cage in the basement of the home and it was obvious she had been forced to breed puppies repetitively.

“She was very tiny, and she looked like this helpless creature,” said Jessica Lauginiger, animal crimes manager at HSUS. “I put my hand up to the cage, and she’d come up and sniff a little bit. She was very hesitant for human attention, but she wanted it. I remember how tiny and frail she was in my hands. I pulled her close to my body, and she leaned into me.”

B.B. had most likely never left the basement in her life and had never seen the sky or felt grass in her life, so the sudden change was shocking for her. “B.B. was in a corner,” said Brenda Tortoreo, a former receptionist at Cabarrus Animal Hospital. “She looked pitiful. She was scared to death. She wouldn’t eat, she wouldn’t drink and I felt so bad for her. And I said, ‘That’s the one I’m going to take home.’”

Once B.B. adjusted to her new surroundings and started to gain her strength, Tortoreo took her home and slowly started to teach her what it meant to be a normal dog. “I put B.B. down on the floor, and she kept going in circles — not running, but walking. I guess that’s all she knew to do,” Tortoreo said. “She never knew what sun was. She didn’t know what grass was, and she was terrified of it.

Slowly B.B. started to get comfortable with her new family and is finally getting to live the life she deserves. “She runs around the house. She’s eating like crazy — she was originally about 3 and a half pounds, but I think she’s maybe about 10 pounds now. She loves the grass now, and she loves playing with the other dogs in the backyard,” Tortoreo said. “About three weeks ago she started licking me — she’d never done that before. She’s really come out of her shell. She’s my little princess.”

Can you believe how far this dog has come since rescuers freed her from her tiny cage? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: Humane Society of the United States]

Rescuers Save Dog Kept Locked In A Basement Her Whole Life is an article from: LifeDaily