For the past six years, one Texas veteran and his medical alert dog named Elvis have spent every waking moment together. And over the years, Elvis has not only saved his owner’s life countless times but has become his best friend.
Doug Ferguson, an Austin-based Navy veteran who became homeless about nine years ago, woke up in his car after taking a nap and realized Elvis was missing. He was devastated his best friend was gone and was also worried about what might happen if he had an epileptic seizure without Elvis there to save him.
Photo by KTVU
Word quickly spread about Elvis, and the community came together to print fliers, hung them up throughout the community, and even pooled together $500 to use as a reward within an hour. Thanks to their hard work, a young girl whose brother thought the dog was lost or a stray saw the fliers about Elvis and returned him to Ferguson.
Photo by KTVU
And when the girl was offered the $500 reward money, she gave it to Ferguson instead so he could get his car repaired. “I give credit to the lord and neighbors that live in the adjacent area that have come to know Elvis and are reaching out to help us and they want to see us do good,” Ferguson said.
Photo by KTVU
Watch the entire video below to see the amazing thing this community did for a homeless veteran.
Can you believe how much these kind-hearted strangers did for a homeless veteran? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
After enlisting in the U.S. Army about eight months ago, one soldier stationed in Fort Worth, Texas had no idea when he was going to be able to go home and see his family again.
So when Keaton Tilson found out that he was going to have four days off for Memorial Day weekend, he knew he had to try and get home even though his trip home was approved the night before. The 19-year-old rushed to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and waited all night on standby hoping to make it on a 5 a.m. flight to Granite City, Illinois.
Photo by Jennifer Tilson
“It looked good at first,” said Tilson’s mom, Jennifer. “There were open seats. Then something happened, and he kept missing flights and missing flights.” A few hours later, Tilson was still waiting on standby and he called his mom to tell her he didn’t think he’d make it home. “I had to keep quiet because he was surprising his siblings,” Jennifer said. “I didn’t want to tell them in case he didn’t come.”
A stranger, Josh Rainey, noticed Tilson wasn’t having much luck getting on a flight and went up to the agent and offered to switch seats with him. Unfortunately, they couldn’t switch tickets so close to boarding so the kind-hearted man then offered to pay for $350 of the $375 ticket. “He called back a few minutes later all choked up and said, ‘Somebody just bought my ticket,'” said Jennifer. “He was emotional. I could tell he probably could’ve cried — was trying not to cry.”
Photo by Jennifer Tilson
“I didn’t go over there thinking I was going to buy a ticket, but it didn’t look like he just wanted to go home, it looked like it was for a reason,” said Rainey. “He shook my hand and walked away and then came back and asked if he could give me a hug. Getting a hug from him was the most payment I could’ve gotten… This is so much more about him. He has chosen to give up at least the next four years of his life. He got the week off. Instead of choosing to travel or see another country, he had to get home to his family.”
“I needed to personally and publicly thank him. You don’t hear of that all the time of a complete stranger willing to spend all that money. I told him how grateful we were,” Jennifer said. “He just knew it was the right thing to do. His dad was in the military for 30 years.”
Photo by Jennifer Tilson
Watch the entire video below to see the awesome moment this soldier sees his family for the first time in months.
Would you be willing to do this for a total stranger? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
An innocent baby goat was subject to extreme animal cruelty when an inexperienced veterinarian burned its horn buds off.
Leanne Lauricella, the founder of Goats of Anarchy, a group that rescues and rehabilitates goats with special needs explained to The Dodo, “I was so angry and upset. It’s just a sweet little innocent baby. How could they think of doing anything besides kissing that head?”
Credit: Goats of Anarchy
The goat who was only a week and a half old when Lauricella found him was born with big problems. Lawson (whom Lauricella named after a supporter’s son) was born without the middle section of his back legs, and he would need to have his legs amputated. After that, Lawson would have to learn to walk using a special wheelchair cart.
Lauricella told The Dodo that the woman who originally owned Lawson knew that he’d need special care, so she reached out to Lauricella and arranged for her to take him.
Credit: Goats of Anarchy
But, prior to that the woman took Lawson to the vet for a checkup, and the vet talked her into disbudding Lawson. The woman had little experience with goats, so she thought she was doing the right thing by taking the vet’s advice.
“This vet convinced her that her babies needed to be done,” Lauricella said. “She said they were very, very pushy, and talked her into it. And once it was done, she was just so horrified that she actually threw up afterwards. And she said, ‘I’m supposed to be his protector, but I didn’t know.’ I don’t blame her at all.”
Credit: Goats of Anarchy
Disbudding, or dehorning, is a common practice of removing a young goat’s horns by holding a hot iron to the goats horn buds for several seconds. This cauterizes all the blood vessels that make horns grow. Farmers will often do this to prevent goats from getting caught in fencing and hurting other goats.
Lauricella believes this practice is unnecessary and very cruel. Not only is this disbudding extremely painful for goats (they scream the entire time), Lauricella says, “goat horns are full of blood vessels, and that’s what helps them regulate their body temperature, so that’s what helps them stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter,” Lauricella said. “When you take those away, you’re messing with their bodies.”
Credit: Goats of Anarchy
Thankfully, ever since Lawson has been in Lauricella’s care, he is no longer in pain. His head looks awful, so Lauricella decided to dress him up in cozy hats.
“I started to think, ‘He’s not going to have any cute baby picture,’” Lauricella said. “All you’re going to see if this terrible mutilation on the top of his head. So I said, ‘OK, I’m going to get him some cute little hats, so he has some nice baby pictures, and we don’t have to focus on that.'”
Credit: Goats of Anarchy
The hair on top of Lawson’s head has started to grow back, but Lauricella thinks it will take a number of months. In the meantime, she’s been looking for cute summer hats.
Soldiers are selflessly willing to risk their lives to keep complete strangers safe, but sadly those strangers often do little to help those soldiers struggling to transition back into civilian life.
For one Maryland five-year-old, the fact that so many veterans are struggling with little to no help was unacceptable. “We’re from a family of veterans. My day dad, my brother,” said Andrea Blackstone, who told her son Tyler Stallings about veterans when he was just four-years-old.
Photo by WBAL-TV
“They are people who put their lives on the line every day when they served to make sure we’re safe and I just wanted him to understand that, and as far as some who fall on hard times, some do,” Blackstone said. Tyler decided to do something about the problem and started making ‘hero bags’ with food, toiletries, as well as other essentials and handing them out to veterans on the street or in shelters.
Photo by WBAL-TV
“We do have these veteran’s bags, and they have toothpaste and other toiletries and we have food in them like water, and other things,” Tyler said. “They served our country, and it’s time to help them.” To help pay for all the supplies, Tyler wrote his own book, “Tyler Goes Around the World,” and uses the profits so he can continue helping others.
Photo by WBAL-TV
“I like to do things in the community that is good,” Tyler said.
Watch the entire video below to see the incredible reason why this little boy is so determined to help veterans.
Can you believe everything this five-year-old does to help struggling veterans? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
For years, one Alabama police officer has been lecturing others to never let strangers in their cars or pick up hitchhikers, however, this past week he broke his own rule and it’s one of the best decisions he’s ever made.
Off-duty Weaver police Lt. Charles Plitt had been driving home with a new riding lawn mower when he spotted an elderly man walking on the side of a busy road. “I noticed an older gentleman walking southbound on 431 dressed nicely, but walking very slow and he appeared exhausted. An 18 wheeler flew by and the wind almost knocked him over,” Plitt said in a post to Facebook. “I rolled my window down and asked him if he was o.k. and he looked up at me and said he couldn’t go any further. He told me “I tried, but I just can’t make it….I can’t walk no more.”
Photo by WVMT
70-year-old James Wright explained he was walking to see his wife in a nursing home like he did every other day. However, he recently had a stroke and was struggling to walk any further. “I asked him where she was and he informed me of the nursing home she was in, so I told him I would take him there. After he got in, I thought back to how many times I tell people to be cautious about picking up strangers and about being very careful about picking up hitchhikers… but for some reason I knew this situation was different.”
Photo by WBAL TV
During the ride, Wright explained his car had broken down and had no other way to get to his beloved wife, who has Dementia, and also told his guardian angel about his 22 years of service as a soldier in the U.S. Army. “All I could do is listen and try not to tear up myself… As we pulled into the nursing home he wiped his tears away and shook my hand. He smiled, then thanked me again and with a burst of energy he hurried inside, not looking so feeble or defeated anymore. I pulled away and continued home, but I thought about this encounter with James the whole way back.”
Photo by WBAL TV
For Plitt, the encounter reminded him what Memorial Day is all about and has since started working to see if Wright’s car can be fixed or if the department can help him with any transportation needs.
Would you have stopped if you saw an exhausted elderly man on the side of the road? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
According to wildlife state officials in South Carolina, two men are facing charges after posting photos on Snapchat of them forcing a baby alligator to drink beer.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said the Ridgeland residents Joseph Andrew Floyd, 20, and Zachary Lloyd Brown, 21 are facing misdemeanor charges of harassing wildlife after investigators saw a post on Snapchat containing photos of the men handling a baby alligator.
The half dozen photos uploaded on Snapchat showed the men holding open the mouth of an 18-20 inch alligator and pouring beer down its throat. One photo even shows a man blowing smoke from his mouth into the mouth of an alligator “shotgun” style.
Credit: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
Kyndel McConchie of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said they were alerted to the incident by people who saw the photos on social media. “Other people saw it, got angry and they did screen shots of the images,” said McConchie.
According to UPI.com, “Wildlife conservation is a big part of what SCDNR officers do each day,” SCDNR 1st Sgt. Earl Pope said. “This case is a good example of why we strive to educate people about wildlife in hopes that they will respect it.”
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said Floyd told investigators that he and Brown found the alligator trying to walk across a road and said the animal was released into a nearby pond where it swam away.
Credit: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
“Alligators are protected under state law and even federal law where they are still listed as threatened solely due to their similarity of appearance to other endangered crocodilians worldwide,” SCDNR Alligator Program Coordinator Jay Butfiloski said.
State officials announced the charges late Friday after an investigation led them to the two men in Ridgeland, South Carolina, and the charge is a misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $300.
Can you believe these men would do such a thing?
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[Featured Image Credit: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources]
Last year, one Canadian rodeo circuit veteran was riding her horse along the outskirts of her ranch property in Arizona like she did most days. However, unlike every other day, she never made it home.
Tracy Matkea was about 500 yards from her home when her horse suddenly became spooked and threw her off in an instant despite her years of equestrian experience. Her head hit the ground and knocked her unconscious before she could free her legs from the reins.
Photo by Facebook/Purina Canada
For more than half a mile, Matkea was dragged along the rough desert terrain and her skull was fractured and her scalp was pulled back to the bone in the process. “I was probably dragged for about a quarter mile, and then the stirrup ended up coming apart and that’s how I broke free.” Thankfully her dog Becky Jo was with her and immediately set off for home to get help.
Photo by Facebook/Purina Canada
“My dog arrived home and she was acting very odd, so my husband and my neighbor jumped on the four-wheelers and she literally led them to where I was in the desert,” said Matkea. “I was incoherent, but conscious, and bleeding.” Matkea was airlifted to the hospital and was treated for a severed head artery, a broken facial bone, a major concussion, and severe facial and scalp lacerations just in time. “Five or 10 more minutes bleeding out there and that would have been it. I wouldn’t have been able to lose any more blood.”
Photo by Facebook/Purina Canada
“Becky saved her life. Words can’t explain it,” husband Butch Matkea said. “She literally saved my life… We’ve always loved our dogs and I always knew she was an intelligent dog but I had no idea she was that smart,” Matkea said about Becky Jo, who was just inducted into the 2017 Purina Animal Hall of Fame in honor of her heroism.
Can you believe what this dog did when her owner was in a near-fatal horse riding accident? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
It can be incredibly difficult for soldiers to transition back into civilian life after spending years deployed around the world, especially when those military careers are unexpectantly cut short.
“(Serving your country) is hard to walk away from, especially not on your terms,” said thirty-year-old retired Master Sgt. Zac Rhyner of the U.S. Air Force. “It’d be like a football player that gets pulled from the team earlier than expected, and they worked really hard to get there.”
Photo by Today
Rhyner enlisted in the Air Force in 2004, and in the years that followed, he served six tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, received three Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star Medal, and was wounded multiple times. However, in March 2013, Rhyner’s career suddenly ended when a bullet shattered his hip and severed a sciatic nerve.
Photo by Today
It’s been four years since Rhyner was sent home, but the transition from soldier to husband, father, and civilian hasn’t been easy so a nonprofit organization called Helping a Hero decided to surprise him and his family with a brand new home designed specifically for their needs. Recently, the group surprised the family with their brand new home so they can focus on the future together.
Photo by Today
“To see all of these patriots come out and support a wounded veteran it’s just incredible to have that kind of support,” Rhyner said. “It is like a dream come true to say that we came out of some really dark times. Now we have a beautiful home, a beautiful community to support us as we start this next chapter of our lives,” Jillian Rhyner said.
Watch the entire video below to see the awesome moment this veteran sees his new home for the first time.
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For the brave men and women in the armed forces, being sent away from home for months at a time is just part of the job, however, it’s never an easy thing to do especially for those with children.
So when Capt. Angela Humm found out she was going to be stationed in South Korea for a year, she was nervous about how her 12 children, particularly her daughter Abigail, would take the news since it meant she wouldn’t be home to see her graduate from high school.
Photo by Photo by WOWT
Incredibly, Abigail told her mom not to worry and suggested they live stream the event. “We’ve been lucky you haven’t had to be deployed yet. Now it’s our turn,” Abigail said when Humm told her the news. “She was so mature,” Humm said. “She stepped into many of my roles when I was gone. I wanted to find a way to thank her and show her how proud I was of her,” said Humm, who started planning the special surprise last September when her request to return home a few weeks early to attend Abigail’s graduation ceremony was approved.
Photo by Photo by WOWT
When her time in South Korea finally came to an end, Humm slew home, rented a car, and stayed in a hotel so she didn’t ruin the surprise for her daughter and the rest of her kids. And on Abigail’s graduation day, she hid in an office behind the stage waiting until she heard her daughter’s name called. “I was incredibly nervous,” Humm said. “I just kept thinking ‘Don’t cry, don’t trip in your heels, don’t fall over.’”
Photo by Photo by WOWT
When Abigail was up on stage, Humm snuck up behind her and whispered in her ear so she would turn around. “I was just, like, ‘You aren’t supposed to be here. What? What? How?’ It was the biggest shock… I’m pretty sure my mom made people that she didn’t even know cry. It was emotional for everyone,” Abigail said. “She’s an amazing person,” Humm said. “She deserved this and I’m just so glad to be home with her to celebrate.”
How would you react if a loved one surprised you like this? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
When no one showed up to one Texas boy’s sixth birthday party, he was absolutely crushed. So when it happened a second time two years later, his mom refused to sit back and let another birthday be ruined.
“I lied, and lied, and lied to make it all better,” mom Jennifer Day said about the day none of the 19 kids who received invitations to her son Graham’s sixth birthday party, which she believes happened because her younger son in nonverbal and has autism. “His younger brother is not always the easiest to get around. He’d be unmanageable sometimes, having some meltdowns, and some days were worse than others,” Day said. “There’s awareness for a child that has autism. What nobody seems to understand is that the normal siblings suffer terribly because of it.”
Photo by Facebook/Jennifer Day
So when it happened a second time, Day could see how hurt Graham was and had to try and fix the day. “He just says, ‘This always happens.’ He was just this broken little boy,” Day said. “I just snapped. This is not okay, this is not happening. I can fix this and I’ve got to try.” Day reached out on social media for friends to bring their kids to the party and then went to the police station and explained what happened before asking if an officer might have time to stop by to surprise Graham.
Photo by Facebook/Jennifer Day
But when Officer Brandon Schmidt of the Hurst Police Department heard what happened, he volunteered his entire team and even got some firefighter friends to come along. “We threw up our lights, hit the sirens a few times, and [Graham] started running across the driveway, stopped on the grass, and he was just in shock at that point,” Schmidt said. “He was showing us his Nerf guns. He looked like he was having a heyday with all the extra company and attention there.”
Photo by Facebook/Jennifer Day
“Graham was just so broken down, but now that everybody’s come, he’s come so far out of his shell. Maybe this has been more than just a small birthday thing. This might have healed a piece of him,” Day said. “We’re pretty much willing to do just about everything,” Schmidt said. “That’s what the job entails. We just want to help the community… especially a young kid [who had] nobody show up at his birthday party. A lot of people don’t think we have hearts, but we’re people too.”
Watch the entire video below to see how these heroes saved the day for one little boy.
Can you believe what these heroes did for a young boy when no one showed up for his birthday party? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
Watching your child walk across the stage at their high school graduation and receive their diploma is a moment that all parents look forward to, which is why one Indiana dad was devastated when he found out he was going to miss such a monumental moment.
When Jack Bailey was first diagnosed with cancer, he and his family were determined to get him to his daughter Hollie’s graduation from Floyd Central High School on Jun. 4 no matter sick he was.“He has cancer and he’s a tough fighter… We were super excited, and we were praying that dad could make it to her graduation, even if that meant we had to wheel him in a wheelchair,” Jack’s daughter Heaven said.
Photo by Facebook/Heaven Bailey
However, Jack’s condition got worse and he was admitted to Baptist Health Floyd hospital on May 19. His family still hoped there was time for him to get better, but then doctors broke the bad news. “Sadly, on May 26, 2017, the doctors told us he would not be able to attend Hollie’s graduation,” Heaven explained.
Photo by Facebook/Heaven Bailey
The family spoke to Principal Rob William and explained the situation. “They decided to have graduation a little early for Hollie!!!! Soooo, SURPRISE! We turned Baptist Health Floyd in FC for the night!!! It was a blessing for all of us to witness such a magical moment!” Heaven said.
Photo by Facebook/Heaven Bailey
Watch the entire video below to see the touching moment this dad gets to see his daughter on her graduation day.
Can you imagine how much it meant for this family to be able to do this? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
When one 28-year-old Washington father mistakenly received $1,200 from a total stranger, he immediately gave it back even though it was money he sorely needed.
This past month, Gerrell McAllister woke up to an email from PayPal that someone had sent him $1,200. “It said, ‘You’ve got money!’ so I’m thinking, You’ve got jokes!” said McAllister, a cashier at a natural pet food store in Tacoma and a father to a five-year-old daughter. “I immediately woke up. I didn’t know where it was from.”
Photo by Melissa Trusler
McAllister had been struggling recently after his mom suddenly passed away in December, but immediately returned the money to a man named Alan who was trying to send his daughter Melissa Trusler the money as a 30th birthday gift. “Tell her I said happy birthday,” McAllister wrote in a note to Alan. “Returning the money was instinctive because of the values my mom instilled in me. I’m trying to be the best person and provide the best example for my daughter.”
Trusler sent a note back thanking him for sending it back so quickly, and McAllister responded by asking that she let friends and family know how a ‘low income 28-year-old Black man from Tacoma with a 5-year-old daughter’. “Tacoma has a reputation of being lower-class and untrustworthy,” McAllister explained. “We call it the ‘Tacoma grit,’ but we’re not bad people. It was important to me to use this as an example to reverse some of those stereotypes, whether racial stereotypes or about young people. Hopefully, people can learn from it.”
Photo by Melissa Trusler
Trusler shared the experience on Facebook, and people quickly began asking for McAllister’s contact details so they could send him money as karma for his good deed. “As soon as that one arrived, it was nonstop,” said McAllister, who teared up at work when he realized what was happening. “Majority of them have such heartfelt, heartwarming messages.”
“To be honest I haven’t checked my PayPal since that day,” said McAllister, who still doesn’t know how much money has been donated so far. “I want to try to message everyone back individually to say thank you.I don’t want the money to detract from that. I don’t want that to dilute the intent.”
Photo by Gerrell McAllister
What would you do if a stranger accidentally sent you a large sum of money? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
What started out as a fun day out on the water for one Sacramento family quickly turned into a nightmare when a couple and two small children nearly lost their lives.
This past week, Benjamin Serna and his wife took their two young sons and a friend’s three-year-old daughter out for a fun day of jet skiing. However, while Serna and his 5-year-old son Joshua were riding on the watercraft, which was pulling the rest of the group on an inner tube, they realized something had gone terribly wrong.
Photo by Toledo News Now
“The inflatable inner tube started sinking,” Serna said. His wife was screaming for help so he jumped off the jet ski to give her his life vest. “She had gone under, and the two babies, she was holding them up.” Serna grabbed the little girl and started to swim back to the jet ski, but was starting to drown himself. “We started calling out to my son at that point. I remember going down and coming back up and getting a breath of air then yelling, ‘Joshua!’ and then coming back down under the water.”
Photo by Toledo News Now
Incredibly, Joshua was able to maneuver the massive machine all on his own. “I pushed the red button, and I drive,” Joshua said. Once close enough, Serna grabbed on and Joshua pulled the girl up next to him. “God helped him to figure out how to turn on the Sea-Doo,” Serna said. Soon after, a nearby boat rushed over and grabbed Joshua’s mother and brother out of the water and they all made it safely back to shore and Joshua started to cry as he realized what had happened. “I just told him that it was OK. We were all OK and that he was my hero, and I was very proud of him,” Serna said.
Watch the entire video below to see what this little boy did to save his entire family from drowning.
Can you believe this little boy was able to stay calm in such a traumatizing situation? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
A California mother is horrified when her young son discovered cocaine in a toy they purchased from a Bell Gardens restaurant vending machine.
The squishy ball in a plastic container was similar to a stress ball, according to CBSLA.com, and it was purchased from the vending machine around 9:30 pm Monday.
Credit: Bell Gardens Police Department
According to Bell Gardens police Detective Miguel Torres, “While her son was playing with the putty-ball toy, it ruptured and white powdery substance came out.” It was at that point that the boy’s mother called police and officers showed up with a drug-testing kit.
After running the powder through it, police learned it was indeed cocaine, and a totally of 136 grams were removed and recovered. Detectives on the case told CBS2/KCAL9’s Jeff Nguyen that the amount of cocaine is not a small amount.
Credit: Bell Gardens Police Department
“It was weird because me and my sister get toys sometimes. and then when I heard about it, I was like I’m not going to get them anymore,” said a restaurant customer. Another customer, Candace Mahan, said, “These are kids, small kids coming in here looking for stuff in the machines.”
Police said the machine belongs to a company called Snack Time Vending, and detectives don’t think that the restaurant or the vending company are involved. “It was weird because me and my sister get toys sometimes. and then when I heard about it, I was like I’m not going to get them anymore,” said one restaurant customer. Detectives are still investigating how the cocaine got into the vending machine.
Watch this video below and please SHARE this crazy story with your friends and family on Facebook!
Can you believe this happened in a vending machine?
Let us know in the comments.
[Featured Image Credit: Bell Gardens Police Department]
One Edmonton mom had the scare of her life when her 2-year-old son Tristan Cormier suffered severe burns after falling in the family’s fire pit.
On May 17, Tristan’s parents cleaned up their yard and started a backyard fire in the pit to burn off some debris, Tristan’s grandmother told Global News. The Cormier’s were roasting marshmallows and poured water on the fire to put it out before going to bed.
Credit: Twitter- SarahNKraus
The following day- about 16 hours later, Tristan was playing in the backyard with his grandpa when things suddenly went wrong. “He was just pushing one of his trucks when he hit the fire pit,” LeBlanc said Tuesday evening. “He went over with his two hands and he kept himself up.”
Within 30 seconds, Tristan was pulled from the pit, but the damage had already been done. “My father was holding my son frantically and all I could see was just ashes everywhere and I instantly – as a mom – just took him inside and called 911,” Tristan’s mother, Shelley Cormier, told Global News.
Credit: GoFundMe
Tristan’s mom called 911 and an ambulance rushed Tristan to the hospital where he had surgery to tend to his burns. “He came out of surgery, his eyes and his face were so swollen because of the trauma of the surgery.”
Tristan had to have his skin removed from his back to replace what he lost on his left arm and hand. Since this frightening ordeal, the family has removed the fire pit from their yard. “We dug it up, took it out, filled it up,” LeBlanc said. “We wish we would have done it before if we would have known.”
Credit: GoFundMe
The experience has taught Cormier a valuable lesson, which she shared on Facebook Live with other parents: “It [fire] can burn up to 24 to 48 hours afterwards, depending on the temperature outside and the time of fire pit you’re using. It was definitely a shock to see.”
Cormier said, “As much as he’s in pain I’m just grateful because it could’ve been a lot worse.” Tristan will need to undergo intense physiotherapy as well as more skin grafts when he gets older, but Cormier hopes other families can learn from their misfortune.
Credit: Twitter- SarahNKraus
The Cormier family has started a GoFundMe page to help with the financial burden of Tristan’s treatment.
Please SHARE this story with your friends and family on Facebook to warn other parents of the dangers of fire pits.
If it wasn’t for the complete selflessness of Shanta Jordan, one little boy would not be alive.
Caught on surveillance camera, a car is shown slamming into pedestrians in Connecticut, pinning a woman and young child against a building. Right as the car is about to slam into the little boy, a hero named Shanta Jordan jumped in front of the vehicle in an effort to push the little boy out of the car’s path.
Credit: Bridgeport Police
“If she did not step in, the child would be in direct contact with the motor vehicle against the wall and most likely, he would have perished, he would have died,” Bridgeport Police Chief A.J. Perez said.
Jordan’s body absorbed much of the impact of the car, thereby saving the child’s life, although he was seriously injured. According to Fox 13, police said that surgeons initially thought they would have to amputate both of the boy’s legs, but after hours in the operating room, they were able to save them.
Credit: Bridgeport Police
Police continued that if it was not for the amazing bravery of Jordan, the little boy’s family would be grieving his loss. “I truly believe that it would’ve been a fatality,” Perez said.
Both Shanta Jordan and the little boy are still recovering, and police said state and local leaders will pay special tribute to Jordan in a ceremony at City Hall next week. “She is a heroine, that’s what she is,” Perez said. “She is a great person and she is an asset to this community.”
Watch the video below and please SHARE this incredible story with your friends and family on Facebook!
Warning: The following video contains content that may be upsetting to some viewers.
A Florida mom is under police investigation after she posted a video to Facebook showing her 1-year-old daughter being bitten by a red ratsnake.
The mom, who is remaining unidentified told WFTS that she did intentionally allowed a snake to bite her infant because she wanted to introduce snakes to her child and she thought it was “harmless.” “It had bitten me and my son and didn’t leave a mark, several times,” she told WFTS. “So, I thought it was a good opportunity to introduce her without actually getting hurt.”
Credit: WFTS
The video clip shows the unnamed mom raising a clear, plastic bin containing the small snake up to her child’s sit-and-play device, and the baby reaches into the bin to touch the snake, which proceeds to bite her finger. After the child begins crying, her mother can he heard on camera laughing.
While the video has since been removed from Facebook since it has received so much backlash, the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office says they are still investigating the incident, according to WFTS.
Credit: WFTS
The mom told the outlet that she does not regret allowing the snake to bite her baby, saying, “It had bitten me and my son and didn’t leave a mark, several times. So, I thought it was a good opportunity to introduce her without actually getting hurt.”
She continued saying that the snake’s teeth are too small to actually puncture the skin, and she believes it’s important for her kids to learn what kind of wildlife to stay away from at an early age. “She’s not scared of snakes but she doesn’t want to touch them, either,” said the mom. “That was my goal.”
Watch this shocking video below and please SHARE it with your friends and family on Facebook!
Do you think this mom went too far? Would you ever allow your infant to be this close to a snake?
A man from Edmonton is sharing a shocking video he captured on dash cam while driving his car.
Ryan Collinson posted the video on YouTube on June 2, and the 30-second clip appears to show the van travel down a residential street at a slow speed when a small child runs out from behind another vehicle parked on the left side of the road.
In the video, the driver sees the boy and immediately slams on his breaks, just missing the child. The boy runs away almost instantaneously. After a pause, as Collinson catches his breath, he says to the boy, “Oh my God.” And asks, “Are you OK?”
Credit: YouTube- Ope Aaron
Several other children gathered on the sidewalk, along with the little boy who points towards the vehicle and Collinson slowly pulls over. He then asked the boy, “Are you scared?” He said the boy went back to playing, but Collinson himself was shaking.
Collinson wrote on YouTube, “Had I been texting, playing with the radio, or anything, this kid would have been hit for sure. Even just the bubble he was chasing gave me a warning sign that there were kids there. Luckily I wasn’t going any faster either.”
Collinson later told Global News that it was a soap bubble that alerted him that a child may be nearby, and that’s when he started to react. “They were just blowing bubbles in the yard and then one floated across the street. He chased it down and just popped out of nowhere,” Collinson said.
Credit: YouTube- Ope Aaron
“I moved my foot over to the brake and as soon as I moved my foot over, the kid came out from behind the truck. I just slammed down as hard as I could and jerked the wheel. I was literally centimeters away from hitting this kid,” he continued.
After the incident, Collison urged others on Twitter to drive safe and keep your eyes peeled on the road. “Even if you’re in your own driveway just pulling out, don’t look at your phone, pay attention to where you’re going,” he said.
When Global News reached out to the little boy’s mother, she revealed that kids in the neighborhood are often playing outside and the family will use this as a learning opportunity.
Watch this close-call below and please SHARE it with your friends and family on Facebook!
Let this video be a reminder to keep your eyes on the road.
As Christine Corbitt neared the end of her pregnancy, it was undeniable how large her stomach was.
Having previously given birth to her two children- one weighing 9lbs and the other 10lbs, Corbitt expected her new baby would weigh about 10lbs.
“Towards the end of my pregnancy, I was, ‘Oh my gosh. She’s just so huge,” Corbitt told ActionNewsJax. Corbitt got the surprise of her life when she gave birth to Carleigh Brooke on May 15, and she weighed a whopping 13lbs, 5oz. Corbitt’s doctor, Dr. Eric Edelenbos said it was the largest baby he has ever delivered!
3) Carleigh’s mom is used to big babies (her first two were 9 and 10 pounds), but Carleigh was a surprise to say the least. pic.twitter.com/hQpq6ji7IJ
“When the baby was coming out, I was like, ‘Is this baby ever going to end?’ Everybody in the room kind of just stopped during the delivery and was like, ‘Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh,’” Dr. Edelenbos said. Following her birth, Carleigh had to stay in the NICU for a while until her blood sugar levels were checked and were all clear.
“It looked they pulled a toddler out of my belly. She’s so big,” Corbitt shared with ABC News.
13 pounds, 5 ounces! ???????? I’ll show you Carleigh’s large entry into the world and the team effort behind her birth, @ 5:55 on @ActionNewsJax. pic.twitter.com/ZtM9aUoDpG
She continued, “When the doctor was pulling her out of me I just start hearing them all laughing and excited in the operating room. They were throwing out numbers and when they showed her to me and said 13.5 I couldn’t believe it.”
The Corbitts celebrated their massive new miracle baby with a photo shoot by photographer Debbye Benson of Sweet Smiles Photography Studio. “She’s like a 6 month old baby,” said Larry Corbitt.
4) Carleigh’s newborn pictures are so cute! Her personality is already shining through. pic.twitter.com/PqkTTkLUfn
“We even contacted Pampers and Huggies to help us out because everything we got to prepare is just out the door. None of it fits. She’s in size 3 diapers. The clothes she had on yesterday was a 9-month outfit. She’s huge.”
Today, both mother and baby are doing great and Larry told ABC News his wife is a trooper for everything she has gone through. As far as having more kids, Corbitt says she is done.
Watch this video of Corbitt explaining Carleigh’s birth below and please SHARE this story with your friends and family on Facebook!
On Monday morning when Tito’s owner dragged him into the lobby of the Miami-Dade Animal Services to surrender him, it was clear that he was devastated.
Animal advocate and shelter volunteer, Christina Dickson videotaped this sad moment posting it on her Facebook, while her heart broke into a million pieces. According to the video, when Christina spoke with Tito’s owner, the woman said the dog was a stray who the family took in and fed.
Credit: Facebook- Christina Dickson
Their female dog had become aggressive and hostile towards Tito, even refusing to let him eat, and that’s when they made the decision to surrender Tito. In the video, Dickson brought up that if Tito was neutered, he may no longer be perceived as a threat to the family’s other dog. But, when Christina offered free veterinary services for the dog’s sterilization, his owner declined, and at that moment, Christina knew Tito’s fate.
In the shelter, Tito may have a death sentence if no one chooses to adopt him.
Credit: Facebook- Christina Dickson
Watching Tito resist going into the shelter absolutely broke our hearts- it’s like he knew what was happening. We have seen families surrender their dogs time and time again, but it is still sad every time.
Tito is currently being listed at Pet Harbor: “I am an unaltered white and cream American bulldog. I have been at the shelter since June 5. The staff thinks I am about two years old.” For more information on this dog, contact the Miami-Dade Animal Services at 305.884.1101. Make sure to reference ID#A1878910.”
Watch this heartbreaking video of Tito being surrendered below:
Do you think it was wrong of Tito’s owner to give him up? Or, would you have done the same thing?
Let us know in the comments and please SHARE this story with your friends and family on Facebook to help get Tito adopted!
[Featured Image Credit: Facebook- Christina Dickson]
