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I don't know what the heck is in the water in Georgia, but I am impressed!!
Brothers’ winnings benefit animal rescue group
By SANDY ECKSTEIN The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When we last checked with Zack and Thomas Eller in December, the two Milton boys had raised more than $1,200 for a rescue group.
This month they increased that amount substantially with a $5,000 donation, thanks to their mom and parenting magazine Wondertime, which held a Littlest Volunteers Contest.
“I saw the contest and filled out the application without even telling them,” said Tracy Eller, who has helped sons Zack, 13, and Thomas, 9, with their burgeoning dog biscuit business over the past two years.
The boys started making them in 2006, and soon were selling the peanut butter, applesauce and wheat doggie goodies at local stores and adoptions for Aiding and A-Petting, a group that fosters dogs and cats until they can be adopted. All the proceeds, about $1,700 so far, have gone to the rescue group. Founder Karen Brinker said they were blown away by the $5,000 award, which came from the magazine and the Walt Disney Co.
The boys’ only reward was a photo shoot and being featured in the magazine this fall as one of three grand prize winners. But that was enough for them.
“This helped us raise more money to give to the pets, so we were really happy,” Zack said.
Of course, the Eller boys aren’t the only animal-loving youngsters in the North Georgia area. In fact, there are so many we can’t write about them all. But here are a few more who are working hard to help homeless pets:
Her own book. Ansley Burnette, 8, of Blairsville volunteers with a group called Castaway Critters Pet Rescue. That’s why she knows so much about homeless pets. And also why she wants to help them.
Ansley wrote a book called “Frisco Finds a Forever Family,” about a homeless dog finding his forever home. Of course it helps that her family owns a publishing company that printed the book. But Ansley, a home-schooled fourth-grader, wrote the story and found another student, Deborah Mullen of Ellijay, to draw the illustrations, which Ansley then colored. Her mom, Dawn Burnette, is understandably proud.
“She loves to write, so she decided to write a book to raise money for the shelter and help raise awareness at the same time,” she said.
The hardback was published in April and has raised more than $1,100 for Castaway Critters. Other groups also can buy the book wholesale and sell it and keep the profits.
Ansley has held book signings, and is working on a program to take into schools on responsible pet ownership and the importance of spaying and neutering.
A rock solid fund-raiser. Claudia Crawford, 10, of Cumming came up with a different way to raise money to help homeless pets — she sold rocks at her school, Settles Bridge Elementary in Forsyth County.
A teacher supplied the rocks, which included semi-precious stones, and for the past two school years Claudia has sold them to fellow students for 50 cents to $20. The most recent sale netted about $200 for SmallDog Rescue and Humane Society, where Claudia has been volunteering since she was 8, cleaning cages, walking dogs and helping with fund-raisers.
“I really love animals, and I don’t like to see dogs in humane societies, so I raised money for the dogs,” said Claudia, who has four dogs of her own.
Anne Stockton, president of the rescue group, said it has a number of young volunteers, including ones that regularly work at adoption events or the shelter.
“We are one of the few rescue groups that works with youth volunteers,” Stockton said. “We feel it is vital to the rescue effort to have the youth of today learn about responsible pet care. They are our future.”
Dough from doughnuts. Another school project that’s helping Georgia’s animals is the doughnut sale by the eighth-grade Beta Club at Creekland Middle School in Lawrenceville. With the blessing of Principal William Kruskamp, about two dozen students, led by teacher Suzanne Cross, hold regular sales. At the end of the school year the club donates the money to SpayGeorgia, which funds low-cost spay/neuters for pets whose owners otherwise couldn’t afford them.
This year the class donated $2,100.
“That will spay or neuter a lot of animals,” said Cindy Lindsey, founder of SpayGeorgia. “We are so impressed with these kids and their teacher and the school for allowing these kids to fund-raise for us.”
While most people knew Skip Caray as the Braves announcer, those in the animal community also knew of his love for animals. He and his wife, Paula, adopted several rescue dogs, including one from SmallDog Rescue and Humane Society. And SmallDog was one of three groups listed by Caray’s family for where donations could be made in his memory. Anyone who wants to donate can go to www.smalldoghumane.org.
By CHRISTOPHER QUINN The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 08/06/08 Photo by Frank Niemeir
Marcello Torres states matter-of-factly that "football can relate to life and stuff."
That discovery by the 12-year-old quarterback in a flag football league is exactly the point.
Work mates Joseph Greiner and Jeremy Weil of JPMorgan Private Bank started the league this summer for underprivileged kids and brought in inspirational speakers. Professional football players and coaches such as former Falcon Ronnie Bradford and Georgia Tech starting tackle Darryl Richard and educators talked to the children during the six weeks of the league.
"When Joe and I started up the camp, we wanted each of the six weeks to have a theme — academic achievement, goal setting, teamwork," Weil said.
Weil knew Joseph Baker, one of the founders of the nonprofit PlaySmart, when Weil was living in New Orleans several years ago and Baker was a Saints coach. PlaySmart teaches and encourages children to reach their potential through play.
"When I moved to Atlanta a little over two years ago, I started talking to [Baker] about working with his organization," Weil said.
He and Greiner started an Atlanta chapter of PlaySmart.
They recruited about 20 friends and co-workers as coaches, referees and mentors. They talked to Pace Academy, who gave them permission to use its athletic fields and which encouraged its students to help.
The Saturday football for boys and girls 9 to 13 years old from Boys & Girls Clubs began in June and ended last week.
Darryll Starks, a coordinator from the Clayton County Boys & Girls Club, said, "I've met some great volunteers in my time, but [Weil and Greiner] are two of the best. They are thorough, they understand the kids, and they have a great program."
Weil, who is 24, said, "Joe and I had been talking about wanting to take a leadership role in something outside of the office, and we knew it had to be something we were really passionate about."
Greiner, also 24, said, "You can get very wrapped up in your job ... so wrapped up you feel like you don't have time for anything else. It was important for me to actively get started in doing something for the community."
Weil said, "Once we started putting things on paper, it really took off."
The two raised $5,000 for the program.
Boys & Girls Clubs bused in about 60 players. The teams practiced and played two games each Saturday morning, followed by lunch.
It gave the kids and the coaches something to look forward to.
Marcello said if he were not in the league, "On Saturday, I would probably be home all day, doing nothing probably."
I think my favorite part of today's "feel-good" post was how these guys didn't just blindly go into this saying "We want to help these kids play football" ... they went into it planning a LIFE lesson each week! How cool is that?
Today's 'feel good' story made me a little teary-eyed, If you can watch the video, it is even more amazing than the written story itself. I tried to embed it here, but it just won't go. So I linked to it instead. Dog lovers, grab a tissue!
The dog left on the doorstep of the Granada Hills pet clinic was sick. The letter left with him was heartbreaking.
"Dear Drs., please forgive me for this horrible transgression. I have no where else to turn so I ask you to mercifully, gently and lovingly please help him sleep. His name is Kaiser and he's 16-and-a half years old. He's been my friend, my teacher, my pupil, my lifelong loving and loyal companion," the letter said.
On the envelope, the author of the letter said that he thought Kaiser had two strokes the night before.
"Be good to him as you would your own child, for he's been mine for a loving lifetime," the envelope read.
Inside, the writer continued to pour his heart out.
"We've been together 24-7 365 days a year since he was 8 months old. He's gentle, smart, and I'll miss him more than I could admit. Saturday evening, without warning or any outside influence, he began rolling on his back on the floor, all four legs extended, rigid and thrusting wildly in all directions. I saw fear and panic in his otherwise unrecognizable eyes. His head was pulled down to his right, and he seemed unable to do otherwise. If I had to render a guess I would say it appeared as though he had a stroke. He can stand, but 85 percent unsteady. He's fearfully reacting to attempts to get him to drink water. He refuses food as though he's totally lost knowledge of what to do with food."
"I'm a homeless disabled vet, and I know when it's time to say goodbye to a friend, and it's time now. He's such a part of my being, I'll once again be alone in my life. I love you Kaiser, thank you for caring, sincerely, Kaiser's Soul Mate."
Debbie Herot, a manager at Pet Medical Center Chatoak in Granada Hills, found the letter and the dog on the clinic doorstep as she came in to work last week.
Though she tries to keep an emotional distance from the pets she sees, in this case, she couldn't do it.
"After you're in this business for so long you learn to look the other way, because we have to euthanize animals. This one i couldn't euthanize," Herot said.
Instead, Herot tried to turn another loss into a gain. Last year, 23-year-old clinic employee Eric Flesher died in a car crash. Herot said he used to hate seeing animals come in that couldn't get treatment because their owners couldn't afford the cost of the care. So after his death, his family set up a fund to help animals like Kaiser.
Herot said it turned out that Kaiser hadn't had a stroke, but a much less serious illness from which he is now almost fully recovered.
With Kaiser doing better and the words of the letter still ringing in their heads, clinic employees set out to find Kaiser's owner.
The story of the homeless vet's letter eventually made it into the Daily News. Bob Mikolasko showed up at the clinic. He had seen the story in the newspaper. After correctly answering some questions about Kaiser that only he would know, Herot became convinced they found Kaiser's "soul mate."
Before he left, Mikolasko thanked the stafff and - summing up his feelings - proved to be just as poignant with the spoken word, as he had been with the written.
"When you leave your house in the morning and go to work and you don't see them until you come back, well, that's one lifestyle. You develop a rapport.
"I spent 11 years in a motor home living on the streets here, 24-7 with him. There was no baby sitter. There's no break. There's no summer vacation. There's no going to work. When I go to work, he goes with me," Mikolasko said.
... in a way I've never heard of in my life! This feel-good story/video is .. well .. watch it for yourself! I'm still in a little disbelief.
The wait for a new kidney can take years. One donor began a chain of donations to people desperately in need. Harry Smith talks to 8 donors and recipients who are linked by paying it forward.
Today's "feel good" story is about what seems to be a rarity these days ... the old-fashioned notion of a "good samaritan". With so many stories lately about people who sit/drive by and do NOTHING while people are in mortal danger, horribly wounded, or even dead or dying, I thought it might be nice to share a story about a guy who's doing just the opposite: going out of his way JUST to help people! Read on ...
'The highwayman': Thomas Weller of San Diego helped a stranded motorist in July during one of his freeway rounds. He's volunteered to rescue people since 1966. Brent Foster/L.A. Times
SAN DIEGO - Christin Ernst was in a fix. An errant screwdriver punctured her tire on a San Diego freeway, leaving her stranded.
That's when Thomas Weller – also known as the San Diego Highwayman – arrived in his monstrous white search-and-rescue vehicle, complete with emergency lights flashing. A surprised Ms. Ernst watched as Mr. Weller slapped on her spare and inflated it.
She was fortunate. Because of wallet-busting fuel prices, Weller has had to cut back his good Samaritan runs to once every three days. Weighing more than 5,600 pounds, Weller's aging rescue rig is a world-class gas-guzzler.
"I sit home on the front porch a lot," he said. "It's killing me."
Weller isn't alone. High gas prices are forcing potential do-gooders of all kinds to stay home.
Meals on Wheels and other services that depend on volunteer drivers have had to scale back. In a June survey of US groups that serve the elderly, more than 70 percent said fuel costs had made it harder to recruit and retain volunteers.
For a while, Weller had a benefactor. An Auto Trader executive saw a television report about his good deeds and paid his fuel bills from April 2002 until budget cutbacks ended the deal.
"The best time of my career of doing this was the 17 months that I didn't have to worry about the expense," Weller said.
He started his volunteer highway rounds in 1966. Now 60, Weller figures he has helped more than 6,000 motorists.
"It's what I do for excitement," said Weller, who was vague about what his avocation costs.
Weller's usual companion is Shela, a black-and-white mix of Labrador retriever and smooth collie. Weller describes her as "a person in a fur suit."
Riding in the back of Weller's vehicle is a no-go. Instead of seats, there's an assortment of things one might need to help a motorist in a jam: an electronic ignition, mechanic's tool kit, hacksaw, crowbar, fire-resistant overalls, and a yellow hard hat emblazoned with "San Diego Highwayman."
Mostly, he helps people whose vehicles are out of gas, or have a flat tire or overheated engine. For those, he carries gas, water, compressed air, and jacks capable of lifting an ambulance or a low-rider.
To make a living, he has been a roofer, car repair manager, tire repairman, and security guard. These days, he fixes cars for a select group of regular customers. He says it provides enough money for his modest lifestyle and, until gas prices went up, also covered his Samaritan drives.
I should add that the original version of this story actually had a negative spin on it. The original headline:
Fuel costs pinch roadside rescue man
The original subtitle:
Thomas Weller, who has volunteered to rescue stranded motorists since 1966, recently cut back on the number of runs he makes due to high gas prices.
But I prefer to focus on the positive of this .. that there is someone who, in this day and age, still takes his own personal time, money and know-how, to help strangers in a bind. I think that's awesome, no matter HOW the media tries to spin it to sell papers.
As some of you know, I bought some new shoes recently to try to help my cardio work at the gym. I didn't really think many people would be interested in a blog about shoes, but come to find out, feet (and the proper footwear) are a pretty important topic to a LOT of people!
When I came across this story today (yep, it's a "feel good" one), I thought maybe some of you might find it interesting, too. I'm not much into sports, but those of you who are may already know the story.
Apparently this IUPUI coach felt very strongly about children in underprivileged nations having shoes to wear. So much so, that for an organization called Samaritan's Feet, he coached a game earlier this year completely barefoot, as a fundraising move to try to get shoes (or money for shoes) donated.
Not only did he reach his goal of 250,000 pairs of shoes, but he took his entire team with him to Peru, to help deliver those shoes. He said he wanted to teach them that winning games was not the most important thing in the world.
Wow. Hats off to you, Mr. Hunter. It's refreshing and amazing to see someone letting people know there are more important things out there than winning, at whatever cost. You can read more about Coach Hunter and his "Barefoot For The Cause" crusade here.
Not only did Coach Hunter do something amazing for this organization with his barefoot coaching, he also inspired others to follow suit!
On May 11, TNT's Inside the NBA announcers went barefoot to raise awareness for the same organization.
And on October 11, Emmanuel (Manny) Ohonme, the founder of Samaritan's Feet, will walk 300 miles barefoot - starting in Charlotte, NC and ending in Atlanta, GA. From the web site:
"We would like for you to join Manny on his journey. Samaritan’s Feet and NASCAR are asking you to sign up to be a part of the “World Walk”. On October 25th, all participants of the world walk will simultaneously walk one mile at 12:00pm (eastern). People from around the world will join Manny and his team as he heads towards Atlanta. At previous shoe distribution locations throughout the world, people will walk in their community in support of Samaritan’s Feet. Thousands of people will walk simultaneously to put shoes on the feet of children.
Our goal is to raise $1,000,000 and 300,000 pairs of shoes during his 300 mile journey. Manny will stop at historic sites throughout his journey recognizing political figures and citizens who have changed our country for the better. Samaritan’s Feet will conduct shoe distributions along the way in communities throughout the journey.
You can do it at your house, your kid’s games or where ever you are. Walk 1 mile for children around the world who don't have shoes."
Kinda cool, what these people are doing. They're touching a lot of lives, that's for sure.
If I could live my life over and pick a new direction for myself, or rather .. if I could pick another life for me to live (because I'm selfishly pretty damned happy with this one), I would live in remote lands and fight poaching. From what little I know about fighting poachers, it's not usually a gig in which you find yourself actually living very long, unless you're REALLY lucky or REALLY good (but from what I understand, the latter can't really even protect you forever).
I'm not sure I can imagine anything more dastardly, more cowardly, more selfish and without conscience, than poaching. Killing an animal for just a few of its coveted parts, and leaving the rest to rot. In actuality, "poaching" includes a lot more than just that - it is the fishing, hunting or harvesting of plants or animals when it is illegal. But for today's "feel good" blog (yep, it's another of those that is good news, but that riles up the bad, too), I'm talking about the first description. And while the story talks about rhinos, I couldn't help but accompany it with this photo, taken by a photographer on iStock with a hidden camera, in Africa, where elephant feet/legs are used to make furniture, chairs and coffee tables. I can think of no more fitting punishment than to cut off the culprit's own feet and to leave him alone in the African Serengeti with no protection or means by which to end his own life quickly.
Indian army to help prevent rhino poaching
Saturday July 26, 2008 3:31 PM
GAUHATI, India (AP) - Authorities in northeastern India have asked the army to help protect endangered one-horned rhinoceroses from poachers and have made the soldiers honorary wildlife wardens, officials said Saturday.
"The army will now assist the authorities at the Kaziranga National Park in protecting the rhino,'' park director S.N. Buragohain told The Associated Press.
The soldiers will live in tents in the park, he said.
The 267 square mile park, about 135 miles east of Gauhati, the capital of Assam state, is home to more than 1,800 of the world's estimated 3,000 one-horned rhinoceroses.
Poachers killed about 20 rhinos in the park last year and six have been killed so far this year.
"The army's presence is expected to keep poachers away. This is good news for us,'' Buragohain said.
Soldiers have also been asked to be part of anti-poaching drives in at least six other national parks and sanctuaries in the state.
Gangs of armed poachers kill rhinos for their horns, which many believe have aphrodisiac qualities and are used in medicines in parts of South and Southeast Asia.
Rhino horns are also popular in the Middle East, where they are fashioned into handles for ornamental daggers.
Authorities in Assam earlier deployed lightly armed forest guards in Kaziranga who were unable to stop the poaching.
So yep, if I could lead an alternate life, I would fight poaching with everything I had, even if it meant I didn't last long. My only problem is that I would not be able to simply "arrest" poachers of this sort. I would end up having to kill them "accidentally" and I'm sure at some point that would all catch up with me. At any rate, I feel very much similar with regards to "hunting for sport" here in the U.S. or anywhere, for that matter. My family existed on primarily wild game when I was a kid, but we had great respect for nature and thanks for what was provided for us. We ate everything, and we used every possible part of any animal that was killed. I don't know that I, personally, could hunt for meat nowadays, but I have no issues with how I grew up. I have issues with people who kill an animal just to take it's head or horns or hooves or fur and leave the rest to rot. I only hope that when the end comes for you you're judged by a panel that is comprised of at least half animals, judged for your compassion and respect for all life. And then redirected accordingly.
Today's "feel good" news story helps reaffirm my faith in kids (teenagers). I think what they're doing is awesome! And, at the risk of irking a few ires here, I just have to say I think it's a shame that it almost always seems to be religious organizations behind programs like this. Not because I'm "anti-religion" .. but I wish it were open for kids who might not be a part of this particular faith or maybe not any faith at all, to be able to participate without it having to affect their spiritual beliefs. I'd bet there are non-religion-specific organizations out there, though. I wish I'd known about stuff like this when I was in HS .. I'd like to think this is something I would have embraced.
At any rate, and under whatever religious umbrella, GOOD for these kids! They are doing awesome work and no doubt learning awesome life lessons, too.
As most teenagers spent their summer break at the beach, pool or working at summer jobs, some 240 junior high and high school-age kids were hard at work on a one week-long community service project to spruce up homes and neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas. "World Changers," an initiative for youth of the Southern Baptist Convention, brought the group of workers to several Dallas low-income neighborhoods to paint houses, replace roofs, and provide hope to residents in need.
"These students are showing the true heart of America," said John Bailey, Team Leader for World Changers. "I think the people of Dallas will be touched by their spirit and hard work."
This summer, more than 22,000 students nationwide will forgo summer jobs and instead pay a fee of $260, plus transportation, to participate in 95 construction and community service projects from Alaska to Pennsylvania to Arkansas.
The visiting "World Changers," worked July 12-19, in partnership with the Dallas Baptist Association and City of Dallas' People Helping People.
Teenagers serving Dallas took part in a variety of home improvement and cleanup tasks - including painting, hanging sheetrock, repairing roofs, pouring cement, and planting flowers. The students camped out on the floor at Casa View Baptist Church for the week.
Jeremy sent me a link to a story in our local newspaper and lo and behold, it's a "feel good" story, so I'm sharing it here. :) We have some duplicate board games in our garage that were just waiting for a garage sale, so now we're going to donate them to Ashlee's Toy Closet instead. Enjoy!
Karen Woodmansee Staff Writer, Nevada Appeal
Ashlee Smith, the 9-year-old who started to collect toys for kids who have lost everything in fires, is now about to become a nonprofit entrepreneur.
She started out when the Angora fire (that was the big Tahoe "Superfire" type fire that some of you might remember me blogging about last year) hit last year, destroying many homes in South Lake Tahoe.
Having lost all her toys in a house fire once, Ashlee, the daughter of Storey County firefighter Matt Smith, said she knew how it felt and wanted to help.
She started collecting toys, and with the help of Wal-Mart and other stores, even weathered a burglary of the truck the toys were stored in. (What kind of degenerate lowlife steals toys that an EIGHT year old is collecting for other kids? Unreal)
She kept it up, encouraged by her dad and her mom, Ericka, and provided comfort to children who lost toys in Nevada and California wildfires as well as standard house fires, and even the Fernley flooding in January.
Ericka said Ashlee's Toy Closet is a Nevada nonprofit and they have filed the paperwork to become a 501(c)3, so that all donations will be tax deductible.
She said PottyPal, a small business based in Gardnerville, has donated more than 2,400 new toys to the closet.
Ashlee and her folks picked up the toys Thursday in Gardnerville.
Ashlee and Ashlee's Toy Closet are packing a donated truck full of toys and preparing for a trip to Chico, Calif., this weekend to hand out thousands of toys to the children that recently lost their homes in the fires there.
"What an amazing adventure this little girl is on," her mom said. "It is her goal to someday soon be able to reach out to every child in America who has been affected by natural disasters."
The little girl has kept on despite recent emergency surgery to have her appendix removed.
The toy closet still is in need of older children's toys like hand-held games, board games, CD players, etc. Gift cards and monetary donations are welcome, Ericka said, with all money collected going to buy toys.
To donate or for more information, call Ericka at 775-527-2245.
Yep, it's true. And no, I'm really just 37. Not 87. I just have always liked the little compact size, and the compact size of the stories which are perfect for times when I don't have a LOT of time to read ... waiting in line, bathrooms, etc. I just really like it.
Anyway, they have a lot of "inspiring people" stories in their magazines and every time I read one I think, "I need to share that on my blog as a 'feel good' story!" and then I promptly forget.
Well, today I remembered. Here's a story about a U.S. Major making MAJOR differences in a lot of lives. And yep, it's long. But a really neat story, and important for people to read, especially if they think that the military is only in foreign countries to be bullies. If you're a "skimmer", I highlighted a couple sections that I felt needed to stand out below. Read on...
Turning Shame Into Pride
After Major General Douglas Michael Stone arrived in Baghdad in April 2007 to take command of security prisoners in Iraq, he promptly assembled his officers for some blunt talk. The abuses of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib were a "moral failure" that had shamed a nation long admired for respecting international law and human rights, he told them. They were also a betrayal of the U.S. military's and America's "core values."
"Abu Ghraib was a leadership failure that telegraphed to 1.3 billion Muslims that we had no respect for them," Stone told me as we flew in an H-60 Black Hawk helicopter to Camp Bucca, the sprawling civilian detention facility in the flat desert of southern Iraq. "Abu Ghraib will not be forgotten. But it is being replaced."
Unvarnished assessments and cool determination are Stone hallmarks, say his friends and colleagues. So, apparently, is unorthodox thinking. Gen. David Petraeus, who commands the multinational forces in Iraq, says it was Stone's ability to "think outside the box," and his flair for encouraging creativity in subordinates, that prompted him to recruit Stone for the vexing, politically charged detention mission. Although the two men had never before "soldiered together," Petraeus says, "we needed that kind of thinker and leader to take the detainee effort to the next level."
A little over a year after Stone's arrival, America's civilian detention program in Iraq has indeed been transformed. Cement walls and concertina wire still surround the two vast camps where nearly 23,000 people suspected of aiding the Iraqi insurgency are being held. But the men, women, and teenagers "inside the wire" no longer languish without hope, not knowing why they have been detained or what they need to do to be released -- and they're no longer subjected to horrific and occasionally criminal abuses. Nor are they burning down their tents or hurling "chai rocks" made of dried tea and sand at the soldiers who guard them, as they did before Stone arrived.
Rather, thousands of once illiterate detainees have learned how to read and write. Hundreds more are now studying math, science, geography, civics, Arabic, and English and learning carpentry, bricklaying, and other skills that may enable them to feed their families after their release. They play soccer and Ping-Pong, visit their families, pray, and debate how to accurately interpret the Koran they can now read for themselves.
And detainees appear in person every six months before a military review board that determines whether they can be released. While more than 8,000 have been released since last September, only 21 have been recaptured for suspected insurgent activity, a recidivism rate that Stone calls unprecedented.
Peaceful Citizens of a New Iraq?
Stone, a two-star Marine general in the reserves (rumor has it that he'll soon be awarded a third star), is the driving force behind these initiatives. A mechanical engineer by training and a rancher of Navajo and German descent who was raised partly on an Indian reservation in Arizona, he gives new meaning to the cliché self-made.
In the mid-1980s and '90s-between deployments on active duty in such garden spots as Okinawa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and now Iraq -- he helped found or turn around three Silicon Valley high-tech companies, all of which were sold for a healthy profit. When he is not deployed, he lives with his wife of 36 years, Kathy, on their working ranch of several hundred acres near Sacramento.
In other words, Stone doesn't need this job -- or the four master's degrees and the doctorate he picked up along the way from Stanford, Pepperdine, the U.S. Naval War College, and the University of Southern California.
Compulsively curious, he speaks three foreign languages fluently: German, Spanish, and Urdu. He mastered some Navajo as a child and, on various deployments, acquired some Farsi, French, Italian, and now Arabic. He reads the Koran every morning to help him understand Iraqi culture and how best to turn insurgents and other enemies into peaceful citizens of a new Iraq, if not into genuine American friends.
Stone, who recently turned 58, is in perpetual motion. When he is not hopping on a C-130 or a chopper to visit Camp Bucca, he is meeting with General Petraeus, his boss, or with Iraqi officials to press for greater support for his detainee programs; defusing a "situation" at the Camp Cropper detention facility near Baghdad; or helping resolve a personal crisis involving a soldier.
His day begins at 5:45 with personal training -- usually a half-hour run at the gym -- and ends on his computer well after midnight at his villa adjacent to a lake near the Baghdad airport with a flurry of e-mails to fellow officers, soldiers, reporters, friends, and family. If he's lucky, there's a ten-minute catnap during the day, usually sitting up, in a chair or a chopper, between meetings.
What did Stone know about running a detention program before he was given this mission? "Absolutely nothing," he says, barely suppressing a mischievous grin. "You are totally screwed, sir," Col. Anthony Lieto remembers telling his onetime boss and longtime friend when he learned that General Petraeus had chosen Stone to command Task Force 134. This special group, composed of some 9,000 military personnel pulled from all the uniformed services and the reserves, runs the detention system.
But Stone immediately started studying the detention program that Gen. George W. Casey had begun overhauling after the eruption of the Abu Ghraib scandal. He also examined programs run by Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and other states that have been battling militant Islamism. Finally he asked Colonel Lieto, with whom he'd worked closely in Afghanistan and Pakistan, to postpone his retirement and become his deputy. "Had it been anyone else but Doug Stone, I might have said no," Lieto told me.
Both men initially wondered if they had made a mistake when they arrived in Iraq a year ago last spring. Rioting among the 20,000 detainees at Camp Bucca had almost pushed the soldiers into using deadly force to reassert control. Detainees were being warehoused. And their release resulted in more deaths or injuries of American soldiers. The detention facilities themselves had become breeding grounds for militants, turning humiliated detainees into hard-core insurgents. Stone and Lieto quickly concluded that drastic changes were necessary.
Stone says his background in business helped him tackle the challenge. "It was not unlike a turnaround of a nonperforming company," he told me. "I love problem solving and feel comfortable changing the organizations around me."
In Iraq, that meant finding a way to empower politically moderate detainees, who Stone says were the vast majority of those in custody. So after monitoring and assessing the detainees, his team began separating the hard-core Al Qaeda and other militants from the 80 percent or more who had joined the insurgency simply to feed their families or because they had been threatened into cooperating.
They also devised a system of incentives to reward detainees for "productive" behavior and instituted a pledge for detainees just before their release that they would live peacefully and respect the laws of the government of Iraq. They began paying those who volunteered to learn a skill and participate in the camp work programs the equivalent of $1.10 an hour -- a considerable sum in post-Saddam Iraq. The money is kept for the detainees in bank accounts or given to their families during visits.
"This is an Arab culture," says Stone. "It's all about business."
It's also about respect. Once the detainees trusted their American and Iraqi guards to be decent and fair, they rejected the pressure by militants to shun educational programs offered by the United States.
"Only a year ago, the TIFs [Theater Internment Facilities] were violent places that were often run by the most militant of the detainees," says Brig. Gen. Michael Nevin, who oversees them. "Now they are both predictable and peaceful. We've seen an enormous drop in violence." Many months have passed without a major incident.
Quality of Detention Life
Stone generates a new idea a minute -- not all of them successful. There was, for example, his flirtation with giving juvenile detainees tie-dyed uniforms, an initiative that quickly died. (Camp stewards eventually settled on deep-purple uniforms for juveniles and yellow for adults.) But other seemingly eccentric Stone proposals have improved the quality of detention life.
Consider the bread factory. Annoyed by the cost and logistic difficulty of trucking pita bread, a staple of the Iraqi diet, across the desert from Kuwait to Camp Bucca, Stone built a bakery there last year. Under an Indian company's management, it churns out 150,000 pitas a day at just 13 cents apiece.
The emphasis on respect and incentives has led some officers to joke about Stone's detention philosophy. "We used to call this a grab, hold, and release program," says Lt. Comdr. Kenneth C. Marshall, in Task Force 134's public affairs office. "Now it's the grab, hold, hug, and release program. But since this is a war zone, it's a firm hug."
Another of Stone's apparent gifts is getting his innovations funded, or most of them. Col. James Brown, now a branch chief at NorthCom in Colorado Springs, Colorado, credits Stone with having found money to more than double his vocational education classes at Camp Bucca. "His vision and ability to resource it made a huge difference," Brown asserts.
When Brown wanted to start a work program for artists, several officers were skeptical. But Stone supported him. "The program is now a huge success," says Brown. One formerly militant detainee who was recently released -- a man nicknamed Picasso for his bold, original designs -- has agreed to return to the program as a counselor and teacher.
Detention, of course, must not be confused with missionary work. Stone is well aware that Amnesty International and other human rights groups have criticized his program for refusing to permit them to interview detainees privately (which he says only the Red Cross is authorized to do). But Stone says he never loses sight of his real mission: to save American lives by keeping hard-core militants from killing U.S. troops. "I'm not a do-gooder. That's not why I'm here," he told a group of military bloggers last fall. Detention, he says, should be seen as an integral part of the military's counterinsurgency efforts, a vital component of what Stone calls "the battlefield of the mind."
Stone and many of his fellow officers think the Iraqi government has not done enough for its people to win their hearts and minds. Under Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, unemployment remains high and few services are offered. Money vanishes. Stone is also frustrated that neither the United States nor the Iraqi government has been willing to finance one of his key initiatives, a post-release program that would provide former detainees with a monthly stipend of between $175 and $200 for six months in exchange for return visits to the detention centers to ensure they are still studying or working and staying out of trouble.
"He often lacks patience," says Colonel Lieto of his friend. "In Iraq, everything takes one-third more time and money than you think it should. Major General Stone finds that frustrating."
Even an infinitely patient man, however, may be unable to erase the memory of Abu Ghraib. While Stone wages his battle for the hearts and minds of the detainees, photos on the Internet, militant Islamic recruiting posters, and a controversial documentary by Errol Morris keep the memory alive.
But none of this is likely to deter Stone, who friends and colleagues say has an uncanny ability to keep his ego in check and stay the course. Conrad Prusak, who heads Ethos Consulting, a management consulting and executive search firm, recalls attending Stone's promotion ceremony at Twentynine Palms, the Marine Corps Air Ground training facility in California, shortly before Stone left for Iraq. When he got his second star, he had his first star made into mementos for his grandkids. "Even when it was supposed to be all about him, it was not all about him," Prusak says. "He doesn't draw a lot of attention to himself. He's all about the mission."
I have the utmost respect for someone who, in a WAR zone, of all places, can see beyond the "black and white" of his mission to brainstorm other possible solutions and avenues by which to reach them. I applaud what he's doing, the way he's doing it, and why.
Today's 'feel-good' story actually leaves me with mixed feelings.
I am a proponent of the death penalty. As a matter of fact, I think capital punishment is too kind for some of the criminals out there. I do NOT believe in using "troubled/disfunctional childhood" as an excuse for turning into a criminal. There are a lot of people who have gone through a lot of hell as children and they don't all end up as rapists and murderers. There is still a thing called "free will" and people who use their childhood as a crutch really frustrate me.
Now, that said, why did I post this as a 'feel good' blog if it also pisses me off? Ha. No, it's not because Rita is channeling herself through me this morning. ;)
It's because I look at this father and think, "Could I EVER be that ... forgiving?" No. I'm quite sure I couldn't. I look at what he's trying to do, the message he's trying so hard to spread, and I admire the hell out of him! I think he has to be one of the most strong, compassionate people I've ever read about. While I don't particularly agree with what is happening, I love what he is trying to illustrate. How's that for confusing? Let me post the story .. maybe it will make more sense.
On the night of January 21, 1995, 14-year-old Tony Hicks made a choice that changed his life forever. He shot and killed Tariq Khamisa on the order of an 18-year-old gang leader. At the time, Tony (an 8th grader at Roosevelt Junior High School in San Diego) was living with his grandfather and guardian, Ples Felix. He had just run away from home and was hanging out with two other young gang members (also 14) and the 18-year-old. They decided to rob a pizza deliveryman because they were hungry and had no money ...
The amazing "TKF Story" began in San Diego, California on the tragic evening of January 21, 1995 when 20-year-old San Diego State University (SDSU) student Tariq Khamisa was shot and killed while delivering pizzas by a 14-year-old gang recruit. His assailant, Tony Hicks, fired the fatal bullet on orders from an 18-year-old gang leader.
The immediate response of Azim Khamisa, upon learning of his son's murder, was not the usual one of demanding revenge and retribution. Instead, he saw two of America's sons lost - one forever and one to the state prison system:
"From the onset, I saw victims on both ends of the gun. I will mourn Tariq's death for the rest of my life. Now, however, my grief has been transformed into a powerful commitment to change. Change is urgently needed in a society where children kill children."
To honor his son Tariq's life and find meaning in his death, Azim (left, in the photo) established the Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TKF) in October 1995. Remarkably, Azim Khamisa, an international businessman, reached out in forgiveness to Ples Felix (right, in the photo), the grandfather and guardian of Tony Hicks, his son's assailant. Ples, a manager for the City of San Diego, joined with Azim in dedicating their lives to ending the plague of youth violence in our country. Together, Azim and Ples have spoken to tens of thousands of school children through TKF's Violence Impact Forum (VIF) program about the "power of forgiveness" to break the cycle of violence.
Tony Hicks pled guilty to first-degree murder in April 1996 and accepted a 25-years-to-life sentence in an adult prison. He was the first juvenile in the state of California to be tried as an adult (the new law went into effect just three weeks before his crime). At his sentencing, Tony delivered a very emotional and remorseful speech in which he accepted responsibility for his actions and prayed for Mr. Khamisa's forgiveness. At age 16, Tony was sent to New Folsom, California State Prison in Sacramento. Tony Hicks, now 26 years old, is currently in Pelican Bay State Prison. He will be eligible for parole in 2027.
I would urge you to visit the web site if you want to read more about this story from every possible side: The Khamisas, Tony, Ples, and even some of Tariq's fairly remarkable thoughts prior to his death.
One other thing I would just like to point out, in case you decide not to read more about this, is that Azim Khamisa is a Ismaili Muslim (formed as a sect of the Shiites). So, for those who may not have had much exposure to, or experience with, the Muslim faith or the teachings of Islam, you can see it's not all about hate, as we're sometimes led to believe. :)
So, while I respect the message and the man behind the movement, I have issues with the premise. My mind goes back and forth .. the kid was only 14 when he committed the crime and I did some pretty damned stupid things when _I_ was 14. And he's still in prison, not eligible for parole for quite a while. Forgiveness is probably the high road, but if he killed my only son? Nope, not a snowball's chance. I'd love to be able to say I could be that better person, but I think it's safe to say I would likely maintain that prison is the best place for the kid to be.
What about you? Did this story leave you feeling good, or no?
I wanted to take a couple minutes to revisit a story I first read when I was 12 or 13. It stuck with me all these years, and I've always loved it.
Here's the thing. I've been posting a positive news story a day for a while now, with few exceptions (weekends and days when work or a friend's visit kept me too busy to get to it), and oftentimes what I see as positive isn't what some of you see as positive.
That's ok. :) Seriously, it is. I'm going to keep posting the positive stories, because they make me happy, and I know that sometimes some of them really do make a difference and make some of you happy, too.
I just wanted to explain that so that some of you who find yourselves pointing out the negative to some of my positives don't start apologizing. That's not what this is about. Just me, sharing a cool story. Take it for what you will. :)
In researching today, I found out this is actually an adaptation of part of an essay titled The Star Thrower, written by Loren Eiseley.
Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.
To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."
Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "I made a difference to that one!"
I guess maybe I'd like to think of myself as kind of a star thrower, too. :)
Today's feel-good story has two feel-good parts, in my opinion. :) It's a short one, but one that has left me with all kinds of thoughts in my head.
I would love to do something like this. I have to think about how to make it happen, though, and I can't afford to hand out quite that much ... it's a cool idea, though!
Toll man gets $100 gift — and gives it to charity
After being handed a C-note
in a greeting card,
honest worker turns it in
Associate Press
BOSTON — A toll worker on the Massachusetts Turnpike is figuring out what to do with a $100 bill a driver handed him.
Gary Bonarrigo said a woman gave him the money in a greeting card Wednesday evening. The card said "share" with a drawing of a star.
Massachusetts Turnpike Authority spokesman Mac Daniel said agency rules prohibit toll takers from accepting gifts.
He said the money will be donated to a charity selected by Bonarrigo and his fellow toll collectors.
First off, I love that some woman did this. Secondly, I love that he didn't just pocket it and go on about his business. See? There are good people out there!
And before any of you naysayers jump in with how he probably did it because he was on camera or whatnot .. just stop and have a little faith in the human spirit for a minute, wouldja?He and his coworkers now have the joy of coming up with a charity to donate the money to, so she not only is going to make that one person feel better with her actions, but everyone will get to feel they had a part in it AND the charity wins, too! She got a lot of joy for her hundred bucks, that's for sure.
Something I've blogged about before, all the pets that are finding themselves "discarded" (for lack of a better term) with the rash of home foreclosures this country is seeing right now, is heartbreaking. Well, today's feel-good story is about a young Oregon girl, Mimi Ausland, who is making a difference to a lot of those displaced pets, and this time there's actually a way for YOU to help (and it doesn't involve sending money).
Click here to watch an under-3-minute video with Mimi's story about how she created FreeKibble.com. Then click on the logo above, take a moment to answer one little trivia question on the front page (you don't even have to get it right!), and voila .. you just helped feed a homeless dog! And don't miss the link for feeding homeless kitties, too!
And you can do this every day, so don't forget to visit it over and over to keep helping.
Regardless of what you think about pit bulls in general, as has been said many times on my blogs, I believe (and I know a lot of you out there do, too) that it is the RAISING of the dog that, in many instances, makes or breaks them. Now, that said, some dogs are born after generations of breeding for aggression, and it just seems impossible to get it out of them. And also, dogs are like people, in that sometimes there is just one that isn't quite right in the head. They can be the most loving dog one minute and then just seemingly "snap". But remember, they don't have any way to communicate to us when they're having a bad day, or are tired of having their ears and tail pulled by the family's 2-year-old, etc. They communicate the way they would in THEIR world .. with a snap at whatever's bugging them.
That said .. we all know the story of Michael Vick. In my opinion there is no punishment fitting enough other than maybe .. MAYBE .. if the afterlife is governed by dogs. :) That said, you may remember a blog I posted a month or so ago that showed the lives some of Vick's dogs are leading now. It takes, in my opinion, a very special kind of person to adopt a pit bull - ESPECIALLY one that was brought up as a potential fighter. I don't think I could do it. I'd always be just a little afraid, especially when kids come over. But you know what? Bless those who have done it. Because without them, there'd be no Leo.
Beaten-down dog from Vick case has his day
Pit bull rescued from famous dogfighting ring now helps cancer patients
NBC News and MSNBC
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - It’s a dog’s life. And for Leo it couldn’t be better.
Leo — rescued from heavy chains that confined him as one of the pit bulls in former NFL quarterback Michael Vick’s dogfighting ring — is a lover, not a fighter. He now happily frolics in a clown collar as he makes the rounds at the Camino Infusion Center, where he brings comfort to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Despite his training as a killer, Leo is a sweetheart as he visits his friends on the ward.
“He is wonderful, and all the patients love Leo,” said Paula Reed, the facility’s oncology director. “They really love his eyes and gentleness.”
Six months ago, Leo should have been dead.
When officers raided Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels in Smithfield, Va., last year, they found dogs, some injured and scarred, chained to buried car axles. Forensic experts discovered remains of dogs that had been shot with a .22-caliber pistol, electrocuted, drowned, hanged or slammed to the ground for lacking a desire to fight.
Vick, an All-Pro quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, was suspended indefinitely and is serving 23 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in August to bankrolling the dogfighting operation and helping to kill as many as eight dogs. Three co-defendants also pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison.
About 50 dogs were rescued.
Animal advocates are divided over whether fighting dogs can be trusted to have new lives as pets or working dogs. One of the dogs seized at Bad Newz was put down as too aggressive, but the others were dispersed to sanctuaries and training facilities across the country.
An ‘incredible’ difference with patients One of them was Leo, who ended up in the care of Marthina McClay, a certified trainer and counselor in Los Gatos, near San Francisco. McClay is president of Our Pack, an advocacy group for pit bulls.
“He was a little like a caveman at a tea party,” McClay said. “He didn’t have a lot of training.”
But after five weeks of intense instruction and supervision, and more weeks of acclimation, Leo is now — with all due respect —a pussy cat. He loves putting his head on a patient’s lap and batting his big brown eyes.
“The difference that he’s had with our patients has been incredible — the smiles on their faces, the joy when they see him,” said Reed of the cancer center.
“Leo is a survivor and our patients are survivors, and I think they can relate to each other,” she said.
Leo also touches young people on probation at the Alternative Placement Academy in San Jose, where the young men seem to identify with the former tough guy.
“I think they saw this dog’s awful background, and it communicates to the kids that you can end up being what you want to be,” McClay said.
It’s the age-old story of second chances. By living his, Leo helps tear down entrenched stereotypes that pit bulls are irredeemable killers.
“Leo is definitely an ambassador to the breed,” McClay said. “The staff at various facilities will say, ‘I will never see pit bulls the same again.’”
Click here to watch a 2-minute video of Leo in action. I challenge you to watch it and not get just a little misty-eyed, thinking about how he was raised, how he was starved and beaten and trained to kill for his entire life until 5 months ago, when someone finally showed him love. Think we "advanced humans" could be so forgiving? Dogs rock!
I always wonder about what happens to dogs in natural disasters. Well, about "pets" in general. I assume a lot of them die. Jeremy and I were talking the other day about what we would do if there were a natural disaster headed our way (fire, flood, etc.) and they told us we couldn't take our dogs with us. Well, both of us didn't hesitate when we said that we'd stay at the house and hope for the best.
I know a lot of people were criticized for doing things like that, especially in the New Orleans flooding, but to be honest with you I just can't contemplate any other response.
I guess that's why this story just hit home so deeply. I think I love Chen Yunlian. :) Especially given her strength to do what she does in a country that, as a whole, doesn't always recognize dogs as having very much value, much less "equal" value, as she said in her own words. Chen Yunlian, you are my hero!
100 quake dogs rescued by Chinese woman
Private animal shelters extremely rare in China
Associated Press
CHENGDU, China - The white short-haired mutt was found dragging his crushed hind legs through rubble-clogged streets after the massive earthquake devastated China's Sichuan province.
The shy terrier mix was lucky to live through the May 12 quake that killed nearly 70,000 people. He was even more fortunate to survive the squads of police and soldiers who were gunning down homeless canines for fear they would spread disease in the disaster's aftermath.
But his luckiest day was when he was picked up by Chen Yunlian.
Now he's among some 100 "quake dogs" rescued by the former businesswoman, who has created something extremely rare in China: a private animal shelter.
For 11 years, the 60-year-old Chen has been rescuing strays off the streets. She now cares for about 900 dogs and 100 cats in her shelter built among rice paddies on the southern outskirts of Chengdu, the provincial capital.
"I think that dogs and humans have the same right to live. They're equals," she told The Associated Press as a brown brindle hound missing a front leg jumped up on her and snuggled his snout in her lap.
Chen's views about animal rights are radical in a country where dogs can just as easily be a pet or the main ingredient in a spicy hotpot. Although dog ownership has grown in popularity as the Chinese become wealthier, many people don't have the strong emotional attachment to the animals that's common in the West.
Chen is also on the vanguard of a new movement in China of citizens who start their own groups to deal with social problems that were once mostly handled — or ignored — by the Communist Party-led state.
The government and party — wary about anything that might challenge their monopoly on power — is still trying to figure out how much of a role it wants people like Chen to play.
She was reluctant to discuss the matter. "I love my country and government. I want it to become even stronger and more prosperous," said the soft-spoken woman, dressed in a baggy white T-shirt and black pajama-like pants with white polka dots.
'House of Love' Chen calls her shelter "Ai Zhi Jia" or the "House of Love." A tall metal fence surrounds the facility off a narrow tree-lined road about a 45-minute drive from downtown Chengdu. From the street, a cacophony of yelps, barks, growls, whimpers and whines can be heard. The air is filled with the smell of dry dog food, fur and the faint scent of urine and feces that's constantly being scooped up by a staff of eight.
(Chen, pictured at right, plays with two dogs said to have saved an elderly woman who was trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in Pengzhou during the May 12 earthquake. Photo by Andy Wong/AP)
The main building in the shady complex is a concrete U-shaped structure divided into rooms that serve as kennels. Each has a large front concrete patio that's enclosed by a knee-high wall and wire fencing. Dogs and cats are also kept in a network of recently built cages and dog runs. Dogs with a history of good behavior are allowed to roam the wide square-shaped walkway within the complex.
There are poodles, a couple of collies and an elderly, forlorn-looking Afghan hound named "Ah-foo" with clumps of missing hair and large polyps growing on his chest and legs. But the majority of the dogs are classic Chinese mutts: terrier-Pekingnese-pug-poodle mixes with squatty bodies, short legs, curly tails and pointy ears. Most looked healthy, with few signs of skin disease or digestive problems common in such conditions.
"Chinese people prefer purebred dogs and the mixes probably won't be adopted," said Chen, adding that she cares for every dog until it dies. "But mutts are the most intelligent and the most affectionate. They really appreciate you."
One of her superstar mutts from the quake zone was a small, brown, short-haired terrier with alert brown eyes named "Qianjin," or "Forward." Rescuers said Forward and another dog — a shelty named "Guai Guai" — belonged to an elderly woman who was partially buried in rubble at a Buddhist temple that collapsed in the city of Pengzhou. The dogs stayed with their master while she was trapped for 196 hours.
"The rescuers told me the dogs were drinking rain water, then they would lick their owner's lips to help keep her from getting too dehydrated," Chen said.
When the 7.9-magnitude quake struck, Chen said she wanted to race to the hard-hit cities — most an hour or two away from Chengdu — but she had to wait 10 days because of road closures and restrictions on traffic.
When she finally got in, she cruised the streets in her van looking for homeless animals or asking locals if any pets needed rescue.
In the city of Guangyuan, she found the white terrier mutt with the mangled legs. Like other dogs with crippled hind legs at her shelter, the dog — whose name was unknown — now walks with the aid of a wheelchair-like device made of PVC pipes. It's a design a shelter worker copied from an American Web site.
Only a few of the quake dogs were injured and the rest were in good health, she said.
A month and a half since the quake, Chen still gets calls from people with quake strays. During an AP interview, Chen's cell phone began ringing. It was someone from the hard-hit town of Beichuan.
"Our van is broken now so we can't go far," she told the caller. "How many dogs do you have? We can take them in if you can help us arrange a vehicle."
Chen said her shelter is close to full capacity and her budget isn't big enough for many more dogs. She said she spends $8,743 each month on dog food, salaries and supplies. She takes donations but pays for much of it from her own pocket, she said.
It began with Ben Ben Chen, who made a fortune as a distributor of cosmetics and other consumer goods in the 1990s, was on her way to see a client in 1997 when she saw a stray dog in the street. The dog made eye contact and something clicked, she said.
"He looked so sad. I said to him, 'Are you lost you silly little dog?'" she said. "I decided to take care of him and I missed my meeting. I named him Ben Ben."
She started taking in other strays, and her obsession with caring for homeless animals eventually eclipsed her interest in business and she retired. She sold her cars and properties to finance the expanding operation. She moved the shelter to the current location, which she rents, two years ago.
"I started down a road," she said, "and I couldn't turn around."
There were a couple days last week, when I was on deadline and my mood was crappy, that I just couldn't get to posting feel-good news. So today I'm sharing two (because I couldn't decide which moved me more!)
This first one is an incredible story about two brothers who were given a gift, and are giving it back, tenfold!
Christopher Williams / AP
The sun sets on the Erastus Ochieng' Lwala Community Memorial Health Center in Kenya.
Kenya village gets clinic from brothers it helped
Residents sold chickens and cattle to send siblings to college in the U.S.A.
(Milton Ochieng at left. Photo by Christopher Williams/AP)
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — When residents of a tiny Kenyan village sold their chickens and cattle to buy Milton Ochieng's $900 plane ticket to Dartmouth College, they told him they wanted something in return.
Eight years later, he's a Vanderbilt University Medical School graduate preparing for his residency. In his home village of Lwala, a clinic he and younger brother Fred established serves about 100 patients a day.
A documentary about their struggles to raise $150,000 to build the clinic — while attending school full-time and coping with their parents' deaths — will soon be screened at universities across the country.
"It's not common to have a couple of village boys come to the U.S. and advocate for a clinic to be built in their country," said Barak Bruerd, program director of Blood:Water Mission, a Nashville-based nonprofit that has contributed to the clinic. "The fact that they were able to bring so much support to their community is amazing."
Wheelbarrow transportation Before the clinic, Ochieng' says, sick villagers often had to be carried for miles just to get to a paved road.
As a child, he remembers seeing a friend's mother taken away in a wheelbarrow during a difficult labor. Neighbors pushed her for 45 minutes before she died.
The image stuck with him. His father, high school chemistry teacher Erastus Ochieng', emphasized the need for health care closer to the community. It was his dream to see a clinic in Lwala, a village of about 1,500 people in southwestern Kenya.
It wasn't until a college service trip to Nicaragua, where students worked alongside villagers to build such a facility, that Ochieng' started to think his father's dream could become reality.
The elder Ochieng' would not live to see the project completed. He died in 2005 of AIDS, the same disease that killed Ochieng's mother the year before.
Medical school in Tennessee For several years, Ochieng' made plans. Fred followed him to Dartmouth and then on to medical school at Vanderbilt. By 2005, Ochieng' was ready to build, except he had no money. So he put Fred in charge of fundraising.
That weekend, Fred Ochieng' raised $9,000 at a conference for a Christian ministry group. But it took another two years to raise the $150,000 they needed.
They were finally able to open the clinic in April 2007, helped by a $45,000 donation from Blood:Water Mission, which was founded by Christian rockers Jars of Clay to reduce the impact of HIV and AIDS in Africa.
In its first year, the clinic saw 20,000 patients at a cost of about $100,000.
"It's important for people to get a sense of how far the U.S. dollar can go," Ochieng' says, noting that one woman had emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy at a cost of only $250. A similar procedure could cost at least $10,000 in the U.S.
Growing number of patients The volume of patients is growing, Ochieng' says, because of the high standard of care the clinic provides, even without running water or a consistent electrical supply.
Many relatives of Lwala residents come from other communities. The clinic, which serves about 4,000 residents of Lwala and the area surrounding it, turns no one away and treats about 85 percent of its patients for free.
The clinic now benefits from a U.S.-based nonprofit, the Lwala Community Alliance, but Ochieng' says it struggles to raise operating funds, even as staffers plan to expand with a maternity ward and HIV/AIDS wing.
Babies are currently delivered in the kitchen.
"It's not ideal," Ochieng' says.
The clinic is also getting help from former television reporter Barry Simmons, who quit his job after interviewing the Ochieng' brothers to work full time on a documentary about their struggles to build the clinic. "Sons of Lwala" has so far raised about $230,000.
"It was always the plan to give them a platform to raise money and spread their story," Simmons said.
Residency plans Ochieng' spent April in Lwala, but the clinic also employs two clinical officers — the equivalent of a physician's assistant in the U.S. — and three nurses. Ochieng' hopes to be able to shuttle between Kenya and the U.S., where he will do his residency at Washington University in St. Louis.
"There's such a sense of love and people feeling they've gained so much from the health center," he says. "It keeps me going. ... It makes you realize how great it is to be a doctor, how great it is to be serving humanity."
Oh, and here's a link to the official web site ... you can see more photos and read more about the clinic and what these people went through.
I'm doing a double-duty blog today. The first part is today's very short feel-good blog about a 10-year-old Massachusetts boy who was rewarded after discovering two long-lost diamond rings in his toilet. He found the wedding rings and then tracked down the prior owners of his house to return them to a very grateful woman whose mother -- the owner of the rings -- had just passed away. Click here to watch the video - it's under one minute. Not overly remarkable, just a neat story. :)
The next is my "ten thoughts" for today. I think I can come up with 10 good ones. I'm in a good mood today!
1. I wonder how Sandy's camping trip is going?
2. I'm kind of excited to see what a vodka tasting is like.
3. My friend Kathy just called to tell me about Pad Heal for Dante - apparently it's what her trainer uses when they take their dogs hiking. Wahoo!
4. My knee and leg are almost back to the condition they were before this weekend's hike! Wahoo again!
5. Thanks to Chris' suggestion, I'm now wearing mascara again and I love it! Thanks, Chris. :)
6. My hair's finally getting to the length where I'm starting to like it again. Wahoo again!
7. I think it's time to bite the bullet and get some kind of planner, because a client of mine just called to remind me of a job I was supposed to do for him that I completely forgot!
8. We are now living in almost 3x the amount of living space as we were in before, and our electric bill, with the a/c running all the time while we're home, is 2/3 what it was before. Go figure!
9. I love Energy Star appliances!
10. Last night and this morning were really clear of smoke and it was AWESOME to see a clear sunset and sunrise.
Today's feel-good story comes from CBS News, who has an under-4-minute video story about a "reading to dogs" program to help kids in a homeless shelter learn how to read.
The kids get to figure words out at their own pace, and to a non-judgmental audience, whom they think is really listening when they talk.
How absolutely awesome is this? Missy, the dog in this video, is a service dog who was also living in a shelter, and now she gets to spend time with people who love her and "talk" to her all day long. She gets loved and petted, and gives these kids the confidence they need to help them do better in school and read better. And how sweet is she, that she just lays there with these kids as they read? Not only are they learning literacy skills, but they're learning how much unconditional love dogs have to give. A lot of great lessons in this program ... I think it's awesome!
Today's "feel-good" stories are about one of my favorite subjects: people helping animals. Here's the thing ... I hear a lot of people say (and it's even stated by a DNR official) that you can't get close to wild animals because they don't know if you're trying to help you and they'll hurt you. I don't buy it. Yes, I think at times a wild animal's fear response may well override everything else. Yes, I think it's silly to try to approach a wild animal with the only reason being that you want to pet it or get your picture taken with it or whatnot. But when an animal is hurt (and sometimes even when it's not), I most DEFINITELY believe they know when someone means to do them harm and when they don't. Animals are not stupid. I have lots of my own little stories to back up my beliefs, but let me share these with you instead. They're more impressive! Some are old, but that's ok. They're still feel-good stories!
If you've seen the movie "Bambi", you know how difficult it can be for a deer to stand on the ice, but if you saw a deer struggling on a frozen lake, would you risk your own safety to help it?
David Cook, who lives on Sand Lake north of New Auburn, Wisconsin, said he didn't think twice about helping the deer. His plan of attack was set and his wife caught the whole rescue on tape.
On Saturday morning the Cook's woke up to a deer struggling to get to it's feet on the frozen lake. "This is not something you experience every day" said Mrs. Cook.
"My wife spotted the deer out on the lake and it wasn't getting up so we decided I'd go out there and see if I could help it off the ice somehow" David Cook added.
It's something John Dunn with the Department of Natural Resources doesn't recommend. "Regardless of what type of animal it is it's not really worth risking a human life" Dunn said.
When David got to the deer he just had to help. "It had ice on it's eyebrows, it had ice around its muzzle so probably it had been out there for part of the night even." David quickly earned the deer's trust. "First it was pretty scared obviously" David said.
"The animal doesn't know that you're trying to save it and you just don't know how they're going to react" explained Dunn.
This deer was all for the help and the two quickly made friends. Cook was even able to pet it. David said he may have even done Santa a favor. "I kind of think this is Rudolph that was out there and you know doesn't hurt to rescue Rudolph before Christmas."
Even though the deer and David weren't hurt, Dunn recommends if you come across a stranded animal to call the fire and rescue squad in your area to help it out safely.
Liverpool Man Rescues Ducklings
As soon has he saw a duck hanging out with a small group of people Saturday night, Matt Heath says he knew what happened even before he pulled his car into the parking lot of the Chase Manhattan Bank on the corner of Buckley Road and 7th North Street in Liverpool.
Nine ducklings had fallen into a sewer grate, and the mother duck was beside herself, Heath said.
"She was just quacking away, walking around and sticking her head down into the grate," he said. "The ducklings were about 8- to 10-feet down, trying to hop up."
Health, 21, got help from the state police and the Liverpool Volunteer Fire Department, and rescued the ducklings.
Mother and ducklings were reunited, and last seen waddling off together into a grassy area on the side of the building.
For more about the rescue, see story in Tuesday's Post-Standard.
And More Ducklings Were Rescued!(Apparently storm drains are big problems for little ducks)
Animal control officers rescued ducklings Wednesday from a storm drain in Garden Grove, California. Authorities said a passerby reported that 14 ducklings fell into the drain.
"Once they've fallen into a situation like that, it is difficult for the ducklings to get out," said Orange County Animal Care Services Director Jennifer Phillips. Officers scooped the ducklings into a box, which was lowered through a manhole.
The mother duck waited nearby on a sidewalk and followed animal control officers to a pond. The ducklings were released into the pond and reunited with the mother and father.
Black Lab Saved From Icy Pond (I guarantee you, nothing would have stopped Jeremy and I from going in after either of our dogs in this situation, either).
Cameras were rolling in Salina, Kansas Tuesday night as an animal control officer and a teenage boy, tried to rescue a dog from an icy pond. And during the process they fell in too.
Trapped in the icy pond, unable to pull himself out, Porter, the black lab was struggling just to keep his head above water. "His eyes and he was crying and I just couldn't let him drown out there in front of me," said Gabe Siem, the dog’s owner.
In an attempt to save his dog, Siem, had already fallen into the water three times by the time emergency crews responded to a 9-1-1 call. "I was just standing there freaking out," said Siem’s friend Jacob McBride who made the call.
Once on the scene, Jane Trostle, an animal control officer, and Siem tried to rescue Porter using a tree branch, but both ended up falling in themselves. "The officer said that Porter couldn't make it much longer out there, he was gonna drown if we didn't get him out within 4 minutes, 5 minutes," said Siem.
That's when Trostle decided to tie an extension cord around her and shimmy back out on the ice. "My thing was I didn't want the boy to go back out on the ice and I knew I had to do something or otherwise he would have," she said. But once again just as Trostle reached porter she fell in. "I felt the coldness and was thinking oh gosh hurry up lets get out of here and get out," Trostle recalled.
And thankfully, both Jane and Porter managed to swim to safety. Jane was whisked away to an ambulance and once cleared went back to work. As for Porter, he's much better too, his family grateful that Jane risked her life to save his.
And Jane, who says she was acting on instinct, still believes she would do it all again. "It just comes to you naturally when you love animals so much."
Anyway, I hope something in here made you smile. :) And maybe also helped those of you who have failing opinions of people sometimes realize there are still good ones out there. ;)
Today's feel-good story comes from CBS News, who has an under-4-minute video story about a "reading to dogs" program to help kids in a homeless shelter learn how to read.
