Today's good news concerns three stories about rescues.
From Washington State comes the story of a senior citizen being saved by his senior canine. The unnamed 84-year-old owner of this beautiful pooch named Gita fell, hurt his leg, and couldn't move.
Gita then ran down to the main road where she stood on the paving lines waiting for someone to stop.
That someone was Deputy Wright. Wright got out on the road and tried to get Gita into his patrol car, but the dog wouldn't budge. Visiting nearby residences, Wright couldn't identify the dog's owner.
Sensing something was amiss, Wright went back to the dog, which was now lying on the center line of the highway, and Wright tried to move the dog again, but this time she took off up a steep, unmarked, poorly traveled side road. Wright followed the dog and it led him to a small summer cabin.
He began checking around the area and observed an elderly male lying on the ground calling for help a short distance from the cabin. The 84-year-old male, who also had other medical conditions needing regular medications, had laid there for hours and may have had serious consequences if he had not been found.
"We credit Gita for saving his life that day. The loyalty and heroism of our furry friends never ceases to amaze us," the officer said.
Our next story comes from Big Sky Country.
Jory Thomas was spending the 4th of July weekend at his grandparents' house along the Yellowstone River when he heard someone screaming for help.
Four people in a raft and paddleboard had struck a bridge pier and fallen in. Three managed to get to shore, but a fourth clung helplessly to a cooler, silently and swiftly moving downriver. Thomas didn't think twice. He emptied his pockets, took his lariat, and waded out up to his chest.
What he had planned was straight out of a Western movie. That year, the, quote, ranch kid, Thomas, had become fixated with roping or catching cow calves with a lasso.
Convincing the man to finally let go of the cooler, Thomas got him around the arm and neck on his first try, while a bystander on scene rushed to help the young man reel him in.
Thomas' father, a veteran volunteer firefighter, said that he had called 911 as soon as he heard the screaming, and police records show that from the time of the call, it took just three minutes for a sheriff's deputy to arrive. By then, there was hardly anything to see.
And finally, our last story is a very unusual one.
After attending to a vehicle fire, the E29 crew of the Oakland Firefighters noticed a pigeon in distress. The crew reported that the pigeon came up to them seeking help. The bird seemed to have suffered some kind of smoke inhalation during the East Oakland vehicle fire, so the crew administered some oxygen.
The bird soon flew away after clearing out its lungs.
Many people don't realize that pigeons are domesticated and they're used to being around humans.
Do you have good news to share? Send it to goodnews@wdiy.org.
