Friday's Happy News

STEPHENS CITY, Va.

A stray kitten has found a new mother in a golden retriever, who began producing milk for the little feline after hearing its cries. Honey hadn't given birth in 18 months, but after her owner, Jimmy Martin, brought home the kitten, she suddenly found herself playing mom.

''She started licking her and loving her. Within a couple of days, Honey started naturally lactating,'' said Kathy Martin, Jimmy's wife. ''The kitten took right to her, and she started nursing her.''

Jimmy Martin noticed the kitten, whom the family dubbed ''Precious,'' about six weeks ago, when she ran in front of his concrete truck. After following her and realizing there was no mother cat in sight, he took her home.

The kitten refused to drink from a bottle, and Jimmy's mother, Ruth Martin, feared Precious would die.

The family initially tried to keep Precious and Honey apart, fearing the dog would play too rough with the little gray-striped kitten. But Honey was elated at Precious' presence, wagging her tail and prancing all over the house trying to sneak a peak at her. Eventually, the family let Honey approach Precious, and the dog immediately took to her.

The Martins said they told a veterinarian about Honey and Precious, and learned that interspecies nursing does happen on rare occasion.

Precious now sometimes plays with dog bones, and Honey lets Precious gnaw on her like a puppy would.

''She thinks she's a dog,'' Kathy Martin said. ''She's really fit right in.''



To see the story and picture of the retriever and kitten Click Here

Friday's Happy News

Samiha Khanna
News & Observer
Updated: 9/6/2007

It was in the ironworkers' shop at the Golden Gate Bridge where Joe Venable started getting weepy-eyed again, witnesses said.

He saw workers clad in overalls manage massive pieces of steel and listened as metal clinked on metal and welding sparks crackled.

All along, the 71-year-old custodian from Mangum Elementary School kept tearfully remarking, "I'm here because of the students."

A group of fifth-graders surprised Venable and his wife Alease, 76, in May with tickets to San Francisco. They heard the school's only full-time janitor once mention he always wanted to see the renowned bridge in person and raised about $2,000 for the trip.

He never knew how many people would hear him.

As news of the students' gift spread, people nationwide sent donations to the school --enough to pay for $3,500 in meals, activities and spending money, much more than anticipated, said Principal Gwendolyn Johnson. The San Francisco mayor's office called to arrange the Venables' itinerary, and a bridge supervisor wanted to give the couple a personal tour.

"I had no idea that I would get this kind of attention," Joe Venable said by telephone in July, as a taxi whisked him to a lunch appointment.

Venable, a reserved man who usually hides his gray wisps of hair beneath a ball cap, has worked at Mangum for three years, Johnson said.

He never takes sick leave and rarely goes on vacation, she said. And since the day the children told him they were sending him on a memorable trip, he has become endearingly weepy, marking most of his thank-yous with tears.

The surprises have continued. The three-day trip became a five-day vacation when the Hilton Hotel where the Venables were staying threw in a couple of extra nights.

And a San Francisco salon called Alease Venable on Thursday and offered her a free hair appointment after stylists saw her on the news, according to the couple's daughter, Patricia Lea of Yanceyville.

Lea, 56, booked a ticket to travel with her parents months ago, she said. She thought they needed help navigating the city, but she has become their impromptu press agent instead, booking interviews for her parents with eager media outlets, including ABC's "Good Morning America."

As the family walked toward the famous bridge Thursday, a throng of news cameras followed them and people noticed, Lea said.

"I heard someone say, 'These must be celebrities,' " Lea said.

They are being treated as such, if only for a few days. The family's tour of the bridge was one few people receive, and it took them to the top of the structure for a grand view of the sprawling city. Then, someone put a keepsake piece of cable and rust-red steel rivet into Joe Venable's hands.

"We can't do this for everyone," said Mary Currie, director of public affairs for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District.

Currie said the VIP treatment usually is reserved for elected officials and dignitaries. And on a Thursday in July, for Joe Venable, school custodian

Story here

Friday's Happy News

So, I don't know about you, but I don't like watching the news or reading the news, because it usually depresses me. Like today, for instance, I heard about an 11 month old baby who was beaten to death by a 9 year old boy while attending an in home day care. How does that happen?
So, I've decided that each Friday, I will share a Happy News story, courtesy of HappyNews.Com
So, Here's Today's Story

"By Associated Press
Updated: 8/27/2007

NEW YORK

An 8-month-old boy received five organs in a complex transplant for a rare gastrointestinal disease and is ready for the next step — learning to eat, his doctors said Friday.

Elijah Moulton is doing well after receiving a liver, small bowel, pancreas, colon and stomach during the seven-hour procedure July 10 at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian, doctors said.

He was born with total intestinal atresia, a malformation of the entire gastrointestinal tract that makes eating impossible.

Dr. Mercedes Martinez said at a news conference Friday that the boy would probably be moved to a rehab center on Monday, where he will spend as many as six weeks learning to eat. His release was delayed a few days because he was having difficulty breathing.

''He's doing so well right now,'' Martinez said. ''He's gorgeous. He's looking around and smiling.''

Organ rejection and infection were the biggest complications the baby faced during the first six to 10 weeks after surgery, she said.

The organs came from one donor, and all were kept together as one unit, with connections intact, the hospital said.

The head surgeon, Dr. Dominique Jan, performed the world's first successful intestinal transplant in 1991, involving two organs. As many as seven organs can safely be transplanted at the same time, he said.

''By transplanting several organs at once, we can give children with serious intestinal malformations or infections hope for a healthy future,'' he said.

Elijah's parents, Heather and Brad Moulton, live in Lewis, several hours north of New York City. He has a brother and sister, ages 5 and 3."