Litter-picking dog helps 80-year-old grandfather reunite with lost siblings
Millie, the 5-year-old Spanish Podenco, became famous in Hereford, United Kingdom, due to her special talent of picking up trash. When both Millie and her owner, 80-year-old Alfie Kitson, were featured in a video showcasing the dog’s skill right before Christmas, little did they know Kitson’s long lost relatives would see it.
The family was then able to track them down, and located Kitson in a little village southwest of Birmingham, United Kingdom. After 20 years of being apart, Kitsons reunited with his sister Anne and his older brother Dave.
“I was living in Spain and we were just living our own lives. We only returned 18 months ago because my wife became ill,” Kitson said.
As for Millie, the dog responsible for the reunion, she was rescued by Kitson after his family and him decided his house felt empty without an animal. When explaining the nature of her litter-picking talent, Kitson explained that all he needs to do is tell her to put the litter in the bin, and Millie will obey. “Passers-by seem to love it and she always gets a little round of applause,” he said.
Hockey fan spots cancerous mole on NHL staffer and gets scholarship
Hockey fan Nadia Popovici was attending a Vancouver Canucks’ game when she noticed a dark spot on the back of the head of one of the hockey team’s staffers, Brian Hamilton. Popovici put her medical training into practice and wrote a note on her phone, warning Hamilton about the dark spot being a potential sign of skin cancer.
Hamilton ended up noticing the fan’s phone note, and had the mole removed. The spot Popovici had observed, turned out to be a melanoma tumor. “She saved my life,” Hamilton explained in a press conference.
On Jan. 1, the Canucks and the team they were playing against, the Seattle Cracken, arranged for Popovici and Canuck to meet again. During the game’s second commercial break, Popovici was awarded a $10,000 scholarship raised by both teams for medical school. “This has been incredible and truly life-changing,” Popovici said.
Single mom with touching story buys 3D-printed home
Thanks to Habitat by Humanity, April Stringfield from Virginia, was able to purchase a three bedroom house for her and her 13-year old son. The unique feature about this house, is that it was built by a 3D printer. The whole house’s skeleton ended up being built in only 12 hours, and the entire construction saved an estimated 15% per square foot compared to normal building costs.
The Habitat by Humanity Homebuyer program sells homes to families with low to moderate incomes. In addition, the program issues a no-interest 20-30 year mortgage, paid monthly by the new home-owner. Thanks to this program, Stringfield was able to count 300 equity hours at her hotel job to qualify for the purchase of this home.
“I can’t imagine a better Christmas gift,” Stringfield said at the ribbon cutting ceremony of her new house.
