The Good News Thread

[Equine_Woman]

I'm not sure if this should go here or in Current Events so I decided to post it here since I try to avoid the other area!! (I'm not a debater, but have nothing against those of you who are!!)

I just thought it would be nice to have a thread about good news we see being reported. It's out there buried under all the latest murders and economic woes. So if you see good news reported somewhere come and post a link and the story so the rest of us don't miss the good stuff!!!!

I'll start!!!

Fox News reports:
On a Whim, Woman Buys Foreclosed Home and Gives It Back to Owner
(http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,445110,00.html)

Thursday , October 30, 2008
http://www.foxnews.com/images/service_ap_36.gif


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DALLAS —
A Texas woman went to a housing auction distraught about the prospect of watching strangers bid on her foreclosed home.

Then one of those strangers bought it back for her.


Now Tracy Orr can return to her Pottsboro home, making payments to the woman who unexpectedly and impulsively bought it for her.


"It means so much to all of us," Orr told Dallas television station WFAA. "It's not just a house."


Marilyn Mock said she was acting on instinct on Saturday when she decided to buy a house she had never seen for a woman she had never met. Mock was at the foreclosure auction to help her 27-year-old son bid on a house when she struck up a conversation with Orr, who was crying about losing her home.


Orr had bought the house for $80,000 in 2004 but fell behind on the payments. She lost her job a month after taking out the loan, and earlier this year she lost the house. On the spot, Mock decided to buy it, eventually bidding $30,000.


"She didn't even know if I had a job or was a nut case," Orr said in a story for Wednesday's online edition of The Dallas Morning News. "She didn't even see a picture of the house."


Mock told a crying Orr she could stay in the house, making payments to her instead of a bank.


"She needed help. That was it," Mock told the newspaper. "I just happened to be there and anybody else would have done the same thing."


Orr said she hopes others will do as Mock did.


"More than my house, she gave me something inside, and that's more important than material or financial things," she said.


The two are waiting on final approval from Fannie Mae before visiting the home.
Mock's son also got a home at the auction.


That's a pretty amazing leap of faith that woman has taken and it really impressed me. So who else has read some good news?

[vicklynn]

That is very cool!!

A friend of a friend just went through something like that.
The lady owned a house, lost her job, and the house went into foreclosure. She decided she wasnt making payments if she was in foreclosure, and staying in her house, until the sheriff came and kicked her out(she was there for a few months)She never got kicked out. She got a call a couple weeks ago, the bank said, we dont want the house, we will put the payments you owe on the back of the loan, IF you still want the house. Well DUH folks..lol. The lady also had just gotten a great job that paid more than her last job. This happened in OK recently.

[Cat]

Wow - that is amazing, especially in this day and age. Imagine if more people reached out to others like that, even if not to that extreme? I look forward to reading other uplifiting stories here. What a great idea for a thread!

[gaited07]

We really need to see more good news like this.

[JackieB]

I heard that story. It's beautiful.

Great idea for a thread. I'll add something to it soon. I often see a story in the news sites I check that is good news.

[alittleoffkey]

A great story from my hometown newspaper last week, the pups have good homes now. :):
http://www.thedahloneganugget.com/articles/2008/11/02/news/09%20pups.txt (http://www.thedahloneganugget.com/articles/2008/11/02/news/09%20pups.txt)

Our humane society is a no-kill shelter :).

Pack of pups plucked from Etowah
Todd Anderson has grown accustomed to the sound of barking dogs near his Etowah River home. However, a constant yapping emanating from downstream earlier this month sounded a bit more frantic than usual.

“We decided to check it out because the noises persisted,” he said.

What he and three of his neighbors discovered was a sandbar filled with four clamoring puppies.

“The dogs were on an island, a small, little island,” he said.

The mud covered mixed-labradors were trapped in the middle of the river. As a result, Anderson shimmied across an overhanging tree branch and dropped down onto the island. Two of the pups rushed to greet Anderson while the other pair shied away.

“All the neighbors then kind of got together and formed a chain link, and we hauled the puppies up,” Anderson said.

At first Anderson said he wasn't sure if the puppies had been intentionally abandoned in the waters or if they had only played “follow the leader” from a nearby residence.

Anderson took the dogs home cleaned them up and fed them.

“They ate just tons of food to begin with,” said Anderson. “Once they ate and settled in they were all just friendly nice pups.”

Since no one claimed the animals after a few days it would appear that they were dumped from the nearby overpass of Highway 136.

If so, this wouldn't be the first time Anderson has witnessed the results of such nefarious conduct . Over the summer, he found the body of a dog in a bag that was stuck in a tangle of half-submerged branches in front of his property.

Lumpkin County Animal Shelter manager Mary Flowers said she would like to think that local residents are aware that there is a much more humane option.

“I think hopefully people have learned that they can come to the Lumpkin County Animal Shelter and bring your animals,” said Flowers. “The word has gotten out that we will take the animals regardless.”

A few days after finding the puppies, which were named Twister, Titan, Tuffy and Tia, this is just what Anderson and his family did.

Their arrival was serendipitously timed with Gold Rush weekend. Local volunteers were able to set up shop at a crowded Hancock Park and find a home for three of the puppies by Sunday evening. As of press-time, Tia was the only dog still available. But when Tia goes, many more pets will remain

Flowers said the shelter has been swamped with swarms of donated dogs lately.

Last Monday alone she received 33 new animals, 25 of which were puppies.

When possible some of these dogs go to rescue groups throughout the country, others simply await adoption.

Flowers said the downturn in the economy has increased this influx of animals. She's seen numerous pet owners who must say goodbye to their dog or cat because they can't afford the food or are forced to move to an apartment where animals aren't allowed.

“The economy you read about everyday in the paper is really happening,” said Flowers. “It's happening right in our backyard.”

Those interested in adopting a pet can contact Lumpkin County Animal Shelter & PAWS Humane Society at 706-867-PAWS or log onto http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/GA326.html (http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/GA326.html).

[lovesfortune]

I saw that story on the news Amy. It was a really great thing to do. SOunds like that woman does a lot of great things for people. Good idea for a thread.

[saddlebum]

This is a great thread. I believe it should become a sticky one. Good news is good for us.