The Amazing Stuff

Hyong Yi’s wife Catherine Zanga died last year after a heartbreaking battle with ovarian cancer. Wanting nothing more than to curl up in bed after suffering such a devastating blow, Yi had to stay strong for his family. With two young children at home, he had to be their rock.

That’s when he decided to do something truly amazing. He came up with a way to commemorate the anniversary of Catherine’s death that would help them move on, and also ensure that she would never be forgotten.

Catherine’s death left a huge hole in her family’s hearts. All three of them felt lost after she was gone.

That’s when Yi decided to draft love letters to express the love he’s had bottled up inside since her death.

After writing 100 notes over the course of a month, he and his children walked around Charlotte, North Carolina, on the anniversary of Catherine’s death and handed the notes to strangers.

He based the content of each note on memories and conversations he and his wife shared over the course of their relationship.

“I wanted them to experience how it felt to give this gift, rather than just be spectators,” Yi said of getting his little ones involved.

The event prompted a number of Yi’s friends to create a website where the notes could be published online.

“The most difficult, rewarding part of the past year has been to try and define a life worthy of Catherine. What is a life well lived? My conclusion: a life filled with love. Catherine taught me this,” Yi wrote in a Facebook post.

It was also the culmination of a year-long healing process. “For the last month, I was really looking forward to doing this with my children.”

“People sometimes take loved ones for granted. Be thankful for everyone around you,” Yi’s daughter Anna told the media.

According to Yi, “one of the things my wife was most concerned about was being forgotten. I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen now.” We couldn’t agree more. As our hearts go out to Yi and his family, there’s no chance that we’ll forget about Catherine. Something tells me that members of this community will hold her in their hearts forever, too.

If you’d like to learn more about this project, head on over to Yi’s website.

With over 3.5 million Americans living with autism, it’s amazing how little those of us on the outside know about the condition. How does it affect the lives of the people who deal with it every day? What medical complications are associated with autism? We should all know better.

Because we invest so little time in learning to understand our friends, family members, and neighbors with autism, it’s no wonder that this little girl feels like the world doesn’t want her in it. She wrote a letter to her mom to vent her frustrations, and what she had to say will shatter your heart.

Please know that when you speak ill of people with autism, they’re listening. It’s not fair that the media demonizes people on the autism spectrum, because they’re thinking, feeling human beings just like everyone else. Help do your part by becoming educated on the basic facts of the condition. We all need to make people like Cadence know that they’re wonderful.

The people of Greece aren’t the only ones suffering from the economic troubles that are weighing the country down. When the citizens can hardly bear to support and feed themselves and their children, pets fall to the wayside. For most families, it’s a sorrowful decision to surrender their beloved family pets or leave them to fend for themselves on the streets. But there are others who seem to get some sick joy from watching these poor, defenseless animals suffer.

Theoklitos Proestakis used to be a dentist, but he gave up everything — literally all of his things and his job — to help as many dogs as he could.

Warning: some of the images are hard to look at.

Proestakis, known as Takis, used to be a dentist in Lerapetra, a town in the south of Crete, but he couldn’t stand what he was seeing.

Spaying and neutering animals isn’t widely practiced in Greece, simply because of the expense.

Puppies are discarded on the regular, on top of all the older dogs being abandoned.

The amount of dogs wandering the streets was too much for him to bear in good conscience.

So he gave up his job, his car, and used all of his money to help as many dogs as possible.

Three years ago, he singlehandedly started a shelter without any financial help. He was struggling to keep the operation afloat until social media caught wind of one of the more extreme rescues…

Hope was skinned alive by some monster before being thrown away like trash to suffer in the hot, dry sun.

But Takis wasn’t about to let her die.

This is Hope now, doing light-years better. When people saw the miracles Takis was working, fundraising sites and inquiries started popping up from all corners of the world.

Most of the donations come from other parts of Europe and the United States.

Takis has saved over 200 dogs to date and has re-homed about 40 of them.

There’s not a day that goes by that he doesn’t find another dying dog in the streets.

He works seven days a week, full-time. Even when he goes home, he spends time posting his pups online in hopes of finding them new families.

The expense for feeding as many dogs as Takis has to is astronomical, but he’s glad to make it happen.

But now that some of his animals have sponsors and people are donating to his cause, the strain has been lifted a bit, and the dogs are getting fed every day.

Last month, Takis was even able to afford a car to transport the pups to the vet in! This is a huge milestone.

You can really tell all the dogs are so happy to be living in the shelter.

They get so much love, attention, and care from one very dedicated man.

Takis will continue to help the animals suffering from human political failure for as long as there is a need.

Every donation counts towards saving another pup.

Oh, and he doesn’t forget about all the kitties that need his help, too.

“It’s difficult but I love it. I work so hard here but when I see the dogs happy and enjoying themselves and learning to trust people again, then it’s all worth it.”

(via Daily Mail)

For one man to leave a comfortable, stable life behind in order to pursue an unsure road like this is truly noble. If only more people were like Takis, the world would be a much better place.

If you’re interested in giving one of these dogs a home, send Takis a message via the shelter’s Facebook page (you’ll also want to follow the page for updates)! If you want to lend a helping hand from across an ocean, you can donate, too.

Earlier in the year, an adorable dog named Marley snuck out of his house on a particularly cold evening. He wasn’t looking for food or something fun to play with; he was looking for his former family.

Unfortunately, Marley was struck by a car, leaving him with two badly broken hind legs. However, thanks to the help of friends and the Internet, the cute canine is not only fully healed, he’s also having the most fun in his new forever home.

(source Dog hilariously obsessed with popping bubbles by WiesenWiesel)

Watching a dog look this content by simply chasing bubbles reminds us that it’s the simple things in life that are often the best. Have fun, love life, and you too can feel as great as Marley!

For more incredible videos of our canine friends, check these out:

Don’t be fooled…this precious kitty named Luhu has a perfectly wonderful life in Beijing, China, but her expression might make you question that fact. Her irresistibly sad eyes — that undoubtedly get her an extra treat or two every now and again — will have you cooing for days.

Don’t believe me? You really need to meet her for yourself…

(via Bored Panda)

I swear, it really is just the way her face looks. Luhu’s got a very happy life, which you can follow on her and her siblings’ Instagram page!

For more sensational kitties, check out these stories:

Owning a pet means always having someone soft and cuddly to greet you when you come home. Their adorable, happy faces just can’t wait for you to come walking through the door.

But for that to happen, you have to make it past the heartbreaking face they make when you leave for work in the morning. They can’t wrap their heads around why we abandon them on a daily basis, but the cuties know exactly how to make you feel guilty for having some stupid job.

If only they could understand that it’s what’s paying for their kibble.

I have a feeling that when their humans are home, these guys are super spoiled. And I can’t say I’d blame their owners one bit!