upworthy

Leo Shvedsky

Canva

What a purrfect story.


BooBoo’s parents had all but given up, nearly a year after their beloved cat disappeared.

Vanore Voaklander and her husband were diligent after BooBoo disappeared during what was supposed to be a short trip outside from their home near Edmonton.

They searched local parks, put up posters and offered a reward. But still their cat was nowhere to be found.


“We were getting leads from all different neighborhoods. We would rush there and find out there would be no cat,” Voaklander told the Global News.

But the Global News reports that seemingly out of nowhere, tow-truck driver Darren Labelle spotted BooBoo wandering around near his shop, nearly 10 miles from his home.

Describing the cat as looking “sick, dirty and beaten up,” Labelle slowly began feeding BooBoo and offering him shelter inside.

“He’d actually jump up on us, head butt you and lay on my keyboard while I was trying to work,” Labelle said. “I realized this cat has to be domesticated.”

photo of missing catAfter disappearing a year earlier, Alberta cat reunited with owners

globalnews.ca

So, he put a photo of BooBoo up on a Facebook page for lost animals and within an hour the Voaklanders were on their way to rescue their beloved cat, whom they say slept for three straight days after getting back home.

Hero's don't always wear capes. Meet the rescuers. The world needs more people like this. We are forever grateful.
Posted by Boo Boo Come Home on Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Couple looking for lost cat

Vanore Voaklander and her husband

Boo Boo Come Home/Facebook


They may never know what happened but they think someone may have stolen BooBoo then abandoned him. Regardless, they returned to give Labelle some thank you gifts, including a $1,000 reward.

Labelle initially declined, but now will use the money to help feed some of the other stray cats who have wandered near his shop looking for their own homes.


This article originally appeared on 09.26.18

Image pulled from YouTube video.

Big smiles on the husband and wife before the problems unfolded.

28-year-old Ashley Goette was just days away from the birth of her first child.

She was at that stage of her pregnancy where everything can seem like a headache. So, when she heard what she thought was her husband Andrew snoring in the early morning hours, it all made sense.

Instead, she realized Andrew wasn’t snoring but was actually gasping for breath and wouldn’t wake up. In a panic, Goette called 911 and told them what was happening. Time was of the essence and to help give her husband a fighting chance at surviving, the operator talked Goette through performing CPR on her husband while she waited for an ambulance to arrive.


"When (the paramedics) were standing in the house and doing CPR, I was thinking, 'I cannot have this baby and not have Andrew be here,''' Goette said in an interview.

After Andrew was taken to a hospital, it was discovered he has Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a condition which results in an extra electrical pathway in the heart and rapid heart rate.

Only around 20,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with the condition each year and it’s rarely fatal. But in this case it nearly was.

Doctors were forced to place Goette’s husband in a medically-induced coma while she and her family prepared for the worst on the eve of what was supposed to be the happiest day in their lives.

Thankfully, doctors were able to successfully revive Andrew, who awoke in the hospital confused and scared. But after being brought up to speed, he realized he was also back in the mix in time for one more miracle.

It's nothing short of a miracle,'' he said. "I went from the brink of death to being able to watch the birth of my son. It will be one heck of a story to tell him when he's older."

hospitals, insurance, charity, medical bills

A family made through challenging circumstances.

Image pulled from YouTube video.

Doctors praised Goette for her quick thinking that literally helped save her husband’s life until medical professionals arrived.

"Within a four-day span, she saved a life and she brought a new life into the world. That's amazing," said Dr. Alex Teeters, who treated Andrew Goette in the hospital.

However, the couple faced a steep financial climb with Andrew’s medical bills and the birth of their baby Lenny all happening in the same week. They set up a GoFundMe campaign for anyone that wanted to help cover their steep medical costs, which raised more than $12,000.

You can watch more about it in the video from the show "Inside Edition" just below:


This article originally appeared on 10.30.18

Photo by Edward Howell on Unsplash

There are many parts to becoming an amazing Dad; here is one of them.

“I don't usually yell at my kids but he deserved it.”

This Dad gets an A++.

Actor and comedian Kevin Fredericks gave social media a masterclass in inspirational parenting.


In an Instagram video that quickly went viral, Fredericks yelled at his young son as they discussed his report card.

“I am so proud of you, you are doing amazing in school!” he tells his son, while holding a copy of his report card.

What makes this video so special is most people know the fear of facing their parents after getting in trouble in school. And that fear is so rarely replaced with love and encouragement when kids are showing up, doing their homework and generally doing just fine.

And it's not the only time Fredericks has shown off the power of positive parenting the impact it can have on children at school and beyond.

With good humor and humility, he shared a response on Twitter from a parent who pointed out it's never a bad time to treat our children with compassion:

It’s so true that most people seeing the video are assuming it’s a video of a parent legitimately “yelling” at their child in anger for poor grades. In fact, Fredericks tagged his video with a note jokingly saying, “I don’t usually yell at my kids but he deserved it.”

It turns out there is a perfect time to yell at kids. With love, encouragement and acknowledgment of when they do the right thing.

This article originally appeared on 10.11.18