Positively Newsworthy is one of our favourite sections of the magazine! In it, we spotlight happy news stories that have come our way, which are guaranteed to lift your spirits. The Summer 2020 edition of Positively Newsworthy is below – read it and enjoy!
Creating Community
A tribute to T
by Alison McEvoy
There’s a woman – let’s call her T – who is the heart and soul of our buildings. She is also their eyes and ears.
T can most often be found on her balcony which overlooks the entrance to the complex of apartments. From her perch she keeps an eye on all the comings and goings, ensuring there’s nothing amiss, and, in whatever way she can, she helps us all out. We don’t all know each other, but we all know T.
On my morning walk, T opens the electric gate just before I get there. If I can’t go down to collect packages, T brings them up to me – unasked. T makes a cluster of buildings feel more like a community because of her expanded attention. She cares not only for her little patch of apartment called home, but has made the entire complex her home and her concern.
On up the road as I walk, I pass by a house with a chalkboard in the window and a mini library box for children beside the garden gate. The box has a handful of colourful books it encourages the local children to borrow, and in the window is chalked ‘Kindness is the new cool’. This road has its own T, I realise.
A question worth pondering might be how you could, in some small, simple way, make the cluster of rooms, flats, apartments or houses in your locality more of a community?
Moving Compassion
Helping dogs in need
by Aisling Cronin
One London couple’s love for dogs in need of a second chance has transformed many canine lives. Cassie and Tim Carney run Broken Biscuits, a charity which provides essential equipment – such as special wheelchairs – for disabled animals. The couple were so saddened by the number of stray disabled dogs they encountered while travelling around Europe a few years ago, that they knew they had to help.
The charity’s name, Broken Biscuits, was an expression of deep love, as Cassie explained. ‘These animals are like the biscuits left on the plate – they may look different, but inside they are just the same. And there’s no reason that they can’t be as wonderful pets as others.’
She and Tim live with a three-legged cat, a deaf Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a mixed breed triple amputee pooch, Otto, who uses a wheelchair. Their passion for helping disabled animals began when they volunteered for a local animal shelter and were told ‘not to worry’ about photographing paralysed or blind dogs, because they were ‘lifers’ and weren’t expected to ever find families.
‘We want to show that no dog should be left behind,’ Cassie said. ‘Just like with disabled humans, a life changing injury or illness need not be a life ending one. We work to promote the many options available to treat and rehabilitate injured animals and restore their mobility so that they can return to active lives.’
After making the decision to actively support disabled animals, the couple researched where they could buy parts to build prosthetics and wheelchairs.
They also fundraised to pay for carts, mobility equipment, and anything else that would assist the animals, which led to them establishing Broken Biscuits. They run the charity in their spare time.
A Dog’s Last Chance
How Bess found a forever home
by Aisling Cronin
In February, one lonely dog named Bess – a ten-year resident of Last Chance Animal Rescue in Edenbridge, Kent – experienced a beautiful turn in her fortunes, finally finding a home of her own. Bess found her home after Last Chance volunteers engaged in a determined social media appeal for canine lovers to come forward and look after her during her twilight years.
Hundreds of people stepped up, moved by Bess’ story. The sweet old dog received home offers from as far field as Australia and the United States! Her carers painstakingly whittled their options down, until just one remained.
A spokesman for the rescue centre said: “Great care was taken by our staff to find the perfect home for Bess. Her new owners made many visits to the centre to allow Bess to slowly get to know them. Everyone at Last Chance loved Bess and wanted to make sure we found the best home for her. Bess is not the easiest of dogs and is very set in her ways, hence the amount of time she has been with us.”
While the staff were overjoyed when Bess finally found her home for life, it was difficult to watch her leave. “It was very emotional for everyone as she set off to her new life, but also very rewarding, as a loving home is what we want for all our dogs, and finally we have one for our Bess. Thank you to everyone who offered Bess a home.”
It looks like this beautiful pooch is all set to live her best life!
