My wife and I owned two doge that we had owned before we met and brought into the marriage. Her dog was a pit bull(斗牛犬) named Zack, and he hated me. When our daughter was born, I was worried that the family pit bull would be dangerous to have around our young daughter. I warned my wife that the dog would have to go at the first sign of trouble. I said, “If he nips(啃咬) at the baby, he's gone.”

    We brought our daughter home in a car seat, and both dogs sniffed(嗅）and licked her, tails wagging. I had to pull Zack away from her because he wouldn't stop licking her. Zack immediately became my daughter's protector, and when she was lying on a blanket on the floor, he always had one foot on the blanket.

    Zack loved my daughter extremely, and when she became a little older always walked her to bed, and then slept on the bed with her. He somehow knew whenever it was time to go upstairs, and he would wait at the bottom of the stairs for her, and then follow her up to bed.

    Zack was poisoned by some neighbor kids, and we had one of the worst days of our lives. Watching my daughter say goodbye to him as he lay still on the kitchen floor, my wife and I were both sobbing.

    At 8:00 that night, my daughter walked to the stairs to go to bed. At that moment, all three of us realized what was about to happen. My daughter looked at her mother and me with a look of horror and panic. It was at that moment that my dog, Sam who loved my daughter dearly, stood up, walked over to her, and nudged her with his head. He put his foot on the stairs, and looked up at her. They walked up to bed, with my daughter holding his neck tightly.

    For the next six years, until he died, Sam waited for her by the stairs each night.

    On her first day in New York City, teaching students from low-income families at an after-school program, Alyssa Kapasi noticed so many kids were lining up for free sandwiches and fruit in the cafeteria. Many of these poor students don't get enough food to eat at home, so a free school lunch or a free after-school meal might be the most food they would get all day.

    Kapasi, who graduated from private school, was shocked. Therefore, she was determined to help. “I want other kids to understand that if they meet a problem, they don't have to wait to be an adult to salve it,” says Kapasi. She and a group of friends are now putting their programming skills ta work to create an app called Food for Thought, which will allow parents, students and even kind-hearted strangers to donate to a lunch account for a student in need at a nearby school.

    About 20 million American kids receive free lunches. Two million more quality for reduced-price meals, and those students' families may pay for part of their food. When they don't have the money on any day, the students might have to choose an “alternative meal” such as a free cheese sandwich.

    One clever feature of the app which is being supported by donation from companies and social investors—is that it provides anonymity (匿名) to lunch recipients and donors. To receive financial help, a family will need only a recommendation from a school administrator, and no one else knows.

    “I want to make the application a platform where all users feel no shame in using it,” says Kapasi. She hopes to test the app in a school district next month. And then, she will devote herself to charity.

    After 21 years of marriage, Bill Henrichs and Mary Ziegler concluded that they were no longer a good match. The couple politely divorced in 1995 and went their 1 ways, but they continued to see each other when meeting their 2at their school and sporting events. In February 2018, 3 , she and Henrichs learned they were a match in a different way.

    Henrichs's kidneys(肾)were 4, and he was in need of a 5.After nearly 40 family members and friends were tested as possible 6 , the result surprised all—only one person 7 to be a perfect match—Ziegler.

    So on Oct.16 more than four decades after they said "I do, "she and Henrichs, 62 , were 8into an operating room, and one of Ziegler's healthy kidneys was 9 and given to her ex-husband. The surgery went well, and the transplant is 10 well and continuing to improve as Mr. Henrichs 11 from the surgery. Henrichs was beyond grateful for his ex-wife's sympathy and 12 , but he was also worried in the hours before the 13 .

    Just three weeks after the transplant, she was back to work and doing yoga—a quick turnaround considering that the 14 kidney donor needs a healing period of six to eight 15."This entire experience has brought us all 16."She and Henrichs hope that by sharing their story, other 17 will realize that divorce is not always a reason to 18ties.

    "Divorce is divorce, but there's no reason to 19 , "Henrichs said."There are lots of reasons why it's 20 to get along." He pauses and laughs." Someday, you just might need a kidney."

    You never know how far a kind act can go. You don't know who it can 1, either. When Gloria Porter and Jeff Reick began 2, they had no idea how much it would 3 others to shower (大量给予) people with kindness.

    89-year-old Gloria Porter was lying in hospital. She couldn't leave her ward. So to 4 boredom, she would often stare outside her window to watch construction workers building the new front entrance to the hospital. She wasn't expecting one of the 5 to wave to her. She couldn't help but wave back at the kind 6. This was only the start of a special 7 between the two.

    Jeff Reick knew Porter was 8, so he decided to send a kind 9 to her by finding some chalk and writing "Get Well" on one of the beams (梁) facing her 10. "I just thought that was 11," Porter said. "So I should do something to 12 that."

    When Porter saw construction workers working high above the ground one cold, windy day, she grew 13. She wrote "Stay safe" on a piece of paper, which she then 14 on the window for the workers to see. "When I saw 4 Stay safe' on a piece of paper, I 15 and said to my coworkers, 'Did you see that?'" Reick said.

    The hospital staff took photos of that and 16 them on social media. The simple acts of kindness 17 and many people were employed in similar acts, including one woman who delivered 18 pizza to the construction workers.

    "I just try to lead by example and never expect so much 19," Reick said. "If everybody 20 does things like that, the world will be a better place."