Dogs On the Inside ~ Transforming Prisoners...

Neatorama's Lisa Marcus shares about Dogs and Prisoners Learning Valuable Lessons from Each Other in a documentary film called Dogs On the Inside...

"Filmed in a Massachusetts prison, follows the story of stray dogs in the community who were rescued and placed with prisoners at a minimum security prison. Before their rescues, the dogs were likely on a path to be euthanized in shelters. The goal of the program is for the prisoners to develop empathy and loving feelings toward the dogs, who in turn learn to trust humans in spite of any troubled histories they may have suffered. It seems to be situation benefiting both the dogs and the inmates."

Cat House ~ Custom Walkways, Tunnels, Plus...

MissC spots Peter Cohen's House for Cats and their people! See more photos on the Houzz site!

California Soul ~ Lovely Video for Kevin Brooks!

Lovely video from Birago for MIT's one-and-only Kevin Brooks who can surely use a little Soul right now, certainly from California, plus parts beyond!

A Higher Call ~ WWII Chivalry & Enemy Reunion

CNN piece by John Blake on Two enemies discover a 'higher call' in battle spots the amazing WWII story of Franz Stigler and Charles Brown -- one a German fighter pilot who decided not to shoot down the other, an American bomber captain nursing home a battered plane and wounded crew. Their full saga is told in A Higher Call by Adam Makos and Larry Alexander.

Hospital of Hope ~ Africa Mercy Ship on 60 Min!

CBS 60 Minutes spotlights the Africa Mercy hospital ship in Togo!

"Around the world, countless millions suffer with diseases that could be easily cured if those patients could reach modern medical care. For a fortunate few, there is a lifeline called "Africa Mercy." She is the largest civilian hospital ship on the seas."

I Love Disco! ~ Celebrating a Lovely-Great Genre!

Disco is totally underappreciated! Check out these lovely compilations of top hits, almost every one a personal favorite...

Greatest Rivalry ~ Winning Friendship Via Sports

Great to read A Winning Friendship by Kate Meyers in Parade this Sunday. Tennis superstars Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova rocked the 70s and 80s with greatest rivalry, but one which was complemented by remarkably close ties...

"Chris Evert -- We’ve been through so much history, so many layers of emotions. We were such opposites, it enabled us to get closer. She has my back; I have hers. I think people forget that we were left alone in the locker room every Sunday after we played final matches, and one of us would be crying and the other would be comforting -- nobody saw that.
Martina Navratilova -- You always had to guard yourself because you didn’t want to be too destroyed when you lost or too gloating when you won, because you didn’t want to upset the other person. Now we don’t have to guard anything.
So you always wanted to beat her at her best?
Martina -- That’s what it’s about. I’ve always said that, and people don’t believe me.
Chris -- And God love her. Here’s an example: When my first marriage was ending, I was kind of down, and Martina said, “Come on up to Aspen” and taught me how to ski. We would ski from 9 to 2, play tennis for two hours, then be in the gym for two hours -- and she showed me what she was doing with weights. We did this for a week. Not many people who are No. 1 and No. 2 competitors would do that."

Glorious!

What Is That? ~ Father, Son, and Sparrow;-)

Kudos to Al Essa for spotting this one...

L'amour d'escargots ~ Clearly, They Are French

Thanks to Aaron Zinman for spotting l'amour d'escargots... Part of a lovely film Microcosmos by Claude Nuridsany and Marie Pérennou.

Pets2Vets ~ Therapeutic Companionship & Love

Thanks to veteran John Silva for spotting this AP article on MSNBC War vets, shelter dogs heal together in program, about Pets2Vets, which helps stressed soldiers and vets find comfort, love, and support through a bond with needy animals. See here veteran Will "Ace" Acevedo hugging Xena, a Jack Russell mix he adopted...

"She's done wonders for me," says Avedo, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. "Instead of you focusing on yourself and your battle wounds, you focus on the dog."

I've written before about both the healing power of pets for the ill and elderly, and also about Puppies Behind Bars and the rehabilitative power of animals in prisons. Not only are animals great family companions, but their role in human mental and social health and well-being is blossoming.