50 years of Clifford, and Awesome Survival Stories

 

I remember back when I was first learning to read, some of my favorite books were about the runt-turned-giant Clifford the Big Red Dog. Clifford just reached a major milestone-- the first Clifford book was published 50 years ago. The story behind it is actually a great lesson in perseverance; author Norman Bridwell had the original manuscript rejected by nine different publishers before it was bought by Scholastic. Now there are over 100 Clifford titles, and over 126 million copies in print in 13 different languages.  

A pup who had been abandoned and sadly lost a paw, is now in the loving hands of a rescue organization that has gotten him a new prosthetic one. Wyatt was very accepting of the strange new thing on his leg, and quickly began using it to run around and chase a ball. His calm spirit of acceptance, strength, and perseverance is a great example for us. 

A 66 year old grandfather in Florida fought an alligator to rescue his best friend, a little Westie named Bounce. He was out in the backyard with his pup, who happened to wander a little too  close to a pond where he was quickly snatched up into the unforgiving jaws of an alligator. Steve Gustafson definitely leaped before looking, and fought the alligator to save his friends life (this seems like a scene from a movie!). Both man and dog are fine, though they were treated for minor injuries, both getting a few stitches.

A beagle is lucky to be alive after falling approximately 70 feet off of a bridge into the Delaware River in New Jersey. This pup didn't even sustain any major injuries, and was found around midnight after her tumble.

Have a good night everybody--I'll see you back here tomorrow!

-Hope