The week's good news: September 28, 2017

(Image credit: Facebook/Hatt Photography)

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1. In the middle of taking wedding pictures, groom rescues child from drowning
2. Dogs compete in surfing competition to raise money for charity
3. Chicago couple helps cover parking fees for parents with hospitalized babies
4. Cancer survivor designs dresses to benefit charity that supported him
5. Frida the search-and-rescue dog saves earthquake victims in Mexico

published 28 September 2017

1. In the middle of taking wedding pictures, groom rescues child from drowning

Last Friday, Canadian newlyweds Clayton and Brittany Cook noticed three kids were following them around Victoria Park in Kitchener, Ontario, as they took their wedding pictures. At one point, Clayton saw two of the kids looking at the water, and spotted the third child struggling to get out. Clayton jumped in, grabbed the boy, and brought him to safety. The entire time, photographer Darren Hatt was snapping pictures, and he shared the story on his Facebook page. It wasn't until later that the couple realized how the situation could have played out if Clayton hadn't noticed the boy. "It's hitting us more that if we weren't in the right place at the right time, things may have gone differently and perhaps even tragically," Brittany told HuffPost.

For these pups, going on a walk around the block won't cut it. More than 40 adventurous dogs — accompanied by their owners — participated in the Surf City Surf Dog competition last weekend in Southern California, with money raised from the annual event going to help dogs in need. The dogs tackled waves that reached three feet in height, and while they all tried their best, the ultimate winner was Sugar, a rescue dog living in Huntington Beach. Sugar's owner, Ryan Rustan, told Inside Edition that one day he put her on a boogie board in their pool, and she stayed on it like a champ. She's gone on to win 15 trophies in dog surfing competitions, and has never placed below second. "She is the best dog ever on a surfboard," Rustan said.

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Carrie and Terry Meghie don't want the parents of sick children to worry about paying for parking while at the hospital, and started a foundation in memory of their son to offset the costs. Jackson was born prematurely, and died when he was 10 months old. While visiting him, the Meghie family was able to afford the parking fees, but knew for some parents, this was an added stress. The Jackson Chance Foundation has raised more than $1 million — enough to pay for a monthly parking pass for every family with a baby in the NICU at Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital. Last week, they announced they have expanded to Prentice Women's Hospital. "It gives the baby the opportunity to have someone at the hospital with them," Carrie told The Chicago Tribune.

When Puccinni Roseboro was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2012, Cancer Services Inc. of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was there for him through his year of treatment. Now, he's returning the favor. Roseboro has designed and created more than 75 dresses for a fashion show benefiting the nonprofit, using more than 800 yards of material donated by local businesses. The dresses will make their debut during the fashion show on Oct. 28. "Anytime someone gives you help, you feel this enormous relief," Roseboro told WXII News. He thought he'd never be able to pay Cancer Services Inc. back, he said, until he decided to put his designing talent to good use. "I just want them to know that all of their work they're doing is not in vain," he said.

Frida the rescue dog really is man's best friend. The 7-year-old Labrador is one of the Mexican Navy's best sniffer dogs. Wearing goggles and all-terrain booties, she helped locate and save 12 people buried alive beneath debris after a magnitude-8.1 earthquake devastated Oaxaca state earlier this month. Now Frida is hard at work trying to find people trapped in the rubble following a magnitude-7.1 quake that collapsed dozens of buildings in Mexico City. "It's a source of pride to work with Frida," her handler, Israel Arauz, told Reuters. "She's a very, very special dog." Frida will retire from duty next year, and go to live with Arauz.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.