The week's good news: January 11, 2017

1. 8th grade students create 3-D printed prosthetic leg for duck

It might be time for Peg the duck to get a new name. Peg was given the moniker when his owner, Patsy Smith of Mississippi County, Arkansas, found him shortly after he was born. Peg was missing one of his feet, and Smith believes it was probably chewed off by a turtle. Peg struggled with getting around, and Smith put out a call for help, which was answered in September by three eighth graders at Armorel High School. After 30 attempts, they were able to create a prosthetic that worked for Peg, now eight months old. Peg is able to walk and run like the average duck, and Smith told KAIT she is "just so grateful that there are people that truly care and they have gone out of their way to do all they can to make it as comfortable for the duck."

KAIT

2. Boston cop surprises stranded family with a lift to Maine

The Malenfant family missed their train from Boston to Maine, but still made it home on time thanks to an understanding police officer. Kori Malenfant, 19, and her family arrived in Boston on Saturday after spending nearly two weeks in New York, where she had brain surgery. They asked Boston Police Capt. Kelly McCormick if he knew where they could store their luggage, and he brought them to his cruiser and said they could hang out with him while he got gas. McCormick's wife underwent a kidney transplant, and he was the donor, so he knew first hand how hard it is to undergo major surgery. After he got gas, he kept driving toward Maine. Two hours later, the Malenfants were home in Portland. "There were just no words at that point," Malenfant told WMTW. "We were so thankful."

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WMTW

3. After 10 flights and 8,000 miles, solder makes it home for daughter's birth

He thought he was giving himself plenty of time to make it back to the United States for the birth of his first child, but Army Sgt. Francois Clerfe's daughter made sure he cut it close. Clerfe was in Iraq, and hopped on his first flight on Dec. 23 for Kuwait. Ten flights and 8,000 miles later, he finally made it to Monterey, California, on Dec. 31 — more than a week ahead of his daughter's Jan. 9 due date. But shortly after he arrived home, his wife, Natalia Svistunova, went into labor. Their daughter, Julia Clerfe, was the first baby born in 2018 at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, and her proud dad told Today he's "very grateful that she waited for me as well as grateful to those who played a part in making this possible."

Today

4. The world's oldest known wild bird just keeps on laying eggs

The world's oldest known wild bird is going to be a mother — yet again. Wisdom, a 67-year-old Laysan albatross, was first spotted in Hawaii's Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in 1956, and has been raising chicks there ever since. Though the albatrosses raise only one chick at a time, leaving the already endangered species vulnerable to natural disasters like tsunamis, Wisdom has delivered and nurtured up to 35 baby birds during her lifetime. Now, she's expecting again. An egg has been spotted in her nest, and she and her longtime mate, Akeakamai, are taking turns incubating it. "It's just unprecedented that we have a bird that's 67 years old and still reproducing," monument director Kate Toniolo told National Geographic.

National Geographic Mother Nature Network

5. 600 volunteers show up for Dallas school's Breakfast with Dads event

A school in Dallas was just hoping that 50 volunteers would show up last month for its Breakfast with Dads event. Organizers were astounded when more than 600 men arrived, ready to serve as mentors to students. About 150 students at Billy Earl Dade Middle School, boys between the ages of 11 and 13, signed up for the breakfast, and were told to bring their dad or father figure. Organizer Kristine Dove was concerned that not every student had someone to bring, so she put out a call on Facebook, asking for volunteers. After just four days, Dove already had 400 men say they were interested, and ultimately 600 public officials, community organizers, police officers, businessmen, and others showed up. The plan is for the volunteers to continue to serve as mentors. "This turnout is testimony to show [what happens] when a school and a community come together," Principal Tracie Washington told The Dallas Morning News.

The Dallas Morning News