A New Leash on Life, etc...

Today began with a life-saving story, and ended with perhaps a life-ending story. And it was the story I did in the middle that prompted me to say to the people there:"I can't believe I get paid to do this." An exaggeration, of course, but still, I felt the joy of doing "good news." And it's rare on my night shift to be able to do "good news."
My first story of the day was Moses Cone health system donating 19 defibrillators to several local municipalities. Great idea. Heart attacks are the #1 killer in the U.S., and if you have one outside a hospital, you have a 95% chance of not making it. Unless there's an AED (defibrillator)nearby. Any municipality that has some of these things also makes them less of a liability. These will go in malls, parks, and golf courses in our area.

The next story was about Susie, the 8 month old pitt bull/shepherd puppy who was found in a Greensboro park last August with 2nd and 3rd degree burns, a broken jaw, and whose ears had been burned off. She was barely alive. Maggots had set up camp on her. After a long process, Donna Lawrence became the new owner.

Trained by Bob Wall and his wife, Susie behaves like a normal puppy her age, and, other than her ears still missing, her wounds have healed very well. About a year ago, Donna was viciously attacked by a pitt bull. She didn't know how or if she'd survive the attack. She told a group of about 24 children tonight at a High Point church, that it was her faith in God and her christian tenet of forgiveness that got her out of the nasty event, and helped her come to terms with the dog's owner. An animal lover, she later adopted Susie, a pitt bull mix, to overcome her fear of dogs, and she's done very well. She used her struggle for courage to hopefully set a warm, furry, and tangible example of how they too can overcome their fear of the boogeyman, having to eat broccoli, or make a friend. Donna said she'd like to bring Susie into hospitals and burn centers as therapy for patients. What a great story.


No sooner did I put the finishing touches on the previous story, I got a call from the desk telling me to head to Winston-Salem as there was a shooting. I tapped the address into my GPS, and headed out. The scene took place in a familiar setting, yet I'd never been there. After 16 years of gathering crime scenes, you see a pattern. Low income neighborhood, small homes that sit close together, police cars & crime tape. But this time, even though there were half a dozen police cars on the scene parked in random fashion, there were no flashing blue lights, and no on-lookers. Only a few people gathered at the front of their home in case the police needed them. The shooting happened in front of their house. I asked one officer if she could find someone to let me know whatever they can tell me. I know when you've been on the scene of breaking news, you can't expect someone to know enough about what's going on to go tell the media. Usually the person who can do it, or is supposed to do it isn't there. But when you are less than a half hour from air time, you only want a few questions answered. We're not looking for a formal on-camera interview.
I got the video I needed, and headed to our bureau downtown. I cut it, sent it over the microwave feed, and a few minutes later I watched it as it went over the airwaves. I got a lot of video, but we got very little information other than what, where, and when it happened. The who will come later, and the why may never be known. We just know that somebody was shot and sent to the hospital. I wonder if it was the person who tried to kill Susie.