ADVERTISEMENT

The world can seem like a messed up place. Especially if we look at it through the mainstream media. But it can also be beautiful. We just need to remind ourselves of that every once in a while.

Enter the Instagram account 'Good News Dog.' It regularly fetches uplifting moments from around the globe for the 1.4 million people that follow it, giving them one reason to smile after another.

Think of it as a good boy who gets up early in the morning to bring you the newspaper. Only instead of your coffee table, the fella leaves it on your social media feed. And instead of the fearmongering articles, there's a picture of a woman who just knit a bag of hats for a shelter. Or another one showing thousands of Berliners greeting Ukrainian refugees with signs, offering a place to stay.

Continue scrolling to explore this wholesome corner of the internet through Bored Panda's hand-picked selection of its best posts.

More info: Instagram

#1

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

goodnewsdog Report

Add photo comments
POST
keith-johnson avatar
KJ
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Small acts of kindness can go a long way, we never know when someone could use a wee boost.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#2

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

Today a lady and her husband came into our Home Depot and told us that the insurance company might not pay for their little boy’s walker, so they went on the internet and found plans to make one out of PVC pipe. My store manager heard about this and went over to them and said, "We got this."

We started putting it together and told the family to go and enjoy ice cream and come back in an hour. Other associates started jumping in and when the family came back it was done. Everyone was crying to see Logan walk around with the biggest smile on his face.

When the family tried to pay us, we said "No way, this one is on us." 

What a wonderful act of kindness! 

goodnewsdog Report

Add photo comments
POST
fatharry avatar
Fat Harry
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What a world we live in where someone in the wealthiest country on Earth can't get a piece of medical equipment for their child because insurance won't cover it. Healthcare should be a right.

w-lunenburg avatar
Wilko Lunenburg
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It no longer is the wealthiest country in the world. Just a miniscule minority is financialy wealthy, but everyone is poor. Guns are considered more important than health, safety, decency, education and equality.

Load More Replies...
nicopristine avatar
JustJackie
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Let's force women to give birth. Then when that bundle of joy is here, let's make it really difficult for them to be able to care for their child like they want. Make it difficult for them to get basic needs, healthcare, education, food... If they happen to have a child whith special needs, that's all on them. No extra help. When the time comes for them to go to school...don't do anything about gun control. Force women to have children that might no even live past 18...It's not just women being punished, it's their children too. It's heartbreaking. Why is someone's right to carry arms, more important than the lives these guns can take?

paigemangan avatar
Tinykame
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well they aren't "prolife" as they claim. They are pro birth only. Then

Load More Replies...
corinenugteren avatar
Not A Panda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's a lovely story, but it's presented as a feel-good story instead of an example of the dystopian nightmare that is US health"care".

kellilindsayboone avatar
Kelli Lindsay Boone
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, this reminds me of that headline from last year or so "seven year old sells cookies to pay off his fellow students school lunch debt" (or something to that effect). Child labor to pay off child debt, aaahhhh America!!

Load More Replies...
tiinabender avatar
Iifa A.
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Great manager, great team. But damn it this is not kindness, this extremely awful that a child is left without walker and parents come up with alternative solutions. If women are forced to give birth the least a country can do is healthcare up to 18yr covered + free/affordable daycare + Hot food with veg/fruit... Great people working in store, parents are doing amazing not giving up and finding solutions, bad bad country to be living in, constantly relying on kindness and creativity.

jsm68 avatar
SydneyGirl
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Denying that cute little munchkin the ability to walk is just heartbreaking. Shame on you America. Thank goodness for individual Americans

lewisfisherwells_1 avatar
Lewis Fisher Wells
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

this shouldn't happen we shouldn't need this this makes me furious that the world I will soon inherit has these systems in place

debbiebarnes66 avatar
Debbie Barnes
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All it takes is a little kindness to make the world a nicer, more thoughtful place. Well done to all these wonderful people. :)

mr-garyscott avatar
El Dee
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a wholesome story of people helping others but on the other it's a dystopian horror where massive corporations decide who gets to walk and who doesn't and will often decide a child doesn't deserve to..

ashley_lynne_brown avatar
Ashley Lynne
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Insurance not covering the Walker is the real issue but such a kind story

meganalinde avatar
MAL
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's a nice gesture, but it's disgraceful that this had to happen. America sucks. And yes, unfortunately I'm an American.

laurenrogers avatar
Blackstone
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What also sucks is there is absolutely nothing we can do to change it. Regular Americans have no real power or influence. Sadly I truly believe voting is an illusion and neither party has anyone's interest in mind but their own. I think that creating a battle over who gets to vote is a red herring for the fact that it doesn't really make a difference. No politician is actually trying to change the system because anyone who does gets booted from the system before they can make real change. No one in power who is getting wealthy on taxpayer dollar wants the system to change. But maybe that's just my pessimism from the past few years talking.

Load More Replies...
goerner avatar
RezFidel
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That aint no happyhippo wonder news story... its a disgrace for a country being that rich and not offering free healthcare.

teresacline avatar
Cold Contagious
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is fabulous! He looks so happy to be able to walk around now. How can any POS insurance company deny that kind of freedom to a child. They'd deny them the ability to walk. Make it make sense. They're monsters.

kjorn avatar
kjorn
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

pretty sure the workers at home depot sleeps really well that night

newsweek avatar
Idolf Hatler
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's nice. Too bad he's going to get shot once he hits school.

carphone1801 avatar
Kayjunmoon
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A great act of kindness but the family should not have had the worry of the cost of the walker.

hayleyrodgers avatar
Justacrow
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

While the employees are love;y people, this is not wholesome. It is disgusting that insurance wouldn't cover that, there should be no question

infectedvoice avatar
InfectedVoice
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wholesome for the kid who has no idea of the s**t he has been born into, just a happy little dude, the rest of us are horrified the fact a kid can't get what is clearly an important and essential medical aid. F**K THE USA, not the ordinary citizens who are powerless but the bastards in charge who need to make millions more this year instead of meeting basic social needs.

heyjudii avatar
Jude Last
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This reminds me of stories about US kids selling things so that they can help impoverished classmates have a meal, or US teachers having to buy their own supplies, out of their own pockets, for their classrooms.

colin_threlfall avatar
Fitz_N_Fartz
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One happy story out of a country whose government ought to have this covered, 3 cheers to the store....

jenniferdmann avatar
Jennifer Mann
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That is a wonderful act of kindness of Home Depot employees without a doubt. However, an actual wholesome situation would read the US "Healthcare System" burned to the ground, replaced by a system governed by common sense and empathy.

hallalexandra avatar
lfc73
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm sick at the idea that "insurance might not pay."ffs

jmiller_2 avatar
j miller
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Need to change those front wheels into uni-directional wheels attached to bottom of the pvc, otherwise can only go straight ahead in a line.

kiloalphatango avatar
Miss Kat O
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's really lovely, but the real story is, they can't get a free Walker for a child... what the hell?

k_anderson avatar
K. Anderson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How does a walker cost if one can be made at Home Depot in under an hour? Sadly $1000s I am guessing

arkins_momma avatar
Stephanie Ladd
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

ok like uplifting but also f*****g horrible they had to resort to home Depot to get a walker for their child! what the hell

gemmelltastic avatar
Got Myself 4 Pandas
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Awesome of the staff, so shitty they live somewhere the ability to walk is withheld from children due to the financial status of their parents

roxy_eastland avatar
Roxy Eastland
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What the heck??? A child goes without a piece of required equipment because of their parents' means??? I mean, the child is adorable, and bless the staff for doing what they did, but how is this acceptable? Why do people accept this?

fenel12 avatar
Fenel F.
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When you have no proper healthcare... it"s sad. Hearth-warming in a way, but still very sad.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

Pages like 'Good News Dog' are needed more than you might think. "Unfortunately, a lot of the news we consume today isn’t so much reporting as it is a way of keeping people addicted to the news cycle," said licensed psychologist Logan Jones, PsyD.

Since sensational headlines get more attention, Jones says media outlets often end up focusing on disaster reporting—and rarely any positive news.

"Consuming too much of this kind of news, whether actively or passively, can be very toxic, and what you hear has an impact on your mood."

Annie Miller, MSW, LCSW-C, LICSW, explains the process like this: when we experience a threat, our brain activates the fight or flight response, and the systems in our body react accordingly.

Consuming the news can activate the sympathetic nervous system, which causes our body to release stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. Then, when a crisis is happening, and we are experiencing this stress response more frequently, Miller says physical symptoms may arise.

#6

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

AskDoctorNate Report

Add photo comments
POST
sherilynnedemaio avatar
Sherilynne DeMaio
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And I see you are an LCSW. You have used your hardship to grow compassion instead of bitterness. All the best to you, good sir.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#7

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

goodnewsdog Report

Add photo comments
POST
lakotasilver avatar
Lakota Wolf
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She is a beautiful bride now and I know she was in 1952 as well!

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

This emotional toll and negative effect on the psyche was demonstrated in a study that found people who watched negative material, as compared to those who watched positive or neutral material, showed an increase in both anxious and sad moods after just 14 minutes of viewing television news bulletins and programs.

In addition to an increase in anxious and sad moods, the researchers also found the results to be consistent with the theories of worry that implicate a negative mood as a causal factor in facilitating worrisome thoughts.

#11

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

goodnewsdog Report

Add photo comments
POST
hanseecrankle avatar
Hseed
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That second sentence was completely unnecessary. You can't judge a country for its past. All countries including mine have embarrassing moments in history. We can't tag Germans as nazis, we can't tag Spain (where I live) with dictatorship and terrorism, and so on. And you can't say polish people are doing better than they did. Different times, different people. Congrats for today's job, Poles. Better think twice what you write, dude.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

There's even a word for the act of obsessively reading bad news despite the onset of anxiety It's called doomscrolling and even thought it's quite new, research stretching back for decades has long warned that consuming too much negative news can take its toll.

Studies have linked poor mental health to news exposure during negative and traumatic events; the more news a person consumes during and after these events, the more likely they are to suffer from depression, stress and anxiety. For example, there's a study that surveyed 4,675 Americans in the weeks following the Boston Marathon bombings and collected data on how much media they consumed. Participants who engaged with more than six hours of media coverage per day were nine times more likely to also experience symptoms of high acute stress than those who only watched a minimal amount of news.

#15

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

goodnewsdog Report

#17

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

goodnewsdog Report

Add photo comments
POST
keith-johnson avatar
KJ
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Scumbag parents having an issue with someone getting an education, good on the president.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

2020 was exceptionally bad. "We've had so much news from COVID-19 and the economic breakdown to the reckoning with racial injustice combined with hurricanes and firestorms," said Roxane Cohen Silver, a research psychologist at the University of California, Irvine. "It's clear the stress of the election has added to all this."

ADVERTISEMENT

"So much of it is open-ended and uncertain at the moment," Graham Davey, an emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom added. "That alone is something that people find extraordinarily stressful."

#18

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

Beavs Report

Add photo comments
POST
rkalligas avatar
Friday
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hope that they kept in touch (the owners) to arrange future pup play dates ❤️

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#21

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

goodnewsdog Report

Add photo comments
POST
levilandaulitewski avatar
Deux
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If only there were more 14 year olds doing this than getting hooked into a life of crime. Create bowties, not heartache and trauma.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Psychologists refer to it as an "intolerance of uncertainty," and, unfortunately, it's a vicious cycle. You find listening to the news stressful and anxiety-provoking but can't stop doing it because you feel the need to find out what on earth is going on.

ADVERTISEMENT

But there are things that people can do to protect their mental health from the potentially damaging effects of obsessively consuming news. "It's important to be informed but we don't want you to be doomscrolling," said Judith Andersen, a health psychologist at the University of Toronto in Canada.

"Check the news just once a day, and I don't think it's best to check in the morning because it clouds the rest of your day." She also recommends confining yourself to well-established and credible news sources to avoid the risk of over-hyped or even misleading content.

#26

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

goodnewsdog Report

Add photo comments
POST
se-6-6-0-3-2-44 avatar
Mozzarella
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Never let our elderly feel lonely. They are treasures and need to be treated like so

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#27

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

goodnewsdog Report

Add photo comments
POST
mndm-synth avatar
Monday
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Would be quite the plot twist if everyone else skipped the hike on purpose as an attempt at matchmaking because web dev guy liked her.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

But those times that you do sit down to get up to speed with the world around you, Davey recommends that you actually read articles in full, rather than simply checking out the headlines. "Headlines are usually dramatized, and you need more context than that," he explained.

Or simply fire up 'Good News Dog!'

#30

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

MattGalatzan Report

Add photo comments
POST
lakotasilver avatar
Lakota Wolf
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This hits home. Hopefully my kitten with FIP will be declared cured of this normally-fatal disease in two weeks (treatment is 84 days of medication injections) - and he’s definitely getting some delish foods and a party :D I’m so glad this pupper made it too!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#31

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

goodnewsdog Report

Add photo comments
POST
rkalligas avatar
Friday
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How can anyone abandon their senior baby? Congratulations on your promotion, have a happy life sweetheart ❤️

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#32

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

goodnewsdog Report

Add photo comments
POST
rkalligas avatar
Friday
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This beautiful gesture will likely become his most valued possession ❤️

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
See Also on Bored Panda
#38

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

goodnewsdog Report

Add photo comments
POST
sherilynnedemaio avatar
Sherilynne DeMaio
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Americans should take a lesson from this example. This is how to offer comfort to strangers in peril.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#39

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

goodnewsdog Report

Add photo comments
POST
se-6-6-0-3-2-44 avatar
Mozzarella
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Woohooooooooooooooo. If we saw things the way that 6 year olds did, the world would be a better place.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#43

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

goodnewsdog Report

Add photo comments
POST
lakotasilver avatar
Lakota Wolf
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My grandmas are both long gone :( I will help protecc OP’s grandma, as both of mine would want me to XD

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
See Also on Bored Panda
#46

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

goodnewsdog Report

Add photo comments
POST
brendan-roberts82 avatar
Brendan Roberts
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It doesn't matter if they're biological or not, a good mama will take in any infants.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#50

Unexpected-Wholesome-Situations

bbymandi Report

Add photo comments
POST
kristysickles avatar
kristina law
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

While this is an awesome little story, I have seen it on BP probably over 10 times now lol

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Note: this post originally had 81 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.