Top 10 ‘awww’ moments of 2015

And as the dawn of 2016 is almost here,
we remember some touching moments of the year,
some of which even made the most jaded shed a tear.

By Hong Xinying

Image: St Gemma’s Hospice/ Twitter

10. Wedding dress with a sweet love story goes viral

This 1950s wedding dress donated to the St Gemma’s Hospice Charity Shops in Leeds stayed remarkably well-preserved through the years. What made the dress much more than the average thrift store find: the sweet note pinned on it. “I wish any lady who takes this dress to have a life with her loved one, 56 years like I did. Happy years. I was a lucky man to marry a lady like mine,” wrote the donor on the note. The bridal gown went viral after the charity shop shared pictures of it and the attached note. Thanks to the attention, the charity shop managed to raise £2,910 (approximately S$6,200.51) from selling the dress on eBay. When the charity shop got in touch with the donor, the 85 year-old widower wished to remain unnamed but was otherwise “happy and proud” with the inspiring impact of this dress.

9. Famous Shiba Inu at tobacco store retires

Image: Doggy134/ Instagram

Before his retirement, this enthusiastic four-legged sales associate would greet customers at the window of a small tobacco store in Tokyo, Japan. Now, Shiba the Shiba Inu is said to have retired, after the store closed on October 30. The dog shot to internet fame a year ago on Reddit, with fans flocking to the store at Musashi-Koganei Train Station just to meet the pooch. Not to fret if you can’t get enough of this adorable dog. Shiba the Shiba Inu’s Instagram account stays active, with the owner sharing regular snaps of the dog’s post-retirement life.

8. Minion toy cushions the fall of five year-old
If you found the yellow creatures of Despicable Me and Minions movies more cute than annoying, this bit of news will elicit another ‘aww’. In July, a Minions stuffed toy saved the life of a 5 year-old girl in Colorado who fell out from her three-storey bedroom window, reported Denver Post. A police spokesperson told the Post the toy prevented further injury by cushioning her fall as she held on to it while falling. She broke her arm and was released from hospital shortly after being treated.

7. Baby giraffe born at Singapore zoo

Image: Wildlife Reserves Singapore/ Facebook

Much as Singaporeans might groan at another mention of a “SG50” milestone, photos and videos of this baby giraffe might change your mind. Touted as the tallest SG50 baby by Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), the yet-to-be-named baby animal was born on August 31 and is the first giraffe calf to born in 28 years at the Singapore Zoo. The baby giraffe is currently 2.3m tall and can be seen at the Wild Africa exhibit within the local zoo.

6. Dog reunites with family after nine years
This lost pet story ends on a happy note, nine years after the dog’s disappearance. Boozer the 10 year-old pooch is back with its American family in Tennessee nine years after their separation, reported ABC News. The boxer mix went missing when it was just eight months old, in the midst of the family’s move to Alabama, Colorado. The pooch was eventually adopted but its previous owner recently gave the dog up for adoption at a shelter, after being unable to care for it. The animal shelter found a microchip on Boozer that traced it back to its original owner Lloyd Goldston. After getting in touch, the Goldston family happily brought the dog home after the reunion.

To add to the ‘aww’s, there’s been a similar Singapore pet-and-family reunion recently. Spikey the Dog’s microchip brought the dog back to the arms of its first owners, nine years after it ran away from home in 2006.

5. Cat helps save abandoned baby
Dog lovers might think of cats as aloof and uncaring. This friendly feline might just change their minds. In January, Masha the cat of Obninsk, Russia, kept an abandoned baby warm on a freezing night by curling itself around the infant. Apartment resident Irina Lavrova told Central European News that the cat’s loud meows attracted her attention and she rushed down to help it, thinking that it was being attacked by a male cat. Instead, she found a baby boy nestled next to the cat in a cardboard box at the stairwell. The baby was brought to a hospital for a checkup and declared healthy by hospital officials.

4. Cat awarded the 'Hero Dog’ award
In other heartwarming feline news, a seven year-old cat was honoured with the ‘Hero Dog’ award this year, for saving its young owner from a dog attack in May 2014. According to the Associated Press, Tara, a tabby cat of Bakersfield, California was given the honour in recognition of its “bravery and fast action” by Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Los Angeles. A neighbour’s dog clamped its teeth onto the leg of Jeremy Triantafilo, with the dog dragging the five year-old young boy around until the cat came to the rescue. The cat slammed into the canine and chased it off. The dog was later euthanised, reported Associated Press.

3. A Singapore uncle’s kind act
It’s the simple acts of kindness can make a person’s day. Mr Rimy Lau, 68, befriended a small group of foreign labourers, after seeing them give up their seats on the train to Singapore commuters. The incident was first shared on Facebook by a reporter from local newspaper Straits Times, who was on the same train carriage. The 68 year-old had urged the three construction workers to “sit down”, while finding out more about their lives in Singapore. When interviewed by the Straits Times, Mr Lau said he urged Saravanan Samidurai, one of the three foreign labourers to contact him “anytime” for help.

2. Good Samaritans in Singapore lift truck to save man
This courageous act made the local news in July, when as many as 30 Good Samaritans helped to save a man from being crushed by a trailer truck. Hotel employee Mr Kim Seong Mo, had been caught under the wheels of the truck during an accident, reported local newspaper The Straits Times. Passers-by like software engineer Asif Iqbal and design engineer Davide Dennis Cruz teamed up to help lift the truck and aid the 35 year-old’s escape. Mr Kim, who was hospitalised for surgery on his fractured right leg later told Chinese tabloid Lianhe Zaobao that he was “very grateful” to Good Samaritans. In the same month, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) awarded 16 of these Singaporeans for their efforts in helping to save Mr Kim.

1. Singapore couple married for 46 years shares their moving story
Watch this 11-minute video and let this couple’s love story warm the cockles of your heart. Mr Tan Soo Ren and Madam Raelene first met in London in 1965 and have been married for 46 years. In the video video, the couple shared more about their courtship, marriage and how they coped with the prejudices against interracial relationships. The video was shared on Facebook in April this year by the Singapore Memory Project, a nonprofit web portal. It has racked up over 410,000 views to date, prompting netizens including Minister of Foreign Affairs K. Shanmugam to share the video on Facebook.