This is Gavel, a German Shepherd who was recruited as a puppy to train as a police dog - but ended up getting the sack. Unfortunately, Gavel was found to be not up to the task. As the police put it, he "did not display the necessary aptitude for a life on the front line." The problem was, Gavel was too sociable. He loved meeting strangers, and would much rather play with someone than help arrest them. And so, after months of training, his career in law enforcement was over.

When a police officer responded to a heartbreaking call, he chose sympathy over punishment. Officer Milton responded to an incident about a shoplifter at a Family Dollar store. According to the Atlanta Police Department, store employees were holding a 12-year-old girl they had caught stealing. The girl told Officer Milton she tried to take a pair of $2 shoes for her 5-year-old sister. Her sister needed new shoes, but her family couldn't afford them.

California firefighters who spent 20 minutes performing mouth-to-snout resuscitation on a dog they rescued from a burning apartment are being hailed as heroes. The dog's owner, 35-year-old Crystal Lamirande, had just returned to her Santa Monica apartment Tuesday when a neighbor yelled there was a fire. Lamirande frantically tried to save her dog, a 10-year-old Bichon Frise/Shih Tzu named Nalu, but the smoke was too thick for her to go inside, she said Thursday.

The Broome County Sheriff's Office says a dog that was stolen has now been returned to its rightful owner. According to deputies, the one-year-old German Shepard named Rory was stolen between 7 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The sheriff's office says the incident happened at a home on Squires Avenue in the Town of Union. Police say a good samaritan spotted Rory running loose in the city of Binghamton. They were able to catch and hold Rory until the owner recovered her.

New Zealand conservation authorities said 240 pilot whales that were stranded overnight at a remote bay which only days earlier had a larger beaching refloated themselves on Sunday and were swimming offshore “We had 240 whales strand yesterday in the afternoon and we were fearful we were going to end up with 240 dead whales this morning,” Herb Christophers, a Department of Conservation spokesman said.

Kiersten Miles had been nannying for only three weeks when she made the decision. The baby girl whom Miles had started caring for had a rare, life-threatening liver disease in which her liver’s central bile duct had been inexplicably destroyed and bile was building up into her liver, the baby’s mother said. The whites of her eyes were grey. Her skin was yellow. And some doctors predicted that the child might not live past her second birthday.

A pit bull in living in a sanctuary in Australia got the news of her lifetime, when she was as of late adopted by another family. Be that as it may, she wasn’t moving without her closest companion chihuahua pal, who worked through the battle with her, living in the haven. As the family attempted to urge her out of her pet hotel, she declined to leave, bumping her make a beeline for her pal, who likewise required a home.

The night Melissa Dohme almost died was also the night she met the man with whom she would one day fall in love. But that night, in the early morning hours of Jan. 24, 2012, romance was far from the mind of both Dohme and her future fiancee, Cameron Hill. That night, Dohme was fighting for her life, bleeding from 32 stab wounds inflicted upon her by an ex-boyfriend.

A grocery store owner has been holding free lessons for slum children under a bridge in India for the past seven years after being inspired to help them. Rajesh Sharma noticed the hardship faced by children living in the slum area of New Delhi and was was driven to do something after he himself was forced to drop out of college for financial reasons. His lessons run from 9am until 2pm and are attended by around 200 children, some of whom then go on to take lessons at nearby government schools.

Karma smacked Martin Shrekli square in the face during an event on the UC Davis campus last Friday. And by karma, we mean a steaming pile of dog shit. The one and only pharma-bro was scheduled to appear at an event presented by fellow monster and Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos. However, some rowdy protesters that showed up had something else in mind for the evening. The ensuing commotion resulted in the whole thing being canceled, but not before the smarmy millionaire and infamous Wu-Tang Clan fan got pelted with a turd.

What can be more amazing than having a best friend? Getting a chance to grow up with him! While some of us are still looking for the one true friend, these animals already found each other and are happy to share their lives together.

They call him the ‘Man with the Golden Arm’, and that’s no understatement. A 78-year old Australian man who has set the record for the most blood donations in the nation is believed to have helped save the lives of over two million babies since her started donating his rare …

A young woman lifts a truck to rescue her father, then saves the rest of her family from a raging fire. Charlotte Heffelmire's father can't believe what his 19-year-old daughter was able to do to save his life. Trapped under a burning car, she was able to lift it enough for him to escape. But that isn't all she accomplished that day.

Eight-year-old Aiden Heath has spent a little over four years collecting loose change with a goal in mind. And that dedication paid off this week when he finally came face-to-snout with his very own service dog, Angel. "Aiden looked at me and said, 'This is a dream,'" his mother, Jenni Heath, told ABC News. Aiden, of Waitsfield, Vermont, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes four years ago. Soon after he learned about canines trained to help monitor glucose levels in people.

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has been cleared of cancer after revealing he is finally in remission. The 68-year-old, who was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer in 2012, revealed the good news during a plaque-unveiling at Spire Parkway Hospital's Specialist Care Centre in Solihull, where he'd been receiving treatment. "I am in remission and hopefully, this situation will continue," he shared.

A dog named Maddie is back with its owner after a group of boaters spotted her swimming all alone in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. According to NECN, a ferry off the coast of Falmouth, Massachusetts, was on its way to Martha’s Vineyard when passengers spotted a dog desperately paddling toward their boat. "Everyone on the boat was like, ‘Oh my God! We have to help him,'" Carol Potier told NECN.

German flight attendant Olivia Sievers first met Rubio, the stray dog, in Buenos Aires during one of her frequent flights to Argentina 6 months ago.

“What are they doing?” That was the question an older woman, probably around 70 or so, asked me yesterday. She was pointing to a group of 18-ish boys and girls near a YMCA, the biggest (and, so far, only) Pokestop in the city where I live. Without exception, the teens were all staring at their smartphones. “They’re playing Pokémon Go,” I replied. The lady didn’t comment, but her facial expression was a mix of disconcert and skepticism.

Two years after a Wisconsin man lost the dog he says helped him through some of the worst times of his life, the universe found a way to return his stolen pal. Identified only by his first name, Jose said he hit bottom two years ago. He was homeless, divorced and living in his car when he decided to get a puppy, who he would later name Chaos. The name fit the dog, who was brimming with energy and grew quickly.

Sgt. Greg Bogert is an 18-year veteran of the Riverdale Police Department