12 heartwarming tales of snow heroes and survivors
The snow keeps piling up, but so do the stories of good deeds and miraculous survival as people and animals fight – and survive – this winter's barrage.
In New York, a pit bull named Hennessy was saved by police after she was found buried alive in snow, January 31, 2015. She's since received medical care.
Hikers get a hand
A jaunt by eight members of a UCLA hiking club nearly ended in tragedy before the group was found by a search and rescue team, February 8, 2015.
It took the team six hours to find the group, which had been suffering from hypothermia.
Snow fort rescue
After being accidentally buried by a plow operator, two boys in New York state were pulled out of a seven-foot mound of snow by determined neighbors.
The two cousins, Jason "J.J." Rivera, 9, Elijah "Papito" Martinez, 11, are doing fine.
Secret shoveler
A mystery man became a sensation after he shoveled clean the finish line of the Boston Marathon – in the middle of a blizzard, January 2015.
Chris Laudani, an employee at the Back Bay Social Club, was soon identified as the do-gooder.
A heart goes on
This season’s snows almost came between Wisconsin widower Bud Caldwell and his graveyard visits to his late wife, January, 2015.
Fearing he would fall in the heavy snow, Caldwell stopped visiting the grave until two Wisconsin park employees dug a path for him; the workers have vowed to keep the park clear all winter for Caldwell.
Dog goes home
A whippet named Burt who went missing for five months finally made his way home after being found in a snowstorm in New York City, January 2015.
New York firefighter David Kelly tried a dozen times to catch the pup before finally succeeding.
Avalanche near-miss
A Washington state couple has survived not one, but two, avalanches, December 2014.
Colby Dotson and Ashley Bechard were in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest when they caught the action on video. Miraculously, no one was hurt.
Thin ice
Nine-year-old Melissa Bialkowski and her uncle, Kevin Sullivan, got stranded on a lake island after realizing that the ice on the water was starting to crack, January 28, 2015.
A firefighter "shimmied" out to the pair "very slowly" before towing the pair to safety on an ice sled.
Icy waters
A pair of men who fell through ice in a lake near Denver were saved after onlookers plunged into the water to save them, December 2, 2015.
"I'm just glad we were in the work truck," said rescuer Casey Serene.
Boost for a moose
Three men in Alaska thought they were rescuing a skier during a snow-machining trip, only to discover they were saving a moose caught in a pile of white stuff, December 28, 2015.
"We looked a little closer and saw a moose snout sticking out of the snow, and you can see it was still breathing," rescuer Rob Uphus said.
Ducks, Ducks, Goose
Animal rescuers in ice suits are being credited for herding a large group of ducks – and a single goose – to safety after they got lost on a frozen stream, February 2015.
The fowl were returned safely to their Massachusetts farm.
Another lucky pup
Twelve-year-old Bryanna Schug was able to save her dog, Brody, with the help of emergency rescue teams after the pet fell through a thin layer of ice in North Carolina, Feburary 17, 2015.
The girl had been sledding nearby when the dog fell through the ice.