Luckily, the Internet isn’t just a place for trolls. Plenty of people came together online this year to help others, and to restore our faith in humanity.

In early November, Mark Woods posted to Facebook that his beloved dog Walnut was ‘ready for his final sleep’ at the grand age of 18. He shared his plans to take Walnut on one last walk on his favorite beach, and asked other dog lovers and owners to join them. Woods’ post was shared beyond friends and family, with over 19,000 reactions on Facebook, and thousands of heartfelt messages from around the world. Woods said hundreds ultimately attended the celebration, with many more walking their own pets from home. Hope you’re enjoying doggy heaven, Walnut.

The Whippet is a dog breed of medium-size. They are a sighthound breed that originated in England, where they descended from greyhounds. Whippets today still strongly resemble a smaller greyhound. Shown in the Hound group, Whippets have relatively few health problems other than arrhythmia. Whippets also participate in dog sports such as lure coursing, agility, and flyball. The name is derived from an early 17th century word, now obsolete, meaning to “move briskly”.

Temperament: Affectionate, Friendly, Gentle, Intelligent, Lively, Quiet, The Whippet is intelligent, lively, affectionate, sweet and docile. This very devoted companion is quiet and calm in the home. The Whippet should never be roughly trained, for it is extremely sensitive, both physically and mentally.
Weight: 14.99 pound (6.80 kg) – 30.86 pound (14 kg)
Lifespan: 12 years – 15 years
Height: 18.50 inch (47 cm) – 22.44 inch (57 cm) (American kennel club breed standard, Canadian kennel club breed standard, Male) · 18.50 inch (47 cm) – 20.08 inch (51 cm) (Fédération cynologique internationale breed standard, Male, The kennel club (uk) breed standard) · 17.32 inch (44 cm) – 21.65 inch (55 cm)
Scientific name: Canis lupus familiaris
Breed of: Dog

Ellis Hill, an Uber driver in Philadelphia, didn’t have the money to watch his son Darren compete in the shot put at the Rio Olympics. When passenger Liz Willock heard his story during an hourlong ride, she had an idea. The day after her ride, Willock created a GoFundMe campaign to raise $7,500 for Hill to fly to Brazil to cheer on his son—the campaign goal was met in just two days. When asked what he thought about a stranger’s kindness, Hill told People magazine, ‘Liz was only a stranger for 5 minutes. …We’re going to be friends for a long time.’

The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad and commonly known as Rio 2016, was a major international multi-sport event held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 August to 21 August 2016.

Start date: Aug 05, 2016
End date: Aug 21, 2016

Elise Boissonneault Phillippo was one of thousands in Alberta, Canada, evacuated from their homes in May due to a massive wildfire. When her wedding photographer heard that Philippo lost her dress in the fire, she posted about the bride’s situation to Facebook. Soon, gown offers came pouring in, and Phillippo was gifted two new dresses—for the ceremony and reception—from a bridal shop that responded to the post. ‘There was a time when I didn’t feel that people were willing to give anymore, but when something like this happens it really put things into perspective and you realize people are still really that amazing,’ Philippo told ABC News.

Alberta is a western province of Canada. With an estimated population of 4,196,457 as of July 1, 2015, it is Canada’s fourth-most populous province and the most populous of Canada’s three prairie provinces. Its area is about 660,000 square kilometres. Alberta and its neighbour Saskatchewan were districts of the Northwest Territories until they were established as provinces on September 1, 1905. The premier has been Rachel Notley since May 2015.

Population: 4.08 million (2014)
Area: 255,541 sq miles (661,848 km²)
Capital: Edmonton
Colleges and universities: University of Alberta · University of Calgary · MacEwan University · Red Deer College · University of Lethbridge · Mount Royal University · Northern Alberta Institute of Technology · Athabasca University · Prairie Bible Institute · Plaza College · Lethbridge College · The King’s University

Mark Landry, who lives on the streets of Montreal, said living without his violin would be ‘[going] through a lower level of poverty.’ Landry played the violin for commuters every day until he woke up on April 12 to find his violin had been stolen. He immediately made a cardboard sign explaining to passersby what happened, and held out a red cup, hoping to raise enough money to buy himself a new instrument. One commuter took a photo of Landry and his sign and posted it to social media. Staff at the city’s orchestra saw the post and hours later, brought Landry a brand new violin. Do yourself a favor, and watch the video of Landry playing his prized possession.

The violin is a wooden string instrument in the violin family. It is the smallest and highest-pitched instrument in the family in regular use. Smaller violin-type instruments are known, including the violino piccolo and the kit violin, but these are virtually unused in the 2010s. The violin typically has four strings tuned in perfect fifths, and is most commonly played by drawing a bow across its strings, though it can also be played by plucking the strings with the fingers. Violins are important instruments in a wide variety of musical genres. They are most prominent in the Western classical tradition and in many varieties of folk music. They are also frequently used in genres of folk including country music and bluegrass music and in jazz. Electric violins are used in some forms of rock music; further, the violin has come to be played in many non-Western music cultures, including Indian music and Iranian music. The violin is sometimes informally called a fiddle, particularly in bluegrass, but this nickname is also used regardless of the type of music played on it.

Families: String instrument · Violin family · Bowed string instrument
Variations: Electric violin · Baroque violin · Kit violin · Bass violin · Stroh violin · Violino piccolo · Vertical viola · Messiah Stradivarius · Soil Stradivarius · Lipinski Stradivarius · Ames Stradivarius · Baritone violin · Dolphin Stradivarius · Hellier Stradivarius · Betts Stradivarius

A baby whose mom died during childbirth is still able to fall asleep to her voice, thanks to the kindness of strangers. Jared Buchanan-Decker lost his wife, Sharry, on what was supposed to be the happiest day of their life. Just a couple of months later, Jared came across audio files Sharry had recorded over the years. When he couldn’t figure out how to listen to the recordings, he asked Reddit for help in converting the files. ‘I just want to be able to hear her voice again. Thank you,’ he wrote. It didn’t take long for Redditors to get to work and send him the files, one of which was Sharry singing a lullaby for her unborn son.

Remember the viral Ice Bucket Challenge? This summer, the ALS Association announced that donations from the challenge helped identify a gene that causes the disease. Knowing the link between this particular gene and ALS has opened the door for improved therapies and drugs for those suffering from the disease. See, it’s good to follow the crowd sometimes.

The ALS Association is an American nonprofit organization that raises money for research and patient services, promotes awareness about and advocates in state and federal government on issues related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The ALS Association is broken up into distinct chapters each servicing a particular geographic area of the United States all working under the umbrella of a national charter and administrator. While each individual chapter is basically autonomous, some smaller chapters rely heavily on the national organization for assistance. Each chapter provides education, advocacy and essential services to ALS patients, their families and caregivers, while the national organization funds research and supports the cause as a whole.

Founded: 1985
Tax ID: 13-3271855
CEO: Barbara Newhouse (2014)
Headquarters: District of Columbia, United States