Latest news with #ChrisHannah
News24
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News24
Being deaf doesn't stop these cute Pit bulls from serving as therapy dogs
Chris Hannah is one lucky man, according to his thousands of followers on social media. He's the dog dad to four Pit bull mixes – Cole, CeCe, Alice and Sullivan – all of whom were born with disabilities. All of them are deaf but Alice is also partially blind and has a cleft palate and Sullivan is completely blind. Chris is a music teacher at a primary school in New Jersey in the US that caters to children with autism and other learning disabilities. Instagram/@colethedeafdog His journey as a dog dad began when he walked into an animal shelter in 2017 and four-month-old Cole stole his heart. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cole The Deaf Dog and Christopher Hannah (@colethedeafdog) When Chris said he'd adopt Cole that day, a man waiting at the shelter asked him, 'Why would you want a broken dog?' It was this question that motivated Chris to show the world that 'it's okay to be different' and that 'a disability isn't an inability'. Chris has a nephew who is deaf and as the two of them communicated in sign language, Cole soon began to understand and respond to sign too. The teacher started taking his new four-legged pal to school with him so that the children could interact with Cole. 'He began changing lives immediately, sparking the most incredible conversations with my students as I watched their young hearts open with acceptance.' 'We began a mission of showing the world that a disability is not an inability and in Cole's case it became his superpower,' Chris says. 'It was never planned, it just happened, one incredible moment after another.' Cole became a therapy dog, going to school every day to interact with learners through a unique social-emotional learning programme they created. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cole The Deaf Dog and Christopher Hannah (@colethedeafdog) 'When students are interacting with Cole I truly believe that they feel like they have something or someone there to support them,' Chris says. When Cole isn't at school he spends time with retired veterans, comforting them and going on walks and even accompanying them when they go ten pin bowling. 'What this little dog is able to do for these veterans is pretty powerful,' Chris says. Cole has won many awards including, the ASPCA Dog of the Year 2023 and Hero Therapy Dog 2022, and has become a great example to CeCe, Alice and Sullivan who are all therapy dogs too. Chris is aware of the labels that come with Pit bull breeds but says this is just another adversity that they have to overcome. READ MORE | Meet Stormi, the Umhlanga Rottweiler who's a canine-fluencer in the making The dog dad says this is 'a life I never could have imagined'. 'All of these pups were once considered underdogs but are now changing minds and opening hearts. I will never become numb to all the special moments that I am blessed enough to witness,' he says. 'I never believed in destiny until that day I first walked into that shelter and found my life path.'
CBC
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Propagandhi remains calm inside the storm
Exclusive CBC Manitoba interview shows a band finding peace in today's world They've been heralded as one of Canada's most prolific and outspoken punk bands. After 30 years and on the eve of their first album in eight years, 'At Peace' -- Winnipeg's Propagandhi have decided to slow down these days. Albeit, just sonically. Actively involved from the start At the forefront of the 90s punk explosion, Propagandhi stood out. Sure, the band had the aggression and angst commonly associated with the genre but at the time there was no other band as socially conscious and politically charged as these three young musicians from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Today, their 1993 debut album How to Clean Everything has been heralded as, not only, the sound that defined the label that released it, Fat Wreck Chords but a wake up call in the minds of many middle-aged adults who first discovered them as teens. With handouts, speeches and information behind important local causes their live shows were as equally as educational as they were entertaining. This approach however wouldn't appeal to all of their new found fans. Those who had heard them and fell in love with their fast, melodic punk rock would soon realize that they stood for much more and became vocally uncomfortable with their approach. This would lead the band to releasing a sophomore album aptly titled, Less Talk, More Rock. A response to anyone in the audience who had demanded they worry less about social and political issues of the time and just focus on the music. The band would further display their stance by putting the words, Pro-feminist, animal-friendly, animal-friendly, gay-positive on the album's artwork. As time went on the band continued to champion causes important to them but through each album would start to delve more into the thrash metal style that they adored. Opening the door even further to a larger and more dedicated fan base. Fans so dedicated that a podcast would eventually be created for analyzing their songs and lyrics as they became recognized for decades around the world not just as one of punk rocks strongest advocates for change but a band that could shred too. At peace, these days On March 10, after eight years of silence, the band woke their fans up from their slumber with the surprise release of At Peace. The lead single of off the album with the same name out on Epitaph Records on May 2, At Peace didn't just include their signature riffs and insightful and poignant lyrics. It also seemed to convey a sense of being in the right place at the right time as the news becomes increasingly more anxiety inducing day after day. Surprisingly, however, on this song lead singer Chris Hannah proclaims,"I am at peace, though presently convulsed with grief, I am at peace". Words seldom spoken by a band who had always been vocal on what mattered to them while championing to change things for the better. Understanding the importance of these words, CBC's Jim Agapito sat down with Propagandhi for their first-ever band interview with CBC (less guitarist Sulynn Hago) to discuss the new single, new album, today's political climate and why they've decided to slow down through it all.
South China Morning Post
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Your Hong Kong weekend drinks guide for March 20-22
It's guest shifts galore this weekend with many bars across Hong Kong hosting guests for unique collaborations that should make this weekend's bar crawl diverse and compelling. We don't have space for all of them in our round-up, so we've selected the most unique and appealing: Paulo Naranjo coming to the St. Regis Bar, Darkside getting down and dirty with New Orleans-based Jewel of the South, and Peel Street upstart Not 2 Sweet emphasising local connections by hosting Dara. Thursday, March 20 The St. Regis Bar hosts Paulo Naranjo The St. Regis Bar Hong Kong will host St Regis Bar Jakarta's Paulo Naranjo, bar and beverage manager of The St. Regis Bar Jakarta. Photo: Handout What: The St. Regis Hong Kong kicks off this weekend hosting bar and beverage manager Paulo Naranjo from its sister establishment in Jakarta, which ranked 88th in Asia's Best Bars for 2024. Naranjo will be working with Don Julio Por Amor to bring two signatures from Jakarta to thirsty drinkers here in Hong Kong. Look forward to the Lawyer's Sour Deal, which adds white rum, sour grapefruit liqueur, pomelo and lemon to tequila, or A Settled Trader, which creates a medley of flavours using Don Julio Blanco Cinnamon with amaretto, Palo Cortado sherry, lemon and cream of coconut. Advertisement Where: 2/F, The St. Regis Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Drive, Wan Chai When: 7-11pm Friday, March 21 'Front Row' at DarkSide with Jewel of the South Chris Hannah from New Orleans' Jewel of the South will mix up cocktails at DarkSide for two nights this weekend. Photo: Handout What: From one side of Victoria Harbour to another. Rosewood Hong Kong's latest series of special experiences for its anniversary month includes a guest shift all the way from Louisiana and the banks of the Mississippi River. For two nights, the hotel's premier cocktail bar, DarkSide , hosts Jewel of the South, an establishment that celebrates New Orleans' storied bar culture – originator of numerous classic cocktails like the Vieux Carré, Sazerac, Ramos Gin Fizz, Grasshopper and more – and which ranks among the world's very best. Representing the visiting establishment is co-founder Chris Hannah, who'll be serving five unique cocktails on the night. Where: Rosewood Hong Kong, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui Advertisement When: 8.30-11pm Saturday, March 22
