You know one thing I love about our Good Stuff family? You always deliver! Last week I casually asked for some good cute animal videos, and now I'm knee-deep in tiny tortoises, talented pets and other wild gems. I'll feature as many as possible in the coming weeks, I promise. And oh, friendly reminder: Making time for animal videos and other positive, life-affirming stuff is absolutely essential during times of stress and difficult news. Just in case you you were struggling to give yourself permission for that. By chance, we also have a few cool animal stories this week. Isn't it neat when things work out that way?

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Our favorites this week

Get going with some of our most popular good news stories of the week

Heart of a fighter
Easton Sinnamon is only a year old, and he's already made history. After being born with several complex medical issues, the young boy was the recipient of the first heart and thymus transplant. Not only is he happy and thriving now, the groundbreaking procedures could spell hope for other heart transplant patients and people with immunodeficiencies. Easton was born with a heart defect that doctors warned would require several surgeries. Two procedures later, it was clear he would need a new heart, and a lifetime of immune-suppressing medications to keep it healthy. While the prospect was terrifying to his parents, more bad news actually provided an oddly promising opportunity: Easton also had an immune deficiency, making him a novel candidate to receive both a heart and a processed thymus from the same donor. Such a combination had never been done before, and since the organs "recognize" each other, the procedures could eliminate the need for risky long-term courses of medication. Six months after his surgery, the 1-year-old is walking, laughing and playing. He will likely face more medical challenges in the future, but he will do so with a strong heart.

Image credit: David Solnit

Art will live forever
Among the countless tragedies unfolding in Ukraine, one famous artist's work is emerging as a symbol of international solidarity. The late Maria Prymachenko is a Ukrainian icon whose colorful works have been treasured for decades. Some of her more than 3,000 paintings are housed in Ukrainian museums that are vulnerable to Russian attacks. However, artists and organizations from around the world are seeking to publicize her work to ensure it remains immortal. In St. Louis, Missouri, artist Maria Carmen Knecht recreated Prymachenko's painting, "A Dove Has Spread Her Wings and Asks for Peace," as a street mural. A group called Justice Murals projected a picture of the painting, among a selection of her other pieces, onto the side of a building in Oakland, California. At a rally in San Francisco on Sunday, six artists and more than 100 participants recreated the image as a 23-foot-wide ground mural outside the city's Ferry Building. Arts organizer David Solnit, who helped coordinate the San Francisco initiative, says it's both a universal plea for peace and a vow that art will not succumb to violence.

Country is for everyone

In the South, we have a saying: "Y'all means all." In the world of country music, that statement is slowly but surely becoming true. After all, country music speaks to universal themes: heartbreak and small paychecks, adventure and true love. My colleague Scottie Andrew (you know her!) recently spoke to some queer country artists who have lent their groundbreaking voices to the country sound; artists like Patrick Haggerty, whose band Lavender Country in 1973 released what's widely considered the first country album recorded by an out gay performer. There's also Orville Peck (above), who's been featured on hit shows like "Euphoria" and in ads for Beyoncé's Ivy Park clothing line. "I spent most of my career as a performer trying to be something I wasn't," Peck told CNN. "I just finally realized that I could just be myself... and be what I always wanted to be, which was a country Western star."

A round of applause for ...

NBA superstar Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, who orchestrated the cutest fan surprise we've seen in a while. (Here's video from Twitter.) Ten-year-old PJ O'Byrne was devastated to the point of tears last Monday when she attended a Warriors game and found out Curry, her favorite player, wouldn't be playing. She had waited months to see him, even bringing her own homemade sign to the game. The moment was captured on camera and circulated on social media, and unsurprisingly, the Warriors provided her with tickets to another game a few days later. There, courtside, Curry surprised her by stopping by for a round of hugs and photos, during which she cried again -- this time out of joy. "It's what the NBA is all about," Curry said. "Our fans are everything." Not content with a little meet-and-greet, Curry scored 34 points, steering the Warriors to a victory for good measure.

You gotta see this

Look at this fish! It's so beautiful. This is a rose-veiled fairy wrasse, a fish native to the Maldives that is just now being recognized by science. When it was first observed in the 1990s, researchers thought it was another example of a different species, the red velvet fairy wrasse. (Even the names of these fish are beautiful!) However, a Maldivian scientist named Ahmed Najeeb has correctly identified the fish as an entirely new species. The fish lives in the Maldives' "twilight zone" reefs, which are deeper under the surface. Because of their depth, these areas are largely unexplored, which means more colorful gems like the rose-veiled fairy wrasse may be gliding within, waiting to be discovered.

To your health

Yes, we all know having a pet can be good for your health (except for when they stress you out by eating from the garbage can). But there's another, even more beneficial angle to this phenomenon: A new study published this week shows that just 10 minutes with a therapy dog may help reduce pain for patients in emergency room settings. Pain is a multifaceted problem with physical and mental contributors, and it can actually be exacerbated by the stressful conditions patients often experience while in an emergency room. Researchers hope the results will help medical professionals be more open to introducing therapy animals in appropriate hospital settings.