Actual AP Headline: Girl Gets Bird Flu After Kissing Chicken

[Radio_Lady]

Jeeze! Not a funny subject, but that's a pretty funny headline!

http://www.comcast.net/news/international/asia/index.jsp?cat=ASIA&fn=/2006/01/10/300941.html

By BENJAMIN HARVEY, Associated Press Writer
4 hours ago

VAN, Turkey - Sumeyya Mamuk considered the chickens in her backyard to be beloved pets. The 8-year-old girl fed them, petted them and took care of them. When they started to get sick and die, she hugged them and tenderly kissed them goodbye. The next morning, her face and eyes were swollen and she had a high fever. Her father took her to a hospital, and five days later she was confirmed to have the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.

"The chickens were sick. One had puffed up and she touched it. We told her not to. She loved chickens a lot," her father, Abdulkerim Mamuk, said of the second youngest of his eight children. "She held them in her arms."

Her oldest brother, Sadun, said Sumeyya loved animals and took care of puppies and kittens in Van's Yalim Erez neighborhood.

When her mother saw Sumeyya holding one of the dying chickens, she yelled at her and hit the girl to get her away.

Sumeyya began to cry. She wiped her tears with the hand she'd been using to comfort the dying chicken.

[skygazer]

1. Poor little softhearted kid

That is a kinda funny headline but the story is actually rather touching. My son was really soft-hearted when he was little (still is) and I remember when we had some geese that died - he was so upset about it. Most kids get upset about the dog or cat but he was very sad about the geese. :(

[Shine]

2. Jeez, bummer.

:cry: