Manatees Released, Cops Save The Day, Best Places To Live

Patch operates 23 daily news sites in Florida. The following are some of the more upbeat stories that had folks talking over the past week or so:

Watch: Manatee Mom, Baby Return To The Wild

Tarpon Springs officially has two more residents courtesy of Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo. The zoo announced early Thursday afternoon that its planned release of a mother manatee and her baby went smoothly.

Service Dog Injured In Hit-And-Run Recovering

Zephyr, a service dog seriously injured in a Tuesday hit-and-run crash in St. Petersburg came through surgery on Wednesday with flying colors and is on the road to recovery.

Cop Who Saved Puppy Named Hometown Hero

The Lakeland Police Officer who stole hearts across the country last month when he was caught napping with a puppy he’d rescued has been named a Hometown Hero by the SPCA Florida and U.S. Rep. Dennis A. Ross.

Tampa Police ‘Standoff’ With Black Bear Ends Peacefully

Tampa Police officers found themselves involved in a standoff of sorts Tuesday morning. According to the agency, one of its officers was responding to an unrelated call around 5:30 a.m. when he saw a large animal running by him.

100 Best Places In Florida To Raise A Family

Just in time for Father’s Day, Niche.com took a look at the best places to raise a family in states across the country. According to its rankings for Florida, Tampa Bay’s Hillsborough County offers more than a few possibilities. In fact, Westchase ranks No. 1 on the list overall with FishHawk coming in a close second.

Mom’s Letter After Cops Surprise Autistic Boy Says It All

Fearing another year of unanswered birthday party invitations and another year of heartache for their little boy, Carolyn and Dan Nicastro decided to make a proactive move to spare their child tears during his celebration.

Photo courtesy of the Tampa Police Department