This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Snow College professor Steve Peterson thought the worst when he walked into his garage in Spring City and found his dog, Pete, drinking anti-freeze from a bucket. He rushed the mixed-breed pet to the vet, who told him the only way to save the dog was to give him Everclear, the grain alcohol beverage that has a 95 percent alcohol content.

The alcohol would go straight to the liver, the vet said, and would ward off the anti-freeze, which attacks the liver and causes death.

But it was 8 a.m. and the package liquor stores can't legally open until 10 a.m.

Peterson called Boyd Brotherson, who operates the package liquor outlet in Mt. Pleasant and told him of the emergency. Brotherson rushed to his store, got the booze and took it to Peterson's home, where he sold it to him, then followed Peterson to the vet where Pete was given the Everclear through an I.V. tube.

The dog was saved, but he was drunk for two days, said Peterson.

Francine Giani, interim director of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (DABC), said Brotherson technically might have broken the law, but he did the right thing.

"Good for him," she said. "He put his humanity first and he saved a dog."

Wallet found after 35 years • On Jan. 14, the Dortch family — Cameron, Alli, Dakota, age 6 and Avarey, age 3, were ice fishing at Rockport Reservoir and hadn't had a bite all day.

But then the outing turned magical when Dakota, who was throwing rocks into the lake, noticed something in the shallow water and picked it up.

It was an old, partially disintegrated wallet that apparently had been submerged for years. Cameron, Dakota's father, looked inside and found two ZCMI cards, a Conoco card, a Texaco card and a Bank of America card, with an expiring date of March, 1976.

Cameron decided to Google the name on the cards and found a phone number. He reached the daughter of the wallet's owner and learned the man had passed away in 2004. But his wife, 87, was still living at the same Salt Lake City address. She was quite pleased when the Dortch family paid her a visit to return the wallet and its contents.

Above and beyond • Kerry Nakamura, staff adviser to Salt Lake County Councilman Jim Bradley, noticed recently a United Police Department officer driving a truck with license number 503824, who had pulled off the road and was helping an elderly lady change her tire. "Way beyond the call of duty," Nakamura surmised.

Beyond and above • R. Scott Ward, professor and chairman of the Physical Therapy Department at the University of Utah, was so touched by the actions of a Salt Lake City Recycling and Waste Services Department driver, he sent an email of praise to the department's supervisor, Frank Young.

He also sent a copy to me.

"I want to let you know about a wonderful deed done by one of your drivers, Ron Hunt. I live in a neighborhood above the zoo and saw my neighbor's trash being dumped. I was headed over to move the cans because although the husband is well, his wife recently had a mild stroke. As I was walking over I saw Mr. Hunt get out of his truck and wheel both the green and the blue cans back into their position in my neighbor's driveway. I thanked Ron who told me that he had at one point seen the wife try to move the cans and nearly fall. So he apparently has taken it upon himself to take the cans back into their drive each week after they are dumped.

"Witnessing good deeds like this makes my day! So Ron made my day today."

Eat and be merry • The Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and IHOP restaurants are celebrating National Pancake Day on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. IHOP will be offering a free short stack of its famous buttermilk pancakes to each guest and, in return, diners will be asked to make a voluntary donation to support Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and other local charities. Miss Utah, Danica Olsen, will be at the Murray IHOP, 5277 S. State, flipping hot cakes from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.