Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 12, 2018)
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM ܂ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2018 ܂ 3B Rescue dog comes to rescue of foster kids Forward This Capi Lynn Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Lilly Mae was destined to be a breeding dog at a puppy mill until her heart murmur was discovered, and then she was abandoned at a high-kill shelter. Northwest Boxer Rescue saved her the day before she was to be euthanized. She spent six months in foster care until eventually finding her forever home in Keizer. The 2-year-old pooch has brought comfort and joy to Shaney Starr and her husband, Greg, helping fill a void in their hearts left by the passing of their boxer Bubba and their Jack Russell terrier Ziggy. But maybe Lilly Mae survived for another reason. She’s about to become Oregon’s first canine court- appointed special advocate, or CASA dog. She’ll soon be providing comfort and joy to local foster children going through child protective service hearings. Shaney Starr, executive director of CASA of Marion County, believes Lilly Mae has the perfect background and temperament for this role. Like many of the chil- dren she will provide support to, Lilly Mae has been abused, neglected and abandoned. “Lilly Mae’s story of her first two years is parallel to so many of our kids in foster care,” Starr said. “She has so much love she wants to give to people and her desire to be loved on in return, along with her gentle demea- nor, made me think this could work.” Lilly Mae was “sworn in” by Marion County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Pellegrini on Thursday. The Judge reportedly wrote a special pledge for the momentous occasion, and Lilly Mae practicedraising her right paw. She joins a team of 130 active volunteers who have been screened and trained to serve an average of 600 abused and neglected children living in foster care in Marion County. CASA volunteers are the heart, soul, and con- science of an underfunded and overburdened child welfare system. They are appointed by a judge to ad- vocate for the best interests of children and give them each a voice in court. A volunteer must be 21, have a passion for children in the community, pass criminal background checks, have good written and verbal communication skills, be able to complete and maintain training, be available to attend court hearings, and be willing to commit to the program for at least two years. Lilly Mae received special dispensation for a couple of the requirements. She has completed more than seven months of training on her way to becoming an owner-trained as- sistance dog. But it’s her gentle temperament and in- nate ability to sense human emotions that make her perfect for this assignment. “She’s very sensitive to people’s emotions,” Starr said. “She knows who needs love.” When accompanying Starr to the CASA office in Keizer, it’s not unusual for the 70-pound white boxer with distinct brown markings around her eyes to sin- gle out a CASA staffer who needs comfort most. “Staff may have had something happen work relat- ed or in their personal lives, and they needed some Lil- ly May time,” Starr said. “She tunes in real well.” Imagine her providing unconditional support to abused and neglected children at the most trying time of their lives. The hope is for Lilly Mae to help them overcome any anxiety, tension, stress or fear they might experience as they go through child welfare pro- ceedings and are faced with making courtroom ap- pearances. She’s sure to win the hearts of not only foster kids, but volunteers, courtroom staff, even the judge. In fact, Child volunteers pet Lilly Mae as the rescued boxer makes one more visit to a Marion County juvenile courtroom Aug. 28 before her official swearing-in ceremony on Thursday. KELLY JORDAN/STATESMAN JOURNAL “Hopefully, Lilly Mae can be a positive for the kiddos coming to court and help bring a smile and some joy to an otherwise pretty unpleasant experience.” Shaney Starr Executive director of CASA of Marion County she already has. Lilly Mae and Judge Pellegrini, the presiding juve- nile judge for the county, hit it off the first time they met in July when the dog did her first training session in a courtroom. Starr needed the judge’s blessing before pursuing the idea of deploying a CASA dog in court. Both women discussed using a comfort dog as part of “what can we do to get our kiddos to feel safe coming to court and not cause more stress and anxiety on them.” The plan was announced last December during a CASA of Marion County luncheon, with Starr vowing the program wouldn’t cost the organization a dime. A donor covered about a third of the training costs, but she and her husband paid for most of it, along with all the other expenses that come with providing Lilly Mae a forever home. Lilly Mae is a lucky dog. She fancies her morning walks at the neighborhood park and sitting on her flag- stone patio and keeping watch over her yard. She loves all types of treats, but her favorites are mini Milk-Bones, which are only 5 calories each. She has an ever-expanding collection of toys. Three new ones arrive monthly in her BarkBox of goodies. She prefers toys with squeakers. She has to take medication with breakfast and din- ner for her heart murmur, which disqualifies her from being a full-fledged service dog. She will need a handler with her at all times in the courtroom, and that will be Starr. They started training in January with the Joys of Living Assistance Dogs. When founder and director Joy St. Peter did her ini- tial temperament assessment and evaluation of Lilly Mae, she described her as “calm as a cucumber.” St. Peter said she looks for signs in a prospective assistance dog showing that he or she is not only sen- sitive to people’s emotions but capable of handling them. “She shows all of the tendencies of being able to CLASSIFIEDS Find a new job or career Discover Discover Disc Di scov sc over ov er your y your ourr new ou new ne w ho home home me JOBS.STATESMANJOURNAL.COM LEGAL/PUBLIC NOTICE DEADLINES All Legals Deadline @ 1:00 p.m. on all days listed below: ***All Deadlines are subject to change when there is a Holiday. The Silverton Appeal Tribune is a one day a week (Wednesday) only publication • Wednesday publication deadlines the Wednesday prior LEGAL/PUBLIC NOTICE RATES Silverton Appeal Tribune: • Wednesdays only - $12.15/per inch/per time • Online Fee - $21.00 per time • Affidavit Fee - $10.00 per Affidavit requested silvertonappeal.com Place an ad online 24/7 at StatesmanJournal.com or call 503-399-6789 • 1-800-556-3975 Kristen Barnes Brokers licensed in Oregon Broker 503.873.3545 ext. 326 Ryan Wertz Broker 873-3545 ext. 322 Auctions, pets, services & stuff STUFF StatesmanJournal.com/classifieds in print Wednesday through Sunday STATESMANJOURNAL.COM/HOMES SERVING THE EAST VALLEY SINCE 1975 Principal Broker, GRI 873-3545 ext. 314 Public Notices are published by the Statesman Journal and available online at w w w .S ta te s m a n J o u r n a l.c o m . The Statesman Journal lobby is open Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can reach them by phone at 503-399-6789. In order to receive a quote for a public notice you must e-mail your copy to SJLegals@StatesmanJournal.com , and our Legal Clerk will return a proposal with cost, publication date(s), and a preview of the ad. AUTO TRUST THE HOMETOWN EXPERTS Michael ichael Schmid Schmidt PUBLIC NOTICES POLICY Turn here for your next vehicle HOMES & RENTALS JOBS handle the stress of the job,” St. Peter said. Lilly Mae’s first visit to the courtroom was a walk in the park. She spotted a squirrel moments before enter- ing the building, but it didn’t distract her from her mis- sion. One of the guards at the security gate patted her down around her collar and leash. Lilly Mae didn’t flinch. After being fawned over by Judge Pellegrini’s staff, St. Peter discussed with Starr the best placement for Lilly Mae during court proceedings. The dog will sit alongside a child in the courtroom. She may even put her chin on the child’s leg. Starr, as Lilly Mae’s handler, will be seated next to the child as well. Once Lilly May is sworn in and officially placed “in service,” a request for her services may be made by a CASA volunteer or caseworker if it’s believed her pres- ence would be beneficial to a child. “We know that dogs can help to lower stress levels and provide a sense of calm and safety to people,” Starr said. “Hopefully, Lilly Mae can be a positive for the kiddos coming to court and help bring a smile and some joy to an otherwise pretty unpleasant experi- ence.” Lilly May will be the first of her kind in Oregon. Oth- er states do have comfort dogs in their court systems. Lilly May will be available only to serve in juvenile de- pendency cases involving children in the foster care system in Marion County. The National CASA Association doesn’t know how many organizations use assistance dogs. It does know of established programs in at least three counties in New Mexico and Indiana, and one each in California, Tennessee, and Texas. Other CASAs in Oregon will be watching and taking notes. Lane County has already made initial inquiries and is eager to see how the program fares in Marion County. “There’s a decent amount of pressure but a lot of it, to be honest, is self-imposed,” Starr said. “The stress is about it not working out or not working how I want it to.” Some early affirmation came last week when her of- fice opened a makeshift school supply store for foster children. A young girl who came to the event was com- pletely enamored with Lilly Mae, calling her “my dog- gie.” “To see that joy on her face proved this is the right thing we’re doing,” Starr said. And just maybe, Lilly Mae will have a paw in helping these children find a safe and permanent home — just like she did. “Forward This” taps into the heart of the Mid-Valley — its people, history and issues. Contact Capi Lynn at clynn@StatesmanJournal.com or 503-399-6710, or follow her the rest of the week on Twitter @CapiLynn and Facebook @CapiLynnSJ. AT SILVERTON REALTY Marcia arcia Branstetter Branstett Micha icha Christman Christma Becky Craig Karen Gehrt Broker, GRI 873-3545 ext. 318 Offi ce Manager 503-873-1425 Broker 873-3545 ext. 313 Broker 873.3545 ext 312 Meredith Wertz Chuck White Christina istina Williamson Williams Mason ason Branstetter Branstette Broker, GRI 873-3545 ext. 324 Broker 873-3545 ext. 325 Broker 873-3545 ext. 315 Principal Broker, GRI 873-3545 ext. 303 NEW-SILVERTON NEW-SILVERTON SILVERTON NEW-SILVERTON NEW-SCOTTS MILLS NEW-SILVERTON -#A2503 NEAT AS A PIN 2 BR, 2 BA 1248 SQFT CALL CHUCK AT EXT. 325 $239,900 (WVMLS#738705) -#A2498 WILDERNESS SETTING 3 BR, 2 BA 1224 SQFT .50 ACRES CALL MICHAEL AT EXT. 314 $298,900 (WVMLS#738015) #A2492 COUNTRY HOME 4 BR, 3 BA 2674 SQFT. 18.27 ACRES CALL CHUCK AT EXT. 325, $799,000 (WVMLS#730954) #A2499 NEW IN ABIQUA HEIGHTS 4 BR, 2.5 BA 2492 SQFT CALL MICHAEL AT EXT. 314 $509,000 (WVMLS#737804) #A2496 AMAZING PROPERTY 3 BR, 1 BA 1344 SQFT 2.69 ACRES CALL BECKY AT EXT. 313 $360,000 (WVMLS#737576) #A2497 FANTASTIC SETTING 3 BR, 3 BA 2672 SQFT 7.00 ACRES CALL MEREDITH AT EXT. 324, RYAN AT EXT. 322 $619,800 (WVMLS#737712) Brokers licensed in Oregon WWW.SILVERTONREALTY.COM | 303 OAK STREET | SILVERTON Call us today! 503.873.3545 | 1-800-863-3545 FOR RENT Call Micha at 503-873-1425 or see them on our website.
