Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (April 2, 2015)
truffle found, one blank found. If this was a truffle, we were in, if this wasn’t then we were done. “Truffle,” I tell the judge. “Truffle!” she confirms. We did it. We found the elusive truffle and made it out of the round that was no doubt designed to weed out clueless neophytes like the Bigster and me. The judge compliments me on my ability to read my dog’s tell and says she has a dog just like him. I grin and just keep stuffing treats into him. “Biggie, you are amazing,” I tell him. Given that the top price for Oregon truffles has been around $500 per pound, Biggie could more than earn his keep, I fantasize, if we figured this truffle-sniffing thing out. TRUFFLES IN THE WILD “When your dog finds his first truffle, it’s like your first kiss; you never forget it,” Jacobson says. While expensive Italian truffles are mainly found in cultivated orchards, Oregon truffles are found in the wild, — or, more precisely, on old farmland with young, 15-to- 35-year-old Douglas fir trees, according to Lefevre and Jacobson. Most Oregon truffles are actually found on private land, and since 2013 the Oregon Board of Forestry has required a permit for truffle hunting on state and private lands. There are 100,000 acres of suitable truffle land in this state, according to the feasibility study. Another reason Lefevre, who also professionally inocu- lates trees with truffle spores to create orchards, doesn’t come down hard on rakers is that truffles thrive on land already disturbed by humans. Most Oregon truffles are found west of the Cascades in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, and black truffles are found in the Coast Range and the foothills of the Cascades. Out of the 26 or so original competitors, 16 make it into the second round, including Biggie and six Lagotto Romagnolos. The second round involves finding truffles in a simulated wild setting — buried in the arena dirt among logs and trees. The next day the top five dogs from that round then head out into the forest for an actual field trial where the winner takes home $500 and the Keeper DeGlane award, named, of course, for a truffle dog. Sanford, who together with Tom, his Lagotto, is prob- ably one of the best known truffle hunters in the country, tells me after the first round, “One in 10 dogs can go out there and will sniff a truffle, because he knows something different is there.” “Yeah, that was my dog today,” I respond. “Dogs harvesting truffles ensures quality,” he says. He says he (and Tom) come to the Truffle Festival not to promote the Oregon truffle, “but a dog-harvested Oregon truffle.” Jacobson agrees and says she’d like to see dog-harvest- ed truffles labeled, the way dolphin-safe tuna is labeled. At the end of the Joriad’s third round, Marilyn Richen and her yellow Lab Gucci take home first place. Lefevre says they found a truffle every minute and 45 seconds “for a solid hour.” Second place finisher, Sunny Diaz and her Lagotto Stella, averaged one every two minutes, he tells me. Biggie and I? Not so much. As Russell points out, dog training takes time. Lots of time, you can’t rush it. “Repetition, repetition, repetition,” she says. When Biggie and I walk out before the audience for round two, he gleefully sniffs around for a while. We find no truffles. But he does take a nice poop in the truffle arena. Afterward, I gave him lots more treats for being a very good dog and, as I like to tell people, he did beat 10 or 11 actual trained truffle dogs, proving any dog, even an unwanted L.A. pitbull, can become a truffle dog. The Oregon Truffle Festival and the Joriad return to Eugene Jan. 29-31, 2016. Biggie and I will be practicing. ■ Go for a truffle hunt with Umami Truffle Dogs at umamitruffledogs.com. Truffle train your dogs with Trifecta Training Center trifectatraining.com and check out New World Truffières at truffletree.com for more on growing truffles. Community Alliance of Lane County Presents: Asian Food Market Largest Selection of Asian Groceries Seaweed, rice, noodles, frozen products, deli, snacks, drinks, sauces, spices, produce, housewares, and more. We carry groceries from Holland, India, Pakistan and Polynesia a Dramatic Reading of A Time To BreAk SiLenCe April 12, 2015 4-6 pm Sushi & Asian deli take-out KWVA SPRING CLEANING MONOPHONICS RECORD SWAP WITH SPINLADEN 4/4/15 • 8PM • $13 ADV/$15 DOOR • 21+ 4/4/15 • 12-4PM • FREE • ALL AGES Easter Special Open Easter Sunday 10-6 10% OFF EVERYTHING IN THE STORE * Excluding rice, case prices and phone cards. Offer expires 4/8/15 www.sunriseasianfood.com ELLIOTT BROOD M-Th 9am-7pm•F 9am-8pm•Sa 9am-7pm•Su 10am-6pm 70 W. 29th Ave. Eugene • 541-343-3295 WITH SHELBY EARL A dramatic reading of Martin Luther King Jr.’s April 4, 1967 speech linking opposition to the Vietnam War and the struggle for civil rights. Delivered at New York City’s Riverside Church, Dr. King’s speech was organized by Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam, the precursor to CALC. His words still speak to us today as we consider the endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and envision changing our national priorities as we work for peace and justice. First Christian Church 1166 Oak St, Eugene for more informATion: CALC: 541.485.1755 calcpeace@efn.org • www.calclane.org PASSAFIRE + YO MAMA’S BIG FAT BOOTY BAND WITH STRANGER 4/6/15 • 7PM • $7 ADV/$10 DOOR • 21+ 4/8/15 • 7PM • $13 EARLY BIRD/$16 ADV • 21+ MAIN SQUEEZE MICHAL MENERT WITH PAUL BASIC + + THE CONGRESS MARCELO MOXY 4/9/15 • 9PM • $10 ADV/$12 DOOR • 21+ 4/10/15 • 8PM • $14 EARLY BIRD/$17 ADV • ALL AGES DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT MEDICAL CANNABIS? • Please come in and talk to our educated staff about what Cannabis can do for you. • We have many non-smoking, High CBD (non-psychoactive) varieties to try. • We are one of Oregon’s most trusted & respected Medical Cannabis Dispensaries • No card required for consultations SERVING PATIENTS S INC E 2013 − − 8th & Charnelton • CozmicPresents.com • CozmicPresents@gmail.com eugeneweekly.com • A pril 2, 2015 13
