COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL March 2, 2016
“I Don’t Want a
Dog!”
C
hris had never had a dog,
and with her wildly busy
household’s two loud, active
sons involved in multiple sports,
the last thing she needed was a
dog. Her husband insisted on a
dog “being good for the boys”,
but the last thing she needed
was a big dog! Enter, Cedar.
Now she can’t even imagine life
BBD (Before Big Dog).
Cedar was born in California
and found in an Oregon fos-
ter home on Craigslist. They
named her Cedar because her
fur’s unique color matches a ce-
dar tree.
“I wanted a well-mannered
dog,” admitted Chris, “so we
had a dog trainer teach us how
to raise Cedar. She taught me
how to be ‘lovingly’ fi rm. Our
younger son was submissive,
so he had to learn how to be in
charge and be a teacher to Ce-
dar. Our older son played too
rough, so he was taught a gen-
tler form of play. My husband’s
discipline was strict, so he was
taught to be gentler. The results
were worth the investment of
time and money. My husband
now declares that Cedar is ‘The
most perfect dog in the world’,
and we all agree!
Cedar makes friends wherev-
er she goes and everyone is im-
pressed with her good manners.
She especially adores little girls
and the feeling is mutual; the
children are always asking to
pet and cuddle her.
Cedar is an important part of
our family, so she’s involved in
everything we do. She loves
joining us on hikes. The boys
run up ahead on the trails and
hide behind tree stumps/bushes
and call out, “Ceeedar heeer-
eee”. She races like a wild horse
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to them because she knows her
favorite cheese treat is waiting.
Then one of us, behind them,
hides and calls her back. All
fi ve of us love this joy-fi lled
game.
Sometimes, for no apparent
reason, Cedar makes us laugh
by going ‘crackers’, and run-
ning crazily in circles. Possbly
the laughter is exactly what she
is trying to create! Also, she’s
hysterical when she lies on her
back and wiggles, wriggles
and squiggles for a good back
scratch.
All this activity contrasts to
when Cedar is at home where
she’s is a professional ‘napper’.
She curls up with whoever she
can, wherever she can, for a nap.
Some mornings she gets out of
bed, stretches, and then heads
to her favorite chair to start her
morning nap!
Our family loves creating a
pretend ‘human voice’ for Ce-
dar. We use it to explain her
perspective on how she’s feel-
ing about things. Like on a
school morning, she ‘asks’ to
go to school with the boys, ‘to
learn her ABCs, so she can spell
CAT’. We also do it when she
stares at us in the kitchen letting
us know that she’s there, asking
us if we ‘need any help?’ mak-
ing her dinner. She sometimes
writes us letters with its letters
all mixed up, remember she
can’t go to school, asking us to
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Chris and Burton with
their two sons, Cole and
Lucas, and three-year-
old Boxer/Staffordshire
mix dog, Cedar. Chris
had never wanted a dog,
but Cedar has turned her
home and life upside down
for the better! She’s now a
bone-afi de dog lover!
Photo by Mary Ellen “Angel Scribe”
play with.” Having Cedar in our
life expands our imaginations,
humor and bonds our family.
In our loud busy household,
Cedar oddly brings a sense of
calmness to it; whether for cud-
dles or quiet walks, her cuddles
always make us feel better. Ev-
eryone in our family has crazy
quirks, including Cedar, so she
fi ts in purr-fectly - and she loves
us for who we are!
Cedar is a hoot! She patient-
ly lets the boys dress her up in
wigs, hats and necklaces - all
the time! To date, she’s been
Yoda, Superdog, and a cowgirl.
On Halloween she rocked a
rainbow tutu!
Cedar is not ‘just a dog’. The
depth of love my boys have for
her is a blessing. Cedar is our
boys’ best furry friend (BFF),
who unconditionally loves them
when they are having diffi cult
days or when they’re sad. She
has a sense for when her com-
fort is needed.
She is clever beyond words
and opens lever doors and lets
herself outside if she sees one of
her friends, so we are careful to
keep our doors locked.
Once, at my sister’s Ontario
farm, we tied Cedar to a tree
outside the house while we
made a quick trip to town. Ce-
dar-Houdini escaped and we
feared the worst. She was alone,
thousands of miles from home.
Before our devastation sank in
too deep, we discovered that
she had opened their back patio
door, let herself inside, and was
taking a nap in my bed!”
TIPS
“Cedar is whistle trained,”
said Chris. “When she wanders
off we blow her whistle and she
comes racing back for a cheese
treat.
We are very careful about
leaving dangerous things out
that Cedar might chew on.
We’ve taught the boys that safe
things for people are poisonous
to dogs; like xylitol, onions,
chocolate and grapes. We have
also taught them the dangers
of overfeeding a dog. Cedar
is such a good dog; our invest-
ment of teaching her to have
good manners pays off every
day. But in reality, it was us that
were trained on how to live with
a dog!”
Toxic food for dogs: http://
dogs.about.com/od/dogandpup-
pyhealth/tp/toxicfood.htm
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What consumers need to know
about food product dates
ODA Food Safety
Program explains the
various expiration
dates found on
products
I
Save an average of $464*
7A
t’s very likely that many Or-
egonians who observe vari-
ous expiration dates on products
throw away food that may have
lost some freshness and qual-
ity but is still perfectly safe to
consume. Welcome to the world
of food product dating, in which
terms such as “sell by”, “use
by”, and “expires” all mean
different things but collectively
tend to muddle consumers as
they decide whether or not to
toss that product out. The Or-
egon Department of Agriculture
wants to offer some clarity.
“These dates are something
for consumers to look at and be
aware of, but they are typically a
quality issue that could affect the
taste, odor or appearance of the
product,” says ODA food safety
retail specialist Brian Hawkins.
“For most products, it shouldn’t
be a food safety concern.”
Most people have food prod-
ucts in their refrigerator, freezer
or in the pantry with dates that
have long since passed. Depend-
ing on the product, the term ac-
companying the date, and how
that product is stored, consum-
ers can determine what to do
with the food – eat it or delete
it.
First, it’s important to know
these dates are generally recom-
mendations voluntarily offered
by the food manufacturer. It’s an
educated guess as to how long
the product will last. In most
cases, there is no requirement
for these dates to be placed on
products and no universal food
dating system used by manu-
facturers or retailers. However,
these dates are helpful and use-
ful as long as the people reading
them know their meaning.
“We do require that certain
potentially hazardous food prod-
ucts past their date marking–
best by, sell by, use by date– are
identifi ed or segregated so that
a customer knows it’s past
date,” says Hawkins. “These are
items like meats and dairy prod-
ucts pre-packaged by the food
manufacturer. The store can still
sell the product, people can still
buy it and consume it. But once
the dates on these products have
passed, they may be past their
prime and food safety related
issues may not be far behind.”
It is perfectly understandable
for a food product to be dis-
carded because it is no longer
fresh. But an unfresh product
should not be confused with an
unsafe product.
“Sell by” is a date that is most
instructive to retailers and is
found on perishable foods such
as fi sh, poultry, meat, bread
and dairy products. This date
gives retailers a guide for how
long the product should be dis-
played. Again, stores may of-
fer products for sale after the
“sell by” date has passed, which
is perfectly legal. Consumers
will usually want to purchase
the product before its “sell by”
date but they don’t have to wor-
ry about consuming it by that
date as long as the food is prop-
erly stored. Generally, fresh
meat, fi sh, and poultry should
be cooked within two days of
refrigeration after purchase. If
those products have been placed
in the freezer, there should no
longer be any concern of the
“sell by” date.
Terms such as “use by”,
“best if used by”, and “best
before” are also associated
with freshness and quality of
the food product. These terms
and dates are generally found
on shelf-stable products such
as snack foods, cereals, and
various canned products. The
dates used indicate how long
the product will likely remain
at its best quality when un-
opened. The food is safe to eat
even after the date has passed,
although the product will grad-
ually lose some of its original
texture, color and taste over
time. How the product is stored
is always a factor, especially for
products that should be refriger-
ated after opening. A person’s
eyes and nose are good tools
to determine the quality of a
shelf-stable food product. Upon
opening the container, consum-
ers should look and smell the
product. Anything that has de-
veloped an odor or question-
able appearance should be dis-
carded. The same holds true for
products that have been opened
and sitting in the refrigerator for
a long period of time. Again, it’s
generally a quality issue, not a
food safety issue.
There are some mandated ex-
piration dates on specifi c prod-
ucts that consumers may notice.
Infant formula and some baby
foods contain the terms “expires
on” or “use by” with a date that
should be strictly adhered to
by consumers. Several states
also have requirements for date
marking, including Oregon,
where food-borne pathogens
such as Listeria are a concern
for certain foods.
Date marking is required in
Oregon for ready-to-eat poten-
tially hazardous food that is
prepared in the store and held
refrigerated for more than
24 hours. Examples include
sliced deli meats, cut toma-
toes, some salad dressings, soft
cheeses such as brie, cut mel-
ons, raw seed sprouts and sushi.
Date marking ensures foods are
discarded before bacteria re-
produce to levels that can cause
foodborne illness.
“Our food code requires any-
thing ready-to-eat that is poten-
tially hazardous – products that
need refrigeration – to have a
seven-day date mark when it
is stored at 41 degrees or be-
low,” says Hawkins. “These
foods need to be consumed
within seven days or be dis-
carded.”
One other specifi c food item
of note is eggs. A “sell by” or
Please see DATES, Page 10A