COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL MAY 3, 2017
7A
A Mexican adventure
Silky, rescued amongst a starving pack of crack
house dogs, was purr-eviously featured in Pet Tips
‘n’ Tales after landing in Lynda’s lap of luxury.
The hungry emaciated dog touched Lynda’s heart
when she did not dive into the food put down for
her, but fi rst carried some in her mouth, over to
her thin puppy.
Silky and Lynda are inseparable. Silky attends
Lynda’s art shows and spends hours watching her
create beautiful natural paintings. (www.white-
feather.ca) The pretty pup travels well in the car,
loves her stroller (a converted baby buggy) and
riding safely in an old back pack with a broken
zipper. Her back pack is the purr-fect mode of
transportation in airports on their frequent travels
to visit Lynda’s sister in Mexico.
“When fl ying with Silky,” said Lynda, “I give
her a few drops of the Bach’s fl ower Rescue Rem-
edy. It kepts her calm and relaxed for the four and
a half hour fl ight.”
Prior to their fl ight, Lynda took Silky outside
the airport several times to “potty” but the dog re-
fused to paw-ticipate. Once they fi nished at the
ticket agent, Lynda again escorted Silky outside
for a “last run”. They barely made it through the
double sliding doors when Silky urgently squatted
and pooped in the main thoroughfare! Ooops! The
timing and location weren’t good, but the results
made for a stress less trip.
In Mazatlán, on Saturday at 9 PM, Lynda and
her sister were walking their dogs when Silky
began howling in intense pain. “I saw an ugly,
black four inch long scorpion, moving like a crab
through the grass,” said Lynda. “I picked up Silky
and we ran into my sister’s home and googled
‘scorpion bite’. The computer declared it a med-
ical emergency as death my occur and advised to
immediately proceed to the veterinarian:
“My niece phoned her vet,” said Lynda, “and
she did not get an answer. I was going crazy try-
ing to connect to a 24 hour vet, but miraculously
her vet phoned and promised to come right over.
It was heart wrenching watching Silky pace in
pain. She had labored breathing and kept cough-
ing, indicating her heart was struggling against
the insect’s poison. The vet arrived in 20 minutes
and gave her an antidote shot. He sat with us an
hour, checked her heart beat, and then gave her a
second shot.
The vet felt, ‘Silky is going to be OK’ and
promised to return in the morning. I tried calcu-
lating how much his visits would cost. At home
it would paws-ibly be $1000 for an emergency
weekend call and treatment.
Silky’s earlier history had left her distrustful of
men, but the next morning when the vet arrived,
she realized that he was the answer to her prayers,
so she literally batted her long eye lashes at him,
thanking him with her heart
through her eyes.”
Lynda also felt like batting
her eyes at the vet when he only
charged her $15 for three shots,
an emergency visit, and an hour
wait between shots and a next
day check up visit!
Silky’s recuperation went
smoothly, and Lynda kept an
eagle’s eye out for scorpions on
future walks.
“On our second trip to Mexi-
co,” said Lynda, “when we land-
ed it had been 12 hours since
Silky had seen daylight. At bag-
gage claim, my heart dropped
realizing that there would be a “slight” delay. My
suitcases were isolated by an armed guard and his
German Shepherd. He pointed to one of the suit-
cases and demanded, ‘So what is in your suitcase
that my dog likes?!’
‘Oh, thank goodness,’ I thought, ‘this won’t be
a problem after all!’ The guard assumed that I
had smuggled something forbidden into the coun-
try, but he relaxed and laughed when I responded,
“Dog food!”
We and the suitcases were released for our next
Mexican adventure.”
CGPD releases neighborhood watch tips
After
By Caitlyn May
weeks
of
cmay@cgsentinel.com
confu-
sion and
speculation regarding a possible
neighborhood watch group in
Cottage Grove, the local police
department has released a set
of ground rules in the hopes of
clarifying the issue.
Cottage Grove Police Chief
Scott Shepherd spoke at the lat-
est Stand up for Cottage Grove
community meeting, promising
the three residents who turned-
out for the gathering, a checklist
of sorts to better work with the
police force.
"Not everything is an emer-
gency," he said. "Unless some-
one is in imminent danger, it
might not be an emergency
call."
While the details of the neigh-
borhood watch group are still
under construction, Shepherd's
list is clear.
It defi nes community aware-
ness as being, "watchful of any
unusual or suspicious persons,
activities or vehicles."
That premise has been the
topic of heated debate on so-
cial media and around the city
as the group gears up to orga-
nize. While early discussions
descended into arguments via
social media and concern about
whether or not the group intend-
ed to form an "armed militia,"
Shepherd assured residents he
does not believe that to be the
case.
He noted that original com-
ments concerning fi rearms were
taken out of context and he is
comfortable with the group's in-
tention of observing and report-
ing suspicious activity. Howev-
er, Oregon is an open-carry state
and those group members who
wish to carry fi rearms during
their time on the neighborhood
watch are legally able to do so
though Shepherd did discourage
the notion of "patrolling" the
streets, instead asking residents
to "observe and report."
According to Shepherd's
guidelines, residents should not
From Baby to Graduate
(it seemed like just a few short years)
8th Grade, High School, or College
assume someone else observing
suspicious behavior is reporting
the possible crime.
"You risk nothing if you call
the police and you are wrong,"
the document notes. "We would
rather have you call and it be
nothing, than not call and it
turns out to be something seri-
ous."
The guidelines also lay-out
the circumstances for each
emergency line noting that 9-1-
1 should be used for crimes in
progress that are life-threaten-
ing or immediately damaging
property.
For non-emergency calls,
group members are asked to
call (541) 942-9145 ext. 1. This
number is also recommended
for crimes that have already oc-
curred and the suspect is no lon-
ger in the area.
For anonymous tips con-
cerning crime in the city, Shep-
herd lists (541) 767-0504. The
number is not to be used for
an in-progress event as it is not
monitored due to its anonymous
nature.
TIPS
Want a purebred pet? Visit an animal shelter,
pure bred’s arrive every day.
Tell us about your pet’s vacation.
angelscribe@msn.com
Disclaimer: This article, based on personal ex-
perience, is for informational purposes only and is
not intended to prescribe, treat, diagnose or cure.
Always consult your Veterinarian.
“Follow” Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/PetTipsandTales
Jail levy on the ballot
Lane County residents will have the opportunity to vote
on Measure 20-271 in the coming weeks as ballots contin-
ue to be sent out. The measure, more commonly known as
"the jail levy" or "public safety levy" would extend a simi-
lar measure approved by voters in 2013. The fi ve-year levy
allowed Lane County to expand its jail operations from
256 beds in 2013 to the current 317 the facilities utilize
now. Prior to the passage of the 2013 levy, approximately
5,000 inmates were being released each year due to over
crowding. In Cottage Grove, municipal inmates are often
sent to Lane County due to a lack of Cottage Grove beds,
only to be released due to their less serious charges and a
lack of space.
The levy, if approved, would include a 55 cent tax per
every $1,000 of assessed home value.
While the current levy passed in 2013 does not expire
until the middle of next year, the Lane County Sheriff's
Offi ce is hoping to continue the current level of service
without interruption.
"Before the levy was approved, we were releasing peo-
ple, including in 2012, three people on pending homicide
charges," Lane County Sheriff Byron Trapp said. And
while room is still an issue, Trapp says those who are re-
leased are non-violent offenders.
The 2013 levy requires that the facility maintain 255
beds, 62 beds less than what is currently being offered.
Residents can fi nd the levy and an explanation of the
request on their ballots. If residents have not yet received
their ballots they are asked to contact Lane County Elec-
tions at (541) 682-4234.
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Cottage Grove Sentinel
P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
or stop by our office at 116 N. 6th St., CG
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