COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL JULY 19, 2017 7A
A lifetime of loving dogs
When I was three years old I lived in foster
homes for a year and a half. The fi rst foster fam-
ily’s dog was a liver spotted Springer Spaniel,
named Penny. I was small and thin and Penny
was taller, overweight, and with one joyful en-
thusiastic wag of her tailless hind end, she would
send me fl ying to the fl oor.
My foster parents were wild about Penny, but
my mind only saw an elephant who was about to
“fl oor” me.
When my foster mother, Mrs. M, took me to
visit her parents, I fell in love. It was fi rst with her
cranky father, Mr. B, that everyone thought would
scare me, but who within minutes of us meeting, I
had him wrapped around my little fi nger. I loved
him. He was gentle and patient with me and it was
easy to make him smile. His laps were a safe place
of comfort and kindness, as I blew out his pipe’s
matches, and he barked at adults.
Mr. B’s house held magic because he had the
fi rst cat I ever met. It was thrilling to learn that
we on planet earth were blessed to share our time
with these beautiful soft animals! There is a pho-
to of Mrs. M coaxing me to stand by her beloved
Penny, but that day I realized I was a cat person
and hid behind Mr. B.’s grey Persian, Smokey,
patting him in the photo.
My gentle foster mother had a thing for dogs.
She was never without one. When Mrs. M was
96-years-old she was still at home with her daugh-
ter and their dog, Bayley. Bayley spent the entire
eight years of his life on the couch cuddled up
with the woman we all loved.
Three days prior to Mrs. M’s peaceful death, as
the paramedics were lifting her in the ambulance,
she patted Bayley on the head and said ... “You be
a good boy”.
After her death, we were all in grief, even Bay-
ley. Her daughter acknowledged the dog’s grief
by going to her mother’s bedroom, taking the pil-
low with Mrs. M’s scent still on it and placing it
on the couch. Bayley wrapped his arms around
the pillow, looked up at the daughter, and happily
wagged his tail as if to say, “Thank you for under-
standing.”
“Over the years, I have placed all sorts of tow-
els on the couch,” said her daughter, “but he never
responded like he did with Mum’s pillow.”
Animals have feelings that cannot be over-
looked. They love deeply, care deeply, grieve
deeply, and feel responsible for their people.
These are some of the many blessings of sur-
rounding yourself with pets.
Then the oddest thing began happening! My
computer has a BING screen saver, it randomly
gives you a daily choice of four photos to choose
from. The day after Mrs. M.’s
passing, for the fi rst time in years
of screen choices, it displayed a
liver colored Springer Spaniel
like Penny! Then at coffee the
next day, the same colored dog
walked by me, then at the dog
park for the next three days, the
same breed and color of spaniel
was paraded by. I asked each
owner their pet’s name, all were
different, and all the owners,
once told of the spaniel synchro-
nicities said, “That is so odd, as
these dogs are rare. We don’t see
many ourselves.”
All the sightings felt like hugs from Heaven.
Keep believing, keep shining your love, it makes
a difference in this world.
TIPS
“Animals sixth sense is amazing,” said Bren-
da in Kentucky. “I’ve learned from watching the
retired race horses in the pasture at my parents’
ranch that when a storm is forecast and the horses
are calm I do not worry, but when they run to the
barn I pay attention. Horses do not mind getting
wet so it is not ‘just’ rain that is coming. Also,
Belle, a Great Pyrenees was sleeping with me
when one morning when I had night terrors. She
woke me up by gathering me up in her giant paws,
holding me tight, and waking me. I was grateful.
Animals are in touch with nature. They have their
own "language" and if people would learn it they
would be amazed at this deep puss-onal commu-
nication.”
Tell us your fun/amazing/crazing pet tips and
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N. Douglas patients welcome at SLMH
Umpqua Health Alliance, South Lane Mental Health form partnership
Roseburg, Oregon — North Douglas County residents on the Or-
egon Health Plan can now access a broad array of mental health ser-
vices under a new partnership between Cottage Grove based-South
Lane Mental Health and Umpqua Health Alliance.
“We’re excited to partner with South Lane Mental Health to pro-
vide Umpqua Health Alliance members in north Douglas County
greater access to a comprehensive collection of behavioral health
services,” said Sue Goldberg, vice president of network and busi-
ness development at Umpqua Health. “This partnership expands
behavioral health services in the rural areas of Douglas County and
gives Umpqua Health an opportunity to align with an organization
Grab a BITE of
Cottage Grove
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estaurant
G U I D E
that’s been successfully serving rural communities for close to 30
years.”
Umpqua Health has focused on building its behavioral health ser-
vices footprint for the past two years, during which time it has in-
creased its number of contracted behavioral health providers by 38
percent in an effort to ensure services are available to all Umpqua
Health Alliance members who require them, including those living
in underserved rural areas of Douglas County.
In South Lane Mental Health, Umpqua Health is collaborating
with an organization that offers comprehensive services that in-
clude:
•
•
•
•
Substance use recovery services
Referrals
“We have long considered north Douglas County part of our
community but haven’t always been able to offer services for folks
in that area,” said Tom Wheeler, South Lane Mental Health’s execu-
tive director. “So we are really pleased to join with Umpqua Health.
Our partnership makes it possible for residents of rural towns like
Drain and Yoncalla to access services without having to travel all
the way to Roseburg.”
DRAIN
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Continued A1
spend the week learning
about community service and
doing crafts and other tradition-
al camp activities through the
Impact Youth Ministry.
“This camp started 55 years
ago,” Ford said. “There have
been thousands of kids that have
come through and some, like
me, come back when they grow
up to help.”
Both Ford and her husband
Chris opt to help by taking on
the role of camp directors and
this year, Ford is going further.
She’s attempting to bring an
extra component to the camp’s
end of the week celebration—
horses.
“We have a theme every
year and this year it’s a western
theme. We’d like to have horse
or pony rides and we’ve reached
out to some people but either
they’re busy or can’t bring the
horses here,” Ford said.
According to Ford, she’d like
to have horse rides available to
the campers on July 26, August
3 and August 10.
“We do have some funds but
not a lot,” she said. The group
mans a fi rework booth in Cot-
tage Grove each year to raise
funds for the camp.
“It’s not about money for us,”
Ford said. “It’s about giving
these kids a positive place to
make a difference.”
Camp Corley is open for reg-
istration through the fi rst week
in August. For more informa-
tion or to register a child, please
contact Ford at (541) 836-2603.
See this
week's B
section for
BMD stories
and photos!
B1, B3 &B3!