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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 29, 2020)
Cottage Grove Sentinel Community B1 THURSDAY | OCTOBER 29, 2020 A day to ‘remember’ Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales Tradition celebrates, acknowledges the dead during annual ‘Dia de los Muertos’ By Mary Ellen “Angel Scribe” Harness your dog Woof Concept creator Tracy and Andy Song, with Pedro and Marjorie. (This story was first published Nov. 14, 2018) Tributes, such as this by Dave Davis currently on display at the Maude Kern Art Center in Eugene, are created to celebrate the memory of relatives and loved ones who have passed during “Dia de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead). Contributed by Gloria Campuzano “And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?” — Kahlil Gibran D eath is an integral, ever present part of life. The Aztecs, Na- hua and Mayan cultures in Mexico and Central America honor dead as a cyclical view of the Uni- verse. Their ancestral wis- dom illuminated a ritual called “Day of the Dead” also known as “Dia de los Muertos.” People from Mexico, Central America, Ecua- dor, Brazil, parts of Eu- rope, United States, Asia and Oceania celebrate in different ways. For Angelina and Au- rora, my friends from Mexico, they both re- member the Day of the Death as a happy day — not as a day of sadness. Their tradition is to visit the pantheon or cemetery, bringing ce- mpasúchil or marigolds flowers, pan de muerto — dead bread which is sweet — along with sug- ar skulls and adornments to their loved ones who have died. In Mexico, eating at the pantheon and decorating graves and tombs is an invitation to the loved ones to awaken and cel- ebrate with them. For the Mayans in Be- lize and Guatemala, they also celebrate with food, dance, by wearing col- orful costumes, playing music and flying kites to help the spirits find their way to Earth. In 2008, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNES- CO), Day of the Dead was inscribed in the rep- resentative list of Intan- gible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The celebration begins on Oct. 31, All Hallow Eve. Children make an altar to invite spirits of children — called An- gelitos (little angels) to come back for a visit. Nov. 1 is All Saints Day (Dia de los Santos) to invite the adult spir- its to come visit. Nov. 2 is All Souls Day (Dia de las Almas) or Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muer- tos), when families go to the cemetery to decorate the graves and tombs of relatives. Since I was nine years old, I went to the ceme- tery San Pedro — now also a museum because of its beautiful statues — in Medellin, Colombia to visit my mom and broth- er. For my family, Day of the Dead was a sad day. Indeed, in Colombia the Day of the Dead is not celebrated as a hap- py day. There, death is equated with sadness; it is on the front pages of newspapers, magazines and the internet. It seems now, more than ever, death has been caused by violence and wars, dead- ly wildfires, floods and other natural disasters many believe are related to global warming. In addition, because of COVID-19, many around the world are deaing with depression, hunger, homelessness and joblessness. For some, the solution is a revolution; for oth- ers, it is a longing for so- cial justice and the sense of belonging where all are created equal. For others still, mu- sic, the arts, yoga, med- itation and praying are their souls’ expressions. Starting Oct. 31, at the Rural Organizing Proj- ect (ROP), 632 E. Main, there will be an altar to celebrate Dia de los Muertos. The front display will be available for viewing for one week, with art and tributes created by local artists and Latinx families — and spirited themes by Trevor Whit- bread. I would like to ac- knowledge care provid- ers working with Hos- pice patients and those taking care of patients who have died without their loved ones by the bedside, helping the dy- ing transitioning to the Spirit world. For the dead, may the perpetual light shine upon them so they may rest in peace. For the living, may your life journey bring you all the love that life can offer and, in your journey, may you find justice, forgiveness, free- dom, compassion and peace to liberate your ex- istence. crazy times, so their an- nual Trunk ‘n’ Treat will be in the parking lot from 5 to 7 p.m. Please put your candies in a sealed baggie. They will be distributed one per child and you can hand it out with gloves. Come join the fun, wearing masks and keep- ing the 6-foot distancing requirement. Let’s make this fun for all the kids! • The Rural Arts Movie nights decided to cancel this 2020-2021 season to keep everyone safe. The movie nights will return in October 2021. • Lorane Grange meets next on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. Remember, masks and distancing will be the order of the evening. Lo- rane Grange continues to collect soda can tabs for dialysis. Call Lil, Marty or Che- rie if you have some or put them on the grange front porch. • Please drive carefully on wet or icy roads. Be particularly careful on Stoney Point. Lights are up to control the one- lane traffic on the upper corner. You will now see con- crete dividers side-by- side on the road’s edge with reflectors all along them and cones on the other corners. They are working very hard on this section of the Territory Road Proj- ect. Stay alert for workers near the road. —Gloria Campuzano is a local yoga teacher. LORANE COUNTRY NEWS Contributed by Lil Thompson Saturday, Oct. 31. Lorane Christian for The Sentinel Church wants the chil- • Halloween arrives dren to have fun in these Humane Society of Cottage Grove SPAY/NEUTER COUPONS $50 off spay coupons for female cats $25 off neuter coupons for male cats Coupons are available at This ‘n’ That Corner, 33 N. 8th street, Cottage Grove 10-4 Mon-Sat, and are good at the two veterinary clinics in Cottage Grove and the two in Creswell. The coupons will expire February 29, 2020. W ell, it was the last thing I expected to see at Costco: a traveling road show of pet harnesses and leashes. The impressive fit of the brightly colored products and the wisely added reflective material to the leash left me wondering who the genius was who designed these prod- ucts. Intrigued, I phoned Woof Concept Products and entrepreneur and President Andy Song answered. Here is his story on how Pedro’s adoption created wonderful dog products, all due to a rescued-immigrant dog... Pedro, a French bull dog, was discovered injured and unable to walk in Taiwan by an international animal res- cue group. They saved the lucky dog from certain death and had him flown 10,000 miles to his new home with Andy and his wife, Tracy. When Pedro, Tracy and Andy went to pet stores, all they saw were aisles of boring collars, leashes and har- nesses. They visited 20 stores and did not resonate with a single design. They wanted fun and unique ones leash- es constructed from quality materials. Not finding any, Andy and Tracy solved the problem themselves by lever- aging their design and manufacturing experience to cre- ate Woof Concept’s first prototype. “As pet parents, we treat our dogs like our kids so when we went to the drawing board we created something that was eye-catching and fun,” Andy said. “It’s like putting cute clothes on your children. Who wouldn’t want some- thing cute and colorful on their puppies? So, our core designs were geared towards fun while maintaining our mission statement that Woof Concept is committed to building amazing pet products that are uniquely designed without compromising quality.” Andy and Tracy drafted the products using their “pup- py parental instincts,” keeping safety paramount by add- ing a nighttime reflective material to their leashes. “We created a step-in harness for day-to-day walks or a front clip harness for training (directional steering when the dog pulls),” Tracy said. They also used premium graded nylon and polypropyl- ene webbing, so their leashes are softer to hold. At dog parks, the design quickly caught people’s attention. “This journey has been rewarding,” Andy said. “We are always getting positive feedback from customers. Some love our products so much that they bought our entire collection for their dog’s wardrobe/closet. They say that they have never seen such unique patterns and designs before. “We also consistently receive appreciative comments on our reflective leashes.” So how is four-year-old Pedro today? He is in full health, can walk and living the Dog-trepreneur’s dream. He has a younger sister now named Marjorie who is a three-year-old French bulldog rescued from a Taiwan puppy mill. “I grew up with my family adopting dogs from shel- ters and international rescue organizations,” said Andy. “Therefore, rescued dogs hold a special place in my heart. Adopting an older dog is by far one of the most memo- rable moments of my life and I encourage those who are looking for a dog to consider a senior, no matter where it was born.” If you have an idea for a pet product, remember that you too can create something to help the pet population while following your dreams. TIPS: “Collars are for displaying a dog’s visual identification tags,” advises leash expert Andy. “We do not recommend using collars for walks. When a dog pulls, a collar dam- ages their delicate trachea putting tension, and results in putting pressure around their eyes. Instead use a front, step-in, clip harness for even distribution of pressure around the dog’s chest.” The H-Harness or Front Clip Harness (used for train- ing) are attached to the leash by a front ring at the dog’s chest. When the dog pulls, it redirects them towards the owner.” www.woofconcept.com Write us about your fun pet at angelscribe@msn.com