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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