COFFEE BREAK
B6 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
SATuRDAY, NOVEmBER 20, 2021
Substance abuse pits family members against each other
ting my kids back after I acquire
more clean time; neither of my
parents wants that. I know Dad
resents me deeply, both because
he has my kids and also because
of my addiction.
If I can forgive him for
what his alcoholism has put me
through, why can’t he forgive me?
I don’t understand why he has
to hate me. Believe me, he hates
me! I just want him to treat me
the same way he treats my older
brother and sister. I need help with
this situation. Counseling is not
an option; I know he will refuse.
— Hurting In Michigan
Dear Hurting: A predisposi-
tion to addiction can run in fami-
lies. I suspect that the person your
father hates is himself, and that he
Dear Abby: I’m a 35-year-old
woman whose father refuses to
get along with me no matter how
hard I try. Our relationship was
always strained due to the alco-
holism he has struggled with since
my childhood, made worse by the
fact that I became an addict. I’ve
been in recovery for a while, and
I’m clean and sober now.
He and my mother took guard-
ianship of my two sons, ages 12
and 7, because my disease ren-
dered me unable to care for them
at that time. I have mentioned get-
saw a lot of himself in you while
you were using. That you are now
sober is a constant reminder of
what a failure he is, which may
be why he treats you the way he
does.
While counseling for him
may be out, it doesn’t mean
that you couldn’t benefit from
it. Please consider it. Although
it won’t make your father love
you, it may help you to handle
his unpleasantness more effec-
tively. Once you have accumu-
lated more clean time, regaining
custody of your children may
become a viable option, and
something to discuss with a
lawyer at that time.
Dear Abby: My wife has
started slurping her food at
dinner. I think it started after we
returned from a vacation three
months ago. I’m convinced she
didn’t do it before then because
we have taken a couple of vaca-
tions recently where it would have
been noticeable because of the
quiet, intimate places in which we
dined.
Because of the COVID quaran-
tine, I realize that tensions can be
heightened, and I have tried not to
make too much of this. I am reluc-
tant to speak up about it because
during my first marriage, even the
slightest noise when eating would
upset my ex-wife, and I think it
would be unfair for me to have the
same pet peeve.
This may seem like I’m overly
sensitive, but her slurping and
heavy breathing every time she
takes a bite, even with dry food,
is making dinner time uncomfort-
able for me.
I have pointed it out in a casual
way, but it seems she is unaware
of just how loudly she is eating.
What can I do to reach a compro-
mise on this? — Uncomfortable
Diner
Dear Diner: While your sen-
sitivity to this might be related to
the problems you had with your
first wife, because this is a recent
change in your current wife’s
behavior, it should be checked
out by her doctor. I am less con-
cerned about her “slurping” than
about the labored breathing you
described when your wife is
eating.
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
Millionaire pooch selling Miami villa once owned by Madonna
kennel where she cares for
strays.
“He’s not aggressive at
all,” she said, saying many
people write off the breed
as wolves. “He’s very good
with other animals.”
“They’re very protec-
tive with their owner, with
their people. They like to
have the family around so I
usually invite friends with
other dogs over,” she said
during a phone interview.
She talks with the board
that oversees the trust a few
times a month.
The Miami real estate
market is so hot, with such
limited inventory, they
decided it was an oppor-
tune time to sell.
The Assoulines are
accustomed to multi-mil-
lion dollar listings, but this
one seemed unbelievable.
“When it was explained
that this house was bought
by this German shepherd,
I was like, ‘What are you
talking about? I’m not fol-
lowing you,’ ” Ruthie
Assouline said.
When she first met Gun-
ther, he covered her face
with such sloppy kisses that
he licked off her lipstick,
she said.
As luxurious as Gun-
ther’s life sound, he still
has drama and hardships
like everyone. Back in
Italy, Riccitelli has two
other dogs that live with
Gunther — his favorite
playmates.
But she also has six cats
and a couple of chickens.
Let’s just say it’s a work
in progress, Riccitelli said.
“He’s still learning to be
with six cats.”
By KELLI KENNEDY
The Associated Press
MIAMI — Gunther the
German shepherd spent
a recent morning playing
with his tennis ball, rolling
in the grass, slobbering
a little and napping a lot.
Later, he had a “meeting”
with the real estate agents
selling his Miami mansion
that his handlers bought
from Madonna.
And of course Gunther
was wearing his very best
faux diamond dog collar for
the meeting — his real gold
collar is back at his main
home in Tuscany. As crazy
as it sounds even by Flori-
da’s standards, Gunther VI
inherited his vast fortune,
including the eight-bed-
room waterfront home
once owned by the “Mate-
rial Girl” singer, from his
grandfather Gunther IV. At
least that’s what the han-
dlers who manage the estate
say.
The Tuscan-style villa
with views of Biscayne Bay
went on sale Wednesday for
$31.75 million — a whop-
ping markup from the pur-
chase two decades ago from
the pop star for $7.5 mil-
lion. The home also boasts
a gilded framed portrait of
Gunther IV over the living
room fireplace.
The dog’s lineage dates
back decades to when
Gunther III inherited a
multimillion-dollar trust
from late owner German
countess Karlotta Lieben-
stein when she died in 1992.
Since then, a group of han-
dlers have helped maintain
a jet-setting lifestyle for a
Lynne Sladky/The Associated Press
German Shepherd Gunther VI chases a tennis ball thrown by handler Stacey Marino outside of a house formerly owned by pop star Madonna,
Monday, Nov. 15, 2021, in Miami. Gunther VI inherited his vast fortune, including the 9-bedroom waterfront home once owned by the Material
Girl from his grandfather Gunther IV. The estate, purchased 20 years ago from the pop star, was listed for sale Nov. 17.
succession of dogs. There
are trips to Milan and the
Bahamas, where the latest
Gunther recently dined out
at restaurants every evening
— his handlers like to make
sure he’s well socialized.
A chef cooks his break-
fast each morning made of
the finest meat, fresh vege-
tables and rice. Sometimes
he enjoys caviar, but there’s
never any kibble in sight.
He travels by private jet,
works on obedience skills
daily with his trainer and
sleeps in a lavish round, red
custom bed in the former
bedroom of the greatest pop
star in the world.”
Carla Riccitelli is one
of Gunther’s main care-
takers and is on a board
that manages the trust now
worth almost $500 million,
deciding when to buy and
sell real estate. The group
has even purchased sports
teams, including a men’s
soccer team and women’s
swimming team and, yes,
Gunther played on the field
and attended the meets, she
said.
velvet bed overlooking the
bay.
“He lives in Madonna’s
former master bedroom,”
said real estate agent Ruthie
Assouline who nabbed
the listing with her hus-
band Ethan for the 1.2-acre
property in a row of a half-
dozen waterfront homes
next to a public county
park and on the same street
where Sylvester Stallone
once lived.
“He literally sleeps over-
looking the most magnif-
icent view in an Italian
weather
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Riccitelli, a 52-year-old
animal lover who resides
in Tuscany, met the group
taking care of Gunther
nearly 30 years ago. She
instantly connected with
the dog and the mission
of the trust, and joined
the team. She also helped
form Gunther Rescue a few
years ago to care for other
animals.
She has taken care of
the last three Gunthers and
often brings the current dog
with her on routine trips to
the market or visits to the
AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION
Astoria
Longview
37/53
Kennewick
32/52
St. Helens
32/53
33/54
TIllamook
32/48
32/48
36/51
33/49
Condon
SUN
MON
Partly cloudy
Mostly sunny
Mostly sunny
Baker City
20 42 23
Comfort Index™
La Grande
5
Comfort Index™
3
Eugene
3
3
3
33/49
48 33
49 33
44 29
3
2
5
45 25
38 31
7
3
3
5
ALMANAC
NATION (for the 48 contiguous states)
High Thursday
Low Thursday
High: 86°
Low: -4°
Wettest: 2.32”
39°
32°
43°
36°
44°
39°
Thursday
Trace
Month to date
0.62
Normal month to date 0.42
Year to date
4.97
Normal year to date
7.90
Trace
1.19
1.14
9.59
14.72
Trace
2.44
1.71
20.95
20.74
PRECIPITATION (inches)
HAY INFORMATION SUNDAY
35%
SSE at 8 to 16 mph
5.8
0.07
RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Friday)
N.A.
13% of capacity
13% of capacity
10% of capacity
8% of capacity
4% of capacity
OREGON
Roseburg
Rome
Astoria
A storm on Nov. 20, 1798, brought heavy
snow with high winds to New England.
The storm caused great damage to vessels
on coast, and many people were killed.
SUN & MOON
SAT.
Sunrise
Sunset
Moonrise
Moonset
6:58 a.m.
4:18 p.m.
5:06 p.m.
8:20 a.m.
SUN.
6:59 a.m.
4:17 p.m.
5:46 p.m.
9:21 a.m.
MOON PHASES
STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Thursday)
Grande Ronde at Troy
Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder
Burnt River near Unity
Umatilla River near Gibbon
Minam River at Minam
Powder River near Richland
Yuma, Ariz.
Daniel, Wyo.
Marathon, Fla.
High: 64°
Low: 21°
Wettest: 0.49”
975 cfs
0 cfs
16 cfs
65 cfs
148 cfs
9 cfs
Last
Nov 27
New
Dec 3
First
Dec 10
Beaver Marsh
Powers
40/65
Full
Dec 18
32/55
Silver Lake
Jordan Valley
23/47
Paisley
23/53
21/49
Frenchglen
26/50
31/53
Klamath Falls
20/50
26/48
Lakeview
17/53
McDermitt
20/49
RECREATION FORECAST SUNDAY
REGIONAL CITIES
MON.
City
Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W
Astoria
53/39/s 51/44/pc
Bend
56/34/s 61/38/s
Boise
47/29/s 50/33/s
Brookings
63/45/s 58/46/s
Burns
45/18/s 46/25/s
Coos Bay
63/37/s 60/43/s
Corvallis
48/30/s 51/39/pc
Council
43/25/s 45/30/s
Elgin
48/28/s 50/31/pc
Eugene
49/31/s 53/41/pc
Hermiston
44/29/s 46/33/pc
Hood River
48/31/s 49/36/pc
Imnaha
51/34/s 53/35/pc
John Day
51/34/s 52/36/s
Joseph
48/32/s 50/34/pc
Kennewick
41/25/s 42/30/pc
Klamath Falls 50/21/s 52/27/s
Lakeview
53/21/s 52/25/s
Grand View
Arock
19/48
21/50
Shown is Sunday’s weather. Temperatures are Saturday night’s lows and Sunday’s highs.
SUN.
Diamond
25/50
Fields
Medford
Brookings
Boise
28/47
34/59
47/63
25/45
18/49
Chiloquin
Grants Pass
Juntura
17/45
28/50
22/48
Roseburg
Ontario
27/46
Burns
Brothers
35/64
Coos Bay
Huntington
24/45
33/56
Oakridge
23/43
29/41
Seneca
Bend
Elkton
37/63
WEATHER HISTORY
AGRICULTURAL INFO.
Phillips Reservoir
Unity Reservoir
Owyhee Reservoir
McKay Reservoir
Wallowa Lake
Thief Valley Reservoir
Florence
THURSDAY EXTREMES
TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin
30/51
29/57
Council
20/42
John Day
23/55
Sisters
33/56
49 32
24/40
Baker City
Redmond
40/59
Halfway
Granite
23/44
35/61
34/50
38/56
41 25
Comfort Index takes into account how the weather will feel based on a combination of factors. A rating of 10 feels
very comfortable while a rating of 0 feels very uncomfortable.
Lowest relative humidity
Afternoon wind
Hours of sunshine
Evapotranspiration
Corvallis
25/54
33/48
Newport
43 25
3
25 48 29
WED
Enterprise
25/48
28/46
Monument
27/51
Idanha
Salem
46 26
2
28 46 30
Comfort Index™
Enterprise
3
TUE
A few afternoon Some sun, then
showers
clouds
Elgin
24/48
La Grande
29/49
Maupin
TONIGHT
29/43
Pendleton
The Dalles
Portland
Newberg
31/47
Hood River
27/43
33/59
Lewiston
Walla Walla
29/41
Vancouver
Forecasts and graphics provided
by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
City
Lewiston
Longview
Meacham
Medford
Newport
Olympia
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Powers
Redmond
Roseburg
Salem
Spokane
The Dalles
Ukiah
Walla Walla
SUN.
MON.
Hi/Lo/W
47/35/pc
52/35/s
47/28/s
53/32/s
56/42/s
47/31/pc
46/27/s
43/27/s
43/29/s
51/35/s
65/36/s
55/29/s
55/34/s
50/32/s
39/26/pc
48/30/s
51/27/s
43/28/s
Hi/Lo/W
50/33/pc
52/42/pc
49/31/pc
52/38/pc
55/43/pc
48/39/pc
45/29/s
42/32/pc
46/34/pc
52/42/pc
64/44/s
58/33/s
57/41/pc
52/42/pc
41/27/pc
47/36/pc
52/30/s
43/33/pc
Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice
ANTHONY LAKES
PHILLIPS LAKE
Mostly sunny
Mostly sunny
35
28
42
23
MT. EMILY REC.
BROWNLEE RES.
Mostly sunny
Mostly sunny
40
29
49
27
EAGLE CAP WILD.
EMIGRANT ST. PARK
Mostly sunny
Mostly sunny
36
21
45
28
WALLOWA LAKE
MCKAY RESERVOIR
Mostly sunny
Mostly sunny
48
32
49
31
THIEF VALLEY RES.
RED BRIDGE ST. PARK
Mostly sunny
Mostly sunny
42
23
46
30