The INDEPENDENT, September 20, 2007
Dogs can die from eating salmon
Dogs that eat even a small
amount of uncooked Salmon,
Trout, or Steelhead are at risk
of getting potentially fatal
Salmon Poisoning disease.
A microscopic organism, Ne-
orickettsia helminthoeca , the
cause of Salmon Poisoning,
sometimes lives in a parasite,
Nanophyetes Salmoncola , that
can infect the Salmon family.
The germ is killed by cooking,
freezing or hot smoking fish.
If a dog eats infected fish,
symptoms start from a few
days to five days later. Symp-
toms include:
• Decreased energy level
• Increased temperature
• Loss of appetite
• Swollen lymph glands
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea (turning bloody
within a day or two)
If untreated, 90 percent of
dogs with symptoms will die
within 7-14 days from dehydra-
tion and blood loss.
Fortunately, if caught early
enough, Salmon Poisoning is
treatable with antibiotics. In se-
vere cases, intravenous fluids
may be needed. Get the dog to
a veterinarian as soon as
Salmon Poisoning is suspect-
Humane Society
has Yappy Hour
Come out and enjoy the first
days of Fall with the Columbia
Humane Society and Wayne’s
Chicago Red Hots! We’ll bid
adieu to summer this Friday,
September 21, 5-8:00 p.m.
Yappy Hour is the time for
Owners and their Canine Kids
to mix and mingle with new
people and their dogs, and
support the Columbia Humane
Society. Gourmet treats and
water are provided for the
dogs, while leash holders can
enjoy good beer, great “dogs”
and raffle prizes. Socializing
your dog or contributing to a
great cause has never been
easier! Basic dog washes will
be available for a suggested
$5.00 donation, and doggie
massages, courtesy of Posh
Pooch Massage, will be avail-
able starting at 6:00 p.m.
Wayne’s is located at
578420 Old Portland Road in
Warren (in the Scappoose Bay
Marina). Questions? Call Co-
lumbia Humane Society at 503-
397-4353, or Wayne’s Chicago
Red Hots at 503-397-1170.
Power of the People
By W. Marc Farmer,
General Manager,
West Oregon Electric Cooperative
Thank You and
Such…
ed. The longer before treat-
ment starts, the harder and
more expensive the treatment
will be, and the greater the
chance that treatment will not
be successful.
If your dog is seen eating
fish, talk to your veterinarian
about a preventive shot of an-
tibiotics to avoid Salmon Poi-
soning.
Most dogs are immune to fu-
ture Salmon Poisoning once
they have had and survived it.
Special emphasis on MOST;
not all dogs develop immunity.
Preventive measures in-
clude disposing of raw fish
waste in a can with a tight fit-
ting lid, leave dogs home
when fishing, or leash dogs
near water.
Page 13
There are several items
I would like to touch on in
this article, the highlight of
which is a big thank you for
all the wonderful support
we had for our garage sale
to benefit our energy assistance program, “Care
to Share.”
I would like to thank all of those who gener-
ously donated items for the sale, all of the staff
who donated their time to set up and sort all of
the items, and especially those staff members
who freely gave of their time for the sale on Sat-
urday. We had a lot more items this year than
last, which resulted in raising more funds this
year. Last year the garage sale made about
$1,200, which combined with other funds we
raised, allowed us to donate $1,500 from our
“Care to Share” project to St. Vincent DePaul for
energy assistance. This year our garage sale
raised $1,700, which combined with our other
donations will allow us to present a check to St.
Vincent DePaul for $2,000. This was our goal at
the beginning of the year, so we are very happy
with the results. As always, if anyone else would
like to make a donation to our “Care to Share”
program that provides energy assistance to
those of our members who find themselves in
difficult circumstances, you can do so at our front
office. All proceeds go directly to help our Co-op
members.
As fall sets in and we begin preparations for
the changes in weather, we could use your as-
sistance in a couple of areas. The first is a safe-
ty issue regarding burning near or under our
power lines. Fall is usually when folks like to
burn all of the piles of limbs, paper items, leaves,
and such they couldn’t burn during the fire alert
summer months. Please look up to make sure
your burn pile isn’t located under or near one of
our power lines. This can cause serious prob-
lems for you, for us, and possibly for your neigh-
bors if you cause damage to the lines.
The second item is one of asking for you to
help be the eyes of the Co-op. When the rains
and winds come, tree limbs and trees become
heavy from added growth and the weight of the
water. The winds blow dead limbs and trees suf-
fering from root rot, down into or across our
lines. If you see any tree or limbs on the lines or
leaning into the lines, please give us a call so we
can send a tree trimming crew or line crew out to
take care of the problem. We want to be able to
prevent rather than repair a potential power out-
age problem. Trees and limbs are a major cause
of the outages we incur. We appreciate all of the
help our members give us in alerting us to prob-
lems or potential problems. It saves us all a lot of
time and money.
I would like to close this article with this
thought; as I see the wonderful generosity and
support given by this community to support its
own through fund raising efforts, whether it be for
those who have been seriously injured or provid-
ing help to those less fortunate, and the count-
less hours and efforts put in by those raising
these needed funds and goods, it is both comfort-
ing and heart warming to witness and experience
human kindness at its best. It restores your faith
in humanity and the good there really is in our
community. Like any other community we may
have our share of struggles, but at the end of the
day we also have a lot to be proud of. Together
we can and we are making a big difference.
5th Annual Historic Vernonia
Salmon Festival
Saturday, October 6th, 2007, 10 - 6
Featuring: Arts & Crafts, Auction, Hay Rides,
Kid’s Trout Pond, Native American Dancing,
Pumpkin Carving, Salmon Cook Off, Wine Tasting,
Scarecrow Building, & Salmon Viewing Sites.