Page 20
The INDEPENDENT, February 21, 2008
Letters
From page 14
Owners must control
dangerous dogs
To The Editor:
On January 11, I walked my
8 year-old son to school at the
Catholic Church with our 10
year old Beagle, Henry. We
walked over the hill and
through the woods; it was a
nice morning walk together. Af-
ter dropping my son off for
school, Henry and I headed for
home. We headed up Missis-
sippi Ave. and just as we were
about to reach Oregon St. two
Pit Bulls in a fenced yard, locat-
ed on Oregon St., became very
agitated as we attempted to
walk past. They began barking,
running their fence line, and
fighting and biting each other.
We were walking on the oppo-
site side of Mississippi and
Henry was on a leash. Both Pit
Bulls came out of the fenced
yard as it was not secured to
hold animals in. The larger
black and white Pit Bull
charged at us immediately and
began attacking my old dog. I
began screaming for help but
no one came. I also kicked the
dog several times in the head
trying to get it off of Henry, al-
though the dog wasn’t fazed. At
one point I kicked the dog so
hard that I fell on my back into
the street and was then face to
face with the Pit Bull. I was
scared for my own safety and
terrified for Henry’s as he was
being mauled before my eyes.
Henry was bleeding and could
not stand up or walk as he was
injured so badly. I knew I had to
get Henry up off the ground and
try to get to safety. I scooped
his weak and bleeding body up
into my arms and began franti-
cally walking away still kicking
at the Pit Bull and screaming
for anyone to help us. We went
to a house nearby and hid in
their back yard. I laid Henry on
top of a chest freezer and laid
on top of him praying that Pit
Bull did not come back while I
called for help. Help arrived just
in time as that Pit Bull was on
his way around the house
where we were taking refuge.
The point to this story is for
dog owners to take responsibil-
ity for animals they own or are
caring for. If you have a danger-
ous or potentially dangerous
dog, then keep them secure
and away from other innocent
people and animals. And un-
derstand that if you do not li-
cense your dog in Columbia
County then you are subject to
a citation. You will also receive
citations for having an aggres-
sive or nuisance of a dog. And
your dog could also get labeled
as a dangerous dog which
means more restrictions and
more money spent on your be-
half to keep your dog. You will
also be accountable for any vet
bills related to the attack. Your
dog could also be euthanized if
proven to be too dangerous to
keep (see ORS 609.035).
There are consequences for
your irresponsibility as a dog
owner in our city and county.
And if your dog does attack an-
other person or pet, then the
very least you could do is say
you are sorry and offer your
help.
Amy Cieloha
Vernonia
Editor’s Note: We checked
on Henry and he has recovered
from the attack.
County food bank
appreciates support
To The Editor:
On behalf of Columbia Pacif-
ic Food Bank I would like to
thank those individuals, service
organizations, businesses and
local governments for their on-
going support. In 2007 CPFB
received, warehoused and dis-
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Just one block off scenic Nehalem River Hwy. (Oregon 47)
tributed over 758,103 lbs. of
food throughout Columbia
County. This food was used to
fill an average of 2,095 food
boxes each month, and assist
over 20 member agencies with
supplemental food for their pro-
grams.
I would also like to thank the
local community as well as
communities throughout the
state for reaching out to help
Columbia County this past De-
cember after the floods. An ad-
ditional 25,000 lbs. of food was
donated to CPFB during the
month of December and has al-
ready
been
redistributed
throughout the county.
At a time when the federal
government has cut USDA
emergency food commodities
by 70% it is more important
than ever that we work together
to make sure that people in our
communities don’t have to go
to bed hungry.
With your support in 2008,
Columbia Pacific Food Bank
will continue to work on com-
munity food security, meaning
that all people, at all times,
have access to safe, nutritious
and affordable food.
If you would like to help in
our mission to “eliminate
hunger and its root causes”,
please call us at 503-397-9708
or email us at cpfb@opusnet.
com.
Sincerely,
Tracie Smith
Executive Director
Columbia Pacific Food Bank
More power in words
than in cannons
To The Editor:
A time to negotiate – a time
to accept;
I am not a religious man, yet
no one believes more than I – it
seems obvious.
God gives and God takes
away. Usually when God takes,
something is left in exchange.
The equivalent values are not
always obvious.
Don’t try to negotiate – you
may end up with nothing.
There is more power in a few
words than all the cannons in
the world.
Eddie Peters
Vernonia