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The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday October 10, 2001 - A 7 COMMENT Human heroes & dumb dogs C O N T E S T W IN N E R S TheO a k v il l eB ea v er to the recent winners of two in-paper contests appearing in The Oakville Beaver. tf c - m f m t u / a t i o M to : ([o n c im tu Ia tic M to : M. Stew art, M rs. L. Labenski, D. Reid, Julie Shantora, Mr. P. Sam on , M rs. B. Alves, R obert Lang, T. H gye n A couple of years ago I wrote about Mark Hatterer of York, Pennsylvania who bravely went where few men have gone before first into a septic tank, on purpose. But for a very good reason - to save the life of a dog. Mark saved the life of Scottie, a ter rier who, while sniffing the sweet fumes of an open cesspool got dizzy and fell in, thereby thrusting Mark into the role of hero - a dirty, filthy, stinking hero. But a saviour nonetheless. Mark successfully applied CPR to the unconscious Scottie, bringing him back to life and thereby marking the first time in recorded history that when the lips of man and man's best friend met, they both went: "Yuckkkkk!!! In the absence of wit nesses it's still unclear as to who threw up first. It was the only case I've ever heard of, in which a human rescue technique had successfully been applied to a dog. Until last week. Last week I met M aureen Fredrickson at her farm in Fredonia, New York. An absolute animal lover, Maureen has created a kind of healing homestead in which all manner of emo tionally damaged people achieve recov ery by developing gentle touch and trusting body language while interact ing with her menagerie of horses, don keys, chickens and turkeys. Dairy sheep are expected any day now ia her huge arena-like bam. The dogs and birds stay up in the house. Animal Systems operates weekend seminars for groups as well as one-onone therapy sessions for people not dealing well with the nightmares of their past. Maureen was party to yet another heroic act in which a life was saved in a moment of crisis by applying a human rescue technique to a dog. Maureen had just arrived home with a prized addition to her line-up of thera pists - a young and very sociable cockatiel. The small crested parrot from Australia with its yellow head and gray body was everything Maureen looked for in a teaching assistant - gentleness and predictability. Moreover, the bird liked people more than other birds. Watching it flop around on the kitchen counter that first day, taking the measure of its new home, Maureen was wondering what to name it. Just then her roommate Greg came into the kitchen with the dogs, having just finished their daily walk. New bird, old dogs - there was an awful lot of star ing going on. Under the best of conditions, tall, - head W IL L IA M T H O M A S All The World's A Circus long-snouted Irish Wolf Hounds can look quite intimidating. To a small bird in an unfamiliar environment, big gang ly Gaibhne (pronounced Gobbny) must have looked like the Loch Ness Monster. Which could be the reason the young cockatiel lost his balance and fell awk wardly to the floor. Now, M aureen's dogs are working dogs and after a long day at the healing bam, the house is theirs for rest and relaxation. So there aren't a lot of dog rules in the house, except one - anything that hits the floor is theirs. Before the bird could pick itself up from its unceremonious landing, Gaibhne was on it like a table scrap from heaven. In a flash, two people frozen in fright, watched what the chain of Seven Eleven stores refers to as "The Big Gulp." Before either Maureen or Greg could move, the Irish Wolf Hound had swal lowed the cockatiel whole. Letters to the Editor S k a t e s w e r e n 't t r a s h We are wondering if someone took my son's Bauer Vapor in-line skates and a blue fleece pullover from the end of our driveway on Sunday Sept. 30th, thinking that we were putting them out for the garbage. Please do the right thing and return them to us! The Chowns 272 Burgundy Dr. Making the case for universal responsibility In the dark days now upon the earth, some of us may find guidance in these words of a great spiritual leader -- the Dalai Lama: I believe that to meet the challenge of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not just for his or her own self, family, or nation, but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility is the real key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace. Brian Hopkins Maureen lunged for the dog and pried open its jaws only to see the trem bling tendrils of the bird's tail feathers sticking out of the dog's throat. Her only option was to grab the tail and yank hard, but she was pret ty sure she'd only end up with a handful of feathers. Before she had to make that deci sion, Greg was straddling the dog from behind. Greg had been in the restaurant business and the chart on the wall came back to him. "First, wrap your arms around the victim's waist." "Then, make a fist against the vic tim's upper abdomen, below the ribcage and above the navel." "Then grasp fist with your other hand and press into the victim 's abdomen with a quick, upward thrust." Despite hesitating at where a dog might keep his navel, Greg did the hug and jerk on Gaibhne and in so doing performed the first successful Heimlich Manoeuvre on a dog. That bird shot out of the dog's mouth and across the room like a cruise missile......only damp and backwards. The dog saw stars; the bird got a glimpse of the inner working of the canine digestive system. The look of surprise on the faces of both the dog and the bird was some thing Marlin Perkins never managed to capture in 25 years of filming The Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. Both dog and bird lived, wearily ever after. "The cockatiel never felt comfort able around big dogs after that," says Maureen. "And the dog never trusted birds." Okay, so maybe it wasn't the first ever successful Heimliching of a dog, but it had to be the only time in history an Irish Wolf Hound has ever puked up a parrot. Gaibhne died at a ripe old age while the cockatiel lives on, staying clear of large furry things that beg for food at the kitchen counter. And, it was certainly the first time anybody ever Heimliched a dog and saved the life of a bird. H. J. Heimlich would be proud but confused. This collision of two unrelated links on the food chain did solve one prob lem. The bird's name was a no-brainer after what he'd been through. (Almost clean through, as a matter of fact.) Maureen named him Jonah. You gotta love it. Please post your strangest, funniest pet story at www.williamthomas.ca. DAVID MATTEWS winner of a $40 Turkey Gift Certificate w inner of D ining Certificates to W e nd y's Spot the Differences Contest Q> O A K V I L L E <*»> 8 4 5 - 6 6 0 1 C o u n c il & S ta n d in g C o m m itte e M eetings Monday, October 15,2001 Council Meeting Council Chambers Monday, October 22,2001 Planning & Development Council Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 23,2001 Community Services Committee 7:30 p.m. - Oakville Room Administrative Services Comm. 7:30 p.m. - T rafalgar Room Monday, November 5,2001 Council Meeting Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. C o u n c il & C o m m itte e T ouchto ne P hone L ine 8 1 5 -5 9 5 9 W e Asked, You Answered Residents will be receiving a report card highlighting the key Jesuits from a recent survey on quality of life jlssues and satisfaction w ith Town services. The report card to citizens alsaincludes a summary of how tax dollars are spent. The information will be used to guide Town spending priorities for the future. Look for your free copy of the Town s Report Card to Citizens in your mailbox. If you have not received your copy by October 12^2001, please call 905.845.6601, e?^3167 or visit us on the web @ m www.town.oakville.on.ca G> oak T h e B u s in e s s W o m e n 's N e t w o r k in g G r o u p P r e s e n t e d By I n Pa r t n e r s h i p w it h the Oakville if fcClianiber of G m i x i t r A thena G roup vi lle C e le b ra te S m a ll B u sin e ss W e e k 2 0 0 1 By Presenting Guest Speaker YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE Oakville Town Council invites you to volunteer your skills to assist it in its decision making. Every year, Council appoints citizens o f Oakville to various committees, boards and authorities that make decisions on issues effecting Oakville. If you apply, you could be selected to share your ideas on matters like heritage buildings, public facilities, or community services. It is Town p o lic y th a t a citizen can only serve on one com m ittee at a time. I f you apply an d are accepted to serve on a seco n d com m ittee, y o u m ust resign fro m the com m ittee y o u are currently serving on. C aro le B ertuzzi Lu c ia n i ROYAL BAN K A " Hysterical" Perspective of Today's Women Through a lively and dynamic presentation, using music and props, Carole Bertuzzi Luciani will take us on a historical (and hysterical) look at women's roles through the last half century. Carole will keep her audience engaged, enthused and energized Supported By M ary Cardamone Royal Lepage Gall & Associates O ptometrist T he O akville Beaver C ogeco Cable AM 740 WHO IS ELIGIBLE? All Oakville residents are invited to get involved. To reflect the diverse nature o f the Tow n's population, we encourage men, women, people with disabilities, native peoples, and racial and ethnic minorities to participate. HOW TO APPLY Anyone interested in applying, other than incumbents, must do the following: F ill o u t an application fo rm a n d return it to the Town C lerk 's D epartm ent, O akville M u n icipal O ffices, 1225 T rafalgar Road, Oakville, bv 4:30 p.m. O ctober 3 1 .2 0 0 1 . Join us to honour the 2001 Athena nominees and FOR THE PRESENTATION OF THE 2001 ATHENA AWARD Friday, October 26, 2001 Cocktails: 6:00 p.m. Dinner: 7:00 p.m. Oakville Conference &. Banquet Centre 2 5 15 Wyecroft Road, Oakville SELECTION PROCESS Town Council will appoint qualified candidates for the positions based on the recom mendations o f the Administrative Services Committee. All appointments are for a three year term commencing January 1, 2002 unless otherwise stated. REMEMBER Only RESIDENTS of the Town o f Oakville are eligible. QUESTIONS? For more information, call Diana Lecinski @ 845-6601, ext. 3136, or e-mail at dlecinski@town.oakville.on.ca. Receipt o f applications will be acknowledged after the appointment process has been completed in mid-December 2001, at which time each applicant will be notified by mail. A D V IS O R Y B O A R D , C O M M IT TE E O R AUTHORITY Bronte District Advisory C o m m ittee (Applicants m ust reside in Ward One; the area bounded by the centre line o f Burloak Drive, Lake Ontario, the centre line o f Third Line and the centre line o f the O.E.W .) Oakville Centre Board o f D irectors Oakville Harbours A dvisory C om m ittee Parks. Culture & Recreation A dvisory C om m ittee Property Standards C om m ittee Seniors Advisory Com m ittee (A pplicants m ust be over the age o f 50 years) T raffic A dvisory C om m ittee N U M BER O F V A C A N CIES M E E T IN G SCH ED U LE 3rd Thursday, m onthly, evening To Reserve Your Ticket: Friends of Athena C hatelaine M agazine Success By D esign KPDC I nc. Call the Oakville Chamber of Commerce 9 05.845.6613 $60.00 Chamber members $75.00 Non-member 4m W ednesday, monthly. m orning 4th Wednesday, monthly, evening 2nd Wednesday, bi-m onthly, evening As required 4,h W ednesday in January, March, May, Septem ber & N ovem ber, afternoon 1*' W ednesday, monthly evening D oor P r iz e s K in d l v D onated B y: t Basket Designs - Oakville < Country Inn Oakville t Mary's Keepsakes f Oakville Centre ro* the Periorminc Arts Rosewater Spa oi Oakville f Diana Saulez Via Rail t Willowtree Customer Service * Wine Not f Macdonald Scon Consultants f Eunk to Biz t S'nails To B r in g B u s in e s s & C o m m u n it y T o g e th e r in C e le b r a t io n o f S m a ll B u s in e s s W eek 1225 TRAFALGAR ROAD · OAKVILLE, O N TA R IO · L6J 5A6