Return To Canyonville Oregon

On October 18th, 2009, 10 days later, I returned to 7 Feathers Hotel and Casino.

Things were not as before.

I checked in about 6pm. No porters around. At the front desk only one clerk was working with a line of people waiting not patiently for their turn to get their room key.

One person was argumentative to the extent that he was not happy he had to pay a higher rate due to he did not have reservations.

All the hand carts were locked up (Only the porters may use them.).  I spent about 20 minutes in a rain storm bringing in my luggage, computer, dog gear, and dog to my room.

I was able to stay in the same convenient room. The bathroom and bed sheets were clean.

Bogart noticed unique stains on the carpet. Also he noticed scented areas on the bed cover. That told me that they did not clean up properly after the last pet, nor supplied a clean bed cover.

I ventured out once again in the rain to my vehicle to fetch my antimicrobial “Febreze” ( www.febreze.com ) (Not all Febreze kills bacteria. Read the label.)

I treated the areas that Bogart pointed out, and then proceeded to order room service while making Bogart’s meal.

The restaurant operator was friendly and advised me that my dinner would take an hour due to the crowd.

Fine no problem. As I began to settle into the room, I had a knock on the door. Yes, it was room service.

The teenager brought in my meal – 10 minutes after I ordered. I was impressed with the speed, but that was all.

The television was on and waiter was more interested in watching the program than putting my tray on the table (He actually put my tray on the bed.). I would say the amount of words uttered by this poor boy was 3 in total at best.

I gave a tip and then he left. I put the tray on the table and opened up to a dry cold steak, a hard baked potato and a salad made up of the cheap prepackaged brown iceberg lettuce, and whatever else was at the bottom of the bag.

My room service 10 days prior took care to make sure that the entire meal was hot, fresh, and they verified that I was happy prior to their departure from my room.

After retiring for the evening (i.e.: hitting the hay) the people in the room above me decided to have a party with friends after 2 a.m.. Not much sleep after that.

Would I stay here again? Yes. It was just a bad day for them. Not a bad place.

One thing i would like is a small refrigerator in the room. I travel with coolers.

Oh, one more thing. Due to the climate in Oregon (rainy) ask for old towels for your dogs and an old sheet to put on the floor. Do NOT use the hotel’s good towels.

No, your dog does not mind you all the time.

No, your dog does not mind you all the time.

I do not care if you are a trainer. I do not care if you are breeder. I do not care if you are a K9 specialist. I do not care if you had dogs all your lives. All dogs at some time in their lives are unpredictable and will not respond to your commands to stay and heel.

The reason for my scolding, nagging, or what may be perceived as a know it all, was my recent drive from Washington State through California via interstate 5.

For our convenience scattered across the states there are rest stops. Most north bound and south bound stops are across the highway from each other, with the occasional single rest stop for both sides of the highway removed far enough away from the high traffic of interstate travelers and truckers.

The rest stops that are across from each other are the basis of this article. The parking areas are mere yards from a well aged fence with traffic racing by at a minimum of 20 mph over the speed limit in both directions.

The median was full of debris from loose garbage from open vehicle windows and unsecured luggage toppers. Amidst the carless discarded rubbish I could clearly view the littering of corpses of faithful companions. Various breeds and sizes could be seen dead over a 900 mile corridor. Death of these dogs were by the hand of their over confident owners, not by the drivers of vehicles and trucks.

I observed during my respites nearly 85% of people traveling with their pets just let their dogs run loose in the rest stops.

Why take a chance? The traffic, the new scents and sights, the noises, and the commotion besides the excitement of traveling put any pet off their normal pattern and routine. No animal can be expected to respond properly.

I leash my dogs while off my property. I put them in harnesses and have the dogs either cable tie down in the back of my cover truck or attach a short strap to the seatbelts in the back seat of the cab.

As my dogs mature they mind me, stay by my side, total obedience. The younger dogs at times will chase rabbits, elk, deer, and foxes that get into my dog fenced area no matter what command I use.

This is what I call middle paw.

I love my dogs, and I know that they are dogs and that they need to be observed, controlled, and corrected on a daily basis, no matter how old they are.

However, as owners we should stop and think of the environment we thrust them into. Protect your dog – aka your companion. Please stop being confident that their training will suffice and take extra moments to leash up your dog before they leave your vehicle and unhook them after you securely settle them back into car or truck.

Post Note: I counted 30 dogs over 800 miles that perished along the interstate.

Additional Thought: I hope that these canine companions were not purposely left at these rest stops. That would be beyond my comprehension.