Author: Jason Bush
Weekly Update number eighty-three is dedicated to our best friend, K-9, the wonder dog, who is pictured below at Jaydon’s baseball game this past Wednesday. K-9 has just been diagnosed with cancer. It is questionable if he will make it through the weekend. It has been extremely hard on the whole Southmayd family, and especially for Doc, as K-9 was one of the first dogs he trained. He has been living well these last few days, eating cheeseburgers, slurping milkshakes, and snacking on French fries. In fact, K-9, who is not typically allowed people food, will be going out to Pazzo’s Italian Kitchen tonight to celebrate his life, and have a nice steak dinner, with all the trimmings. We are going to miss K-9 very much, and it’s a great feeling to know that “All dogs go to Heaven.”
As most of you know, “Doc” loves his dogs, loves everybody else’s dogs, and has dedicated a big part of his life training “Man’s Best Friend”. It’s part of what keeps him going when times get tough; he has that unique ability to bond with them, to understand them, to communicate with them on a level many of us struggle with…. It has been very enlightening for me to be in a position to witness the companionship he shares with his dogs, how they interact with him, take care of him, and bring him the joy and peace he deserves. How they watch over him, protect him, and ensure his needs are met while in a public setting is amazing in itself. I have gotten to know Arabelle, Kimber, Baby, and my favorite, K-9, as well as some of the dogs he is currently training for folks. It’s heartwarming indeed to see the pleasure and satisfaction he gets when working with his dogs and how his demeanor improves; his anxiety, the stress, and the physical pain seem to fade as he gets caught up in the moment. My thoughts & prayers are with K-9 and the Southmayd family.
The Southmayds and I were invited to the Oregon Ducks 4th annual Autzen Derby this past weekend. Jayson & Misty were unable to attend, but I was able to go and see firsthand the exceptional planning & organizational skills that went into the event. As indicated in weekly update 81, Dana, the head coach of the Ducks Cheerleading Squad, specializes in community events such as this, and is helping Jerry Luke and I plan & organize the unveiling event scheduled for August 12th & 13th. I did have a chance to discuss our project with some very interesting folks, including Shaun Hyland. Kendall Bartley, lead anchor for KMTR, NBC News was present, and we had an opportunity to revisit the SHB Project, and she seems excited to be in a position to do an update for us once the cabinets start going in. We thank Dana for the invitation, as well as the kitchen sink faucet that she graciously donated to the project.
Michael & Carlos, of High Cascade Painting & Construction were hard at it Thursday taping off the interior doors, trim, and baseboards, so that they can finish up the interior painting for us.
Lane Marble returned my call and will be out to install the transition strip that blends the master bathroom shower threshold with the typical bathroom flooring, thus finishing up their work.
David Daugherty, our landscape architect, met the Southmayds and I at the site yesterday to go over his preliminary design concept. We walked the perimeter of the new home discussing ideas and options for a low maintenance, yet attractive and peaceful outdoor living area, where the family can relax and enjoy themselves. They then took the ideas back into the old house where they could sit at the table and David could sketch in some of the ideas they had come up with. They came up with some really nice design concepts that I think will look great. Thank you David.
Andrew Dubbs, owner of Pacific Northwest Air, will be going back out to finalize the LPG connections for the gas fireplace, room heater, and kitchen range. This will make it easier for Ambassador Fireplaces to install the gas fireplace in the master bedroom. They also returned my call this week and indicated that they will have a technician out to install the fireplace on June 8th.
As always, if anyone has any questions, thoughts, or ideas, please do not hesitate to give me a call or email, especially if it pertains to the unveiling event….
Thank you all,
Jason Bush, CBO
Building Official
