Pet ownership benefits health

Dog may be the best friend of man and woman, but the four-legged pal can test your patience too.

By Tammy Malgesini

Staff Writer

Published on March 15, 2016 12:01AM

When asked if I have children, I tell people I have two canine kids.

John and I are currently raising Lucifer, 6, and the General, 3, both German shepherds. And, they are very important members of the Malgesini pack.

It seems life insurance companies also understand the value of dog ownership in regards to a person’s health. When I was shopping for a new policy, among the questions my insurance agent asked was did I own a dog.

An article I recently read on WebMD also touted the benefits of being a pet owner. Written by Jeanie Lerche Davis, “5 Ways Pets Can Improve Your Health” was reviewed for inclusion on the site by Dr. Louise Chang, who is board certified in internal medicine. The article isn’t merely a pet lover gushing about their animals — the content is actually endorsed by a medical professional.

“Pets help lower blood pressure and lessen anxiety,” Davis said in the article.

While I totally agree with this, I also can attest that pets can act out in ways that raise your blood pressure and increase anxiety. Like the time Lucifer chewed the remote control — then a short time later, he gnawed another and then a third one.

Growing up during the pre-remote control world, the convenience of changing the channel without having to get up is now firmly embedded in our lifestyle. After the third remote bit the dust, Lucifer and I had a serious sit-down.

Lucifer is John’s dog and his affinity for remote controls was putting his status as man’s best friend at risk. Even though my lecture probably was comprehended as, “Lucifer, blah, blah, blah ... no, blah, blah, blah,” he seemed to understand the severity of the situation and discontinued the attack on the remote controls.

As for my dog, the General seems to exhibit symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. At about 6 months old he got weird about drinking out of only one bowl in the house.

Overall, it’s not a big deal if he prefers running downstairs to get a drink — even though he jumped over a perfectly good bowl of water sitting next to the daybed. However, it becomes an issue when that’s the only bowl he’ll consume water from.

One time during a pack outing, I was concerned that he’d become dehydrated or get heatstroke. Panting heavily, his tongue was dangling from his mouth. I finally ended up sucking water out of my CamelBak and then spit it into his mouth. While he didn’t protest, I’m sure it looked rather odd to anyone who might have witnessed it.

Our dogs definitely add to our life ... and you just can’t beat the excitement they exhibit when greeting us at the door after a long day at work.

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Tammy Malgesini is the community editor. Her column, Inside my Shoes, includes general musings about life. Contact her at tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4539.

Road trip leads to special moments with family

Community editor relishes in return trip to family home on the Oregon Coast.

By 

By TAMMY MALGESINI

Inside my shoes

Published on March 1, 2016 3:30PM

After returning from a road trip to visit my folks — I was reminded that there are things about being someone’s kid that really rock.

Despite the fact that I’m a college graduate, have a full-time job, pay a home mortgage and have been married for 32 years, whenever I go to Coos Bay I’m “Kidlet No. 2.”

My mom always tells me, “It doesn’t matter how old you are, you’ll always be my little girl.”

Since Coos Bay is about a 15-hour round-trip drive from Hermiston, it’s not a weekend destination. Needing to take some time off from work, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to cruise across the state to see my folks.

While talking on the phone confirming plans for the trip, I asked my mom if she’d make roast. Over the years I’ve ruined many good cuts of meat trying to replicate my favorite family Sunday dinner. One time I even got cooking tips from an octogenarian while at the funeral of a former boss’s mom. Even though I wouldn’t be there on a Sunday, my mom was more than happy to prepare a roast for her “Tammy Sue.”

I packed the Jeep and headed out last Tuesday afternoon with the General, my 3-year-old German shepherd. He makes a great traveling partner, but since he doesn’t share in the driving duties I made a pit stop in Woodburn. In addition to being about halfway to Coos Bay, it provided an opportunity to get some shoes for my husband at the outlet mall and have lunch with some old friends.

I arrived in Coos Bay the next evening just in time for dinner. And, as luck would have it, my mom had prepared meatloaf — another one of my favorites. As we ate dinner, my pops asked me what I wanted to do while I was in town. I didn’t have much of an agenda, I wanted to go to the student store at Marshfield High School — my alma mater — to get a baseball hat and do some junkin’ in second hand stores.

My mom was giddy with excitement to have me home. Sitting in the living room, we took a jaunt down memory lane — sharing stories from days gone by. I couldn’t believe my mom was still up. Oftentimes when I call, she’s already in bed by 8 p.m.

When my eyes started to droop, I finally retired to “the pink bedroom.” When I lived in that room, it had obnoxious smiley face wallpaper. If you think that sounds dreadful, imagine how I felt as a 17-year-old waking up with a hangover with yellow, orange and pink smiley faces everywhere.

The next day, my brother joined us all for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Partway through the meal my mom’s face was beaming. “I have both my kidlets here,” she said. It had been almost four years since our whole family was all together.

That moment made the whole trip worth it — that and the roast beef dinner my mom and brother prepared.

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Tammy Malgesini is the community editor. Her column, Inside my Shoes, includes general musings about life. Contact her at tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4539.