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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday June 9, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Guest Columnist Take time to thank a senior this month Gary Carr Halton Regional Chair Seniors' Month is a month set aside to honour our senior citizens and to reflect upon the contributions they have and continue to make in keeping our region strong and prosperGary Carr ous. Seniors play important and vital roles in our individual families, in our communities and in our country. We really should consider every month as Seniors Month, and every day as Seniors Day. Each of us should do what we can to reach out to the seniors in our lives and in our communities and let them know just how important they are to us. While much has been accomplished for seniors in the past few years, Halton Region is committed to doing even more. Regional Council just recently passed the Elder Services Advisory Committee report entitled The Quality of Life for Seniors in Halton Today and Tomorrow. The purpose of this report is to explore current statistics and trends relating to seniors and provide recommendations to improve their quality of life. It is intended to provide information for future planning, and could also be used to establish benchmarks for future analysis. Halton Region currently offers a variety of programs and services for seniors, such as: · Supportive Housing ­ a program for seniors, which provides personal support with daily living activities to encourage independence. Supportive Housing is a responsive service. We work with seniors and families who seek our help by sharing in the decision-making process while searching for the best ways to maintain independent living. Wellness promotion is a key component of the program. · Adult Day ­ a program that benefits frail/elderly adults with disabilities or mental health problems living in the community. Mental and social stimulation, assistance and supervision with activities of daily living are provided as well as daytime support service from caregiving responsibilities. · Long-Term Care Homes ­ Halton Region operates three non-profit long-term care homes within three beautiful community settings. -- Allendale ­ Milton ­ 200 beds -- Post Inn Village ­ Oakville ­ 228 beds -- Creek Way Village ­ Burlington ­ 144 beds All share a common goal for residents: `Living life your way'. Our home cannot replace your home. It can however, provide seniors with the assistance they need in an atmosphere filled with warmth and caring. Halton's long-term care providers value our seniors and the rich heritage they provide. On June 22 Halton Region's Services for Seniors Division will be hosting an event entitled Celebrating Seniors, a forum that gives seniors an opportunity to celebrate success. The event will be held from 10 a.m. until noon at the Halton Regional Administrative building, 1151 Bronte Rd., Oakville As we pay tribute to our seniors during the month of June, please take the time to say hello to those seniors you may work with, or who open the door for you at a restaurant, or help tutor your children at school, or maybe answer the phones at church. Take some time to say thanks for all they do to make our community a better place to live. To learn more about how Halton's Services for Seniors division, or the Celebrating Seniors event being held on June 22, visit our website at www.halton.ca, or phone us at 905-825-6000, toll free 1-866-4HALTON (1-866-442-5866), or TTY 905-827-9833. NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director TERI CASAS Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production Metroland Media Group Ltd. includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION Reflecting on life when you're ninety and nutty and naked She's ninety. She's nutty. And she's naked. We celebrated Franny's big birthday ­ her 13th, which according to standard doggie conversion makes her a nonagenarian ­ with a nice tin of tuna. Although she's a dog, this hound has always been cat-crazy for fish. We never discerned whether it was the sound or the smell, but in her prime she could be in any room in the house and she'd come running the second the opener connected with the tuna can (amazingly, she could not be fooled; if the can being opened contained anything other than tuna, she didn't even bother coming). After her tuna delight, we took her out for a walk and marveled as she led us down the road with puppy pep. For ninety, she's in pretty darn good shape. Although she sleeps a lot, she still has moments of incongruous energy. Which is not to say that she is altogether unencumbered by the ravages of time. Her sense of smell is diminished. Her hearing is selective, at best. Oftentimes when called, she doesn't come -- although we can't say for certain whether she's not hearing, or simply ignoring us. Plagued by infections, her eyesight is spotty. Recently she walked full-speed into the bumper of my parked Jeep. Oh, and when her idiot brother, Zoey, gets her going ­ play-romping like a dog half her age ­ she often ends up lame for a few days. As our vet recently commented: "It's not easy being an old dog." And it ain't all that easy being the owner of an old dog. Every morning, regardless of how late I went to bed the previous night, and how desperate I am for my beauty rest, Franny wakes me at around 5:30. And, like a death Andy Juniper by paper cuts, she rousts me in the most torturous way. I'm a light sleeper, so of course I hear her clicking down the hallway. If I don't immediately get up for her, she does a few annoying click-click-clickety circuits of our bedroom, before settling in beside me for a good, loud, persistent session of scratch-and-lick, which lasts until I surrender, rise and let her out. Like many elderly individuals, she has become a creature of habit. After going out in the morning she wants her breakfast, and she wants it now! Not in five minutes, not in 30 seconds, now! Once breakfast is wolfed down, she wants out again. By the time she comes in again, any thoughts I harbored of going back to bed are gone since, by then, I'm wide awake. Dead tired, but wide awake. While we consider it a blessing for every day that Franny is still with us (13 is getting up there for Petit Basset Griffon Vendeens), we can't help but notice that every day she is still with us, she's a little more ­ how can I put this delicately? ­ eccentric? Senile? Dotty? Bonkers? Which brings me to how the poor old gal ended up naked. At some point during a mini spring heat wave, we felt sorry for her, lumbering around in her matted old winter coat. So, we had her shaved to the skin. While she came home feeling far more comfortable physically, she was a total wreck mentally and emotionally. I had trouble comprehending the apparent correlation between her getting a haircut and her losing her mind. It was my wife who put it into perspective: "How would you like it if you were ninety and you suddenly had to walk around buck naked?" Well, I'd probably like it. But, then, I'm even crazier than Franny who is ninety. And nutty. And naked. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.