Gentle giant eases vaccine anxiety, one cuddle at a time

A stocky, blond bullmastiff named Showdown Wanna Do Bad Things once ruled the local show dog circuit, winning Champion of the Rose City Classic show in 2015. Since then he’s added a few credentials to his name, now Ch. Showdown Wanna Do Bad Things TH CGC (that’s Ch for champion, TH for Therapy Dog and […]

Facing His Fear Lying Down

When Antonio Gonzalez showed up recently for his COVID booster, it was all he could do not to turn and walk out. But intent on doing his part to keep himself and others safe, he stayed – even though it meant he could pretty much count on passing out. Gonzalez suffers from trypanophobia – the fear of needles, a fear that has plagued him nearly all his life. 

Vaccine Voices: ‘It’s about our common life together.’

Senitila McKinley, founder and director of Seashore Family Literacy in Waldport, grew up in a village in Tonga, a group of islands located in the South Pacific Ocean. To this day, Senitila says any hesitancy she had about getting vaccinated against COVID-19 wasn’t about the vaccine, but the needle. She says her fear of needles began when she went to get her first vaccine as a child. When she saw the needle, Senitila ran home. But her father “believed in Western medicine,” and carried her back.