CCP114 by C.M.I.

SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946

www.currypilot.com

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2026

Brookings, Oregon

Azalea Festival 2026:

“Living In Paradise” FROM THE CITY OF BROOKINGS Plans for the 2026 Azalea Festival are underway! Last year set a high bar, so we’re working hard to make this year’s festival even better. We hope you can join us! Our goal with the theme for the year, “Living in Paradise,” is to elicit even more visitors and customers to our businesses, vendors, and Brookings. We encourage everyone to think of ways to showcase our area and all the wonderful activities there are to enjoy. We look forward to see how everyone uses it! We will again be launching an advertising campaign with the theme in mind to showcase our sponsors. If you are interested in being a Street Market vendor, join the Saturday morning parade, list your non-profits event on the official schedule, or be a sponsor, visit our website. You’ll find all

Azalea Fest Map: In case of rain, events at Azalea Park will move to the Elks Lodge. Street Market Vendors will move to areas inside schools located on Pioneer and Pacific Av. Follow signs for vendors.

Please see AZALEA FEST Page 4

Therapy Dog Teams

Bring Smiles and Joy to Gold Beach GUEST COLUMN BY BARBARA THOMAS Therapy Dog Teams play a vital role in providing comfort and companionship to others. Gold Beach has some very special dogs and humans that donate their time and skills to enrich the lives of folks in our community. Riley’s Readers promotes the love of books and reading to students at Riley Creek Elementary School. Reading to dogs in programs such as Riley’s Readers creates a relaxed, non-judgmental environment that boosts kids' reading conﬁdence, ﬂuency, and

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comprehension, while also reducing stress and improving empathy. The dogs provide patient, loving listeners, making reading less intimidating than reading to peers, and studies show this program results in improved reading skills and greater enthusiasm for reading. Special Needs Students at Riley Creek enjoy the social, emotional, and academic benefits of a therapy dog team by reducing stress, improving focus, boosting social skills, and increasing motivation. Hospice Visits by therapy dogs provide comfort, reducing anxiety, loneliness, and pain for patients by offering unconditional love, gentle companionship, and a welcome distraction, while also bringing families together and sparking joyful memories, enhancing emotional and psychological well-being during end-of-life care. These visits involve trained, certified therapy dogs and handlers who tailor interactions to patient needs, creating moments of peace and normalcy in challenging environments, often leading to lower blood pressure and increased smiles. Shore Pines Senior Living offers therapy dog visits to provide emotional, social, and cognitive benefits. They reduce loneliness, anxiety, and depression in seniors by offering comfort, stimulating conversation, and breaking daily routines. Trained therapy dog teams visit to provide these valuable interactions and improve overall resident well-being. Curry County Judicial Department and Curry General Hospital offer therapy dog visits to their staff. Therapy dogs boost staff wellness by reducing stress, improving mood and morale, in-

creasing productivity, and fostering better social connection and collaboration in the workplace. These programs offer a low-barrier, high-impact way to combat burnout, particularly for high-stress professions like healthcare and courtroom professionals. Biscuit, the Courtroom Comfort Dog offers support to victims of trauma while they navigate through the court system. Biscuit assists victims of crimes such as domestic abuse or sexual assault, by providing a calming, non-judgmental presence that lowers anxiety and reduces stress. Biscuit’s Wiggle Butt Therapy is sure to bring a smile! Curry Public Library has had a therapy dog “on staff’ during Children’s Story Time since 2019. These low-key encounters offer the younger children a chance to interact with a calm, well-trained therapy dog while learning age-appropriate dog safety skills and establishing a love for books and reading. W.A.I.T. is a fun, interactive program designed to teach children and adults how to interact safely with dogs. W.A.I.T. teaches basic skills for friendly and not-so-friendly dog encounters. Biscuit and Barbara regularly present W.A.I.T. to students at Riley Creek and Driftwood elementary schools, Curry Public and Chetco libraries and various other home school and after school programs. For more information about Therapy Dogs please contact: Barbara Thomas barbarakthomas@outlook.com Or visit: www.darbysbackyard.com

Phone Number: 707-460-8655 • Email: Circulation@CountryMedia.net

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