Hundreds of thousands of acres of our Timberlands ownership in Oregon are available to recreation permit holders. For an annual fee, permit holders get a pass to enjoy specific areas for a particular purpose. They can choose from motorized or non-motorized versions of the permit; the former comes with a key, so permit holders can unlock gates and drive in on our logging roads. Some of these areas have informational kiosks at the entrance, like this one.
In the wee hours of a weekday morning in September, DeWayne Pratt was awakened by his new puppy. Too young to know or care about human schedules, she wanted to go outside and then have a wild romp around the house.
“I was trying to get her to wind back down, so I laid with her and started browsing Facebook on my phone,” DeWayne says. “I just happened to see a post about a dog missing on our Springfield tree farm, more than 1,000 miles away in Oregon.”
DeWayne is a software product owner with our structural frame software team in Centennial, Colorado. He had never been to Springfield. He didn’t know any employees there. But a few months prior, curiosity about our Western Timberlands region led him to join some Facebook groups created by permit owners in our recreation areas throughout the Pacific Northwest.
“I wanted to understand the region a little better, and I find our recreation lease business really interesting,” DeWayne says. “Now, I’m so glad I’m in those groups, because it enabled me to step up and help out a member of one of our communities.”
MISSING: ONE FURRY BEST FRIEND
In the Facebook post, the dog owner noted the roads and gate number where she last saw her dog, June, a 30-pound blond cattle dog with a bob tail. She also posted a photo she’d taken of June just before she went missing.
“I am worried sick,” June’s owner wrote. “Thank you for keeping an eye out for her. She’s very sweet, and scared.”
DeWayne searched the company directory and found contact details for Trevor Cassidy, a recreation access manager for all our permit areas in the Northwest. He forwarded the information in the post to Trevor and asked if he could get in touch with June’s owner.
“I reached out and connected her with our security contractor in Springfield, Jason Franklin, who met her onsite to help her look for June,” Trevor says. “The dog had already been missing for three days, so we really wanted to jump into action quickly.”
DeWayne enjoys the company of his granddaughter and dogs over Thanksgiving. The puppy responsible for waking DeWayne up and enabling his fortuitous Facebook scrolling is Jasmine, sitting between DeWayne and his granddaughter. 'While I was waiting for Trevor to get back to me, I exchanged messages with the dog owner on Facebook and let her know we were working on it,' DeWayne says. 'She was so grateful for the help, and I was relieved to see her update on Facebook the next day saying that the dog had been found safe and sound.'
GOING THE EXTRA MILE FOR A HAPPY REUNION
By that point, it was hard to guess where June may have gone — Trevor and Jason knew she could have wandered onto an active harvest site, had a run-in with wildlife, or been found by an employee or another permit holder.
“We’re proud to make these permit areas available to the public,” Trevor says. “They can hike, fish, hunt, camp, gather mushrooms, pick berries or any number of other activities. Lots of people love to bring their pets. The existence of Facebook groups devoted to the individual permit areas goes to show how much the community cares about having access to this land, and we take that really seriously. We want to look after these folks as much as we can.”
Jason met the dog owner where June had run off. They hiked for several hours, calling June’s name. Finally, she emerged from the woods for a happy reunion. She was hungry and a little cold, but otherwise just fine.
“I’m a huge animal lover, and with my puppy beside me, I just hated to think about that dog feeling scared and alone in a strange place, exposed to the elements,” DeWayne says. “I’m so happy I was able to help from afar, even in a small way.”
DeWayne says he probably wouldn’t have crossed paths with Trevor professionally. But he didn’t hesitate to ask for Trevor’s help.
“I think this story says a lot about the sense of connectedness we can feel with each other and with our communities, regardless of our job titles or our locations,” Trevor says. “DeWayne cared enough to reach out, which, in turn, allowed us to show our recreation permit holders that we’ll go the extra mile for them.”
