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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Thanks to the tireless dedication and hard work of a small Lake County rescue organization, thousands of dogs have found new lives with loving families across Northern California.

Orphan Dog began as Lake County Animal Services in 2004, founded by Karen Schaver, a high school teacher and the organization’s director.

Schaver and her husband Mike held three jobs each to make their dream of rescuing dogs happen.

They didn’t wait for the lottery, they worked hard to buy their 80-acre ranch in Lakeport.

The engine behind Orphan Dog, Karen Schaver travels more than 3,000 miles per month for vet care, to and from shelters, picking up and delivering dogs as well as putting on adoption events each Saturday around Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin counties.

On Sept. 16 and 17, Schaver took dozens of dogs to the Bay Area Pet Fair in Pleasanton.

In addition to taking dogs from her own rescue, the city of Clearlake reported that she took eight from its shelter. Lake County Animal Care and Control Director Bill Davidson said one dog from the county shelter went, as that was all there was available after 13 other dogs went to rescue.

Schaver is highly regarded by local and regional shelters, who often seek her help to cure dogs affected by parvovirus.

Since founding her organization, she has rescued and adopted out 4,000 dogs; all done on a teacher’s salary.

Orphan Dog held one of its Lake County adoption events on Sept. 30 at Lakeport Cinema 5, where there was plenty of shade for the dogs to stay safe and cool.

Orphan Dog’s van arrived piled high with crated dogs and puppies along with metal pens, water, blankets, towels and boxes filled with paperwork and vaccinations; all quickly assembled in military fashion.

Volunteers and prospective adopters helped unload the puppies and adult dogs.

“All animals are spayed, neutered, vet checked, vaccinated, microchipped and have 30-day pet insurance,” explained Schaver as she lined each pen with towels.

“Hands need to be cleaned before touching the puppies,” she explained to the crowd as she passed around towelettes.

Potential “parents” milled around the puppy pen, where the puppies were croodling – or nestling – in a big pile.

Schaver gives group names for identification purposes. This litter she dubbed the Star Wars puppies; their breed unknown.

Second shots were administered to the puppies without a whimper. Foster parents brought their foster dogs, hoping for them to be adopted. Several dogs were taken for walks.

Max, a 2-year-old black pointer mix and perfect ball hound, ran himself ragged playing fetch to impress his new forever mom.

Adam Black, a potential adopter, called home to his wife to get the OK to adopt another puppy, his second from Orphan Dog.

She gave him the thumbs up. Then it was decision time; does he adopt the brindle pit puppy or the brown one?

Moose, the lucky brown pit puppy selected and adopted by Black, fell fast asleep in the arms of his new human sister, oblivious that he was about to journey to his new home filled with dogs, horses, miniature donkeys and assorted other animals. Farm life – a great forever home.

Gary, a white and black pit bull, was a favorite for this writer. During his walk, two dogs in one of the pens tried to fight with him. Gary was nonplussed and walked calmly away.

One Star Wars puppy was adopted, along with Moose the pit puppy, Max the pointer mix and Skylar the camera-shy German Shepard. Four total – four that found their new forever families, thanks to the hard work and dedication of Karen Schaver’s Orphan Dog.

To adopt or volunteer, check upcoming Orphan Dog adoption events at http://www.orphandog.org or https://www.facebook.com/OrphanDog/.

Lucy Llewellyn Byard is a freelance writer and photographer. She lives in Lucerne with her dog, Toby.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Did you know that only one-third of Americans have created and practiced a home fire escape plan?

Almost three-quarters of Americans have an escape plan; however, less than half ever practice it?

With these statistics, it’s time to stop being complacent and get the ball rolling in creating a home escape plan for you and your family and more importantly practicing it.

Oct. 8 to 14 marks Fire Prevention Week and this year’s theme is “Every Second Counts – Plan 2 Ways Out!”

Take time now to create an escape plan with your family and practice that plan twice a year. Knowing what to do and where to go can save precious seconds, helping you and your family escape safely without tragedy.

“Our goal is to make sure our residents are safe from fires, whether inside the home or outside,” said Lynne Tolmachoff, Cal Fire chief of public education. “Fire Prevention Week is one opportunity to initiate awareness of how to protect you and your family from harm’s way and to give you the tools you need to maintain a safe home and yard.”

Fire Prevention Week has been observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which Oct. 9 falls, in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire, which began Oct. 8, 1871.

The horrific fire killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres.

Each year’s theme is to reinforce the importance of fire prevention.

Crafting your plan for escaping a home fire is easy to do:

• Draw a map of your home. With all the members of your household, visit each room and identify two ways out.
• Show all doors and windows on your drawing and mark the path to the outside from each exit.
• Practice your plan during the day and at night to ensure that you and your family can get out safely at any time.
• Make sure to teach your children how to escape on their own, in case you can’t help them.
• Have a plan for the elderly as it may take more time to get them out safely.
• Let everyone know to close the doors behind you as you leave – this may slow the spread of smoke, heat, and fire.
• Once you get outside, stay outside. Never go back inside for anything.
• Call 911 from outside and make sure your address is easy to see from the road.

If you happen to be caught in a wildfire, knowing two ways out is critical to getting out safely.

Create a wildfire evacuation plan that includes:

• A designated emergency meeting location outside the fire or hazard area. This is essential to determine who has safely evacuated from the affected area.
• Several different escape routes from your home and community. Practice these often so everyone in your family is familiar in case of emergency.
• Have an evacuation plan for pets and large animals such as horses and other livestock.
• Designate an out-of-area friend or relative as a point of contact to act as a single source of communication among family members in case of separation (cell and internet systems can be overloaded or limited during a disaster).

‘Fall- A leaf drops into the
mirror-like stillness of the
clear creek-
concentric circles delicately disturb
the surface'
– Kathleen Scavone

'Autumn wins you best by this- its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay.’
– Robert Browning

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The fall season is upon us once again, bringing solace and perspective.

Our autumnal equinox of Sept. 22 and the ensuing change of season have a certain feel to it.

At summer's end a particular slant to the light and a discerning scent on the wind reminds you that, yes, summer's long and languorous days are behind us, and the cooler clime is the new norm.

Cooler weather brings to mind comfy sweaters, cocoa and fall cleanup chores such as tidying up the garden.

Now is the time for scouting out the last of the local farmer's markets and finding fat melons, the last of the blackberries and a vibrant pumpkin patch.

The clowns of the woods, squirrel and woodpecker, dash and scuttle about the newly fallen acorns. Here come cooler days- and soon, a descent into darkness.

Autumn's etymology, or word-origins makes it way from old Etruscan roots, “autu” meaning “the passing year.” Next, the Romans turned the word into “autumnus,” giving us our “autumn.”

As fall transitions from the summer season, a kaleidoscope of color presents itself.

The hills light up with signature scarlet, burgundy and a pop of yellow- the original “eye candy.”

Take a walk and treat all of your senses. A heady and spicy tang of rot and decay that signifies the fall cycle is emitted now.

Nature's spent foliage drifts down like perfect poetry in action, while summer's lush undergrowth gives way.

At the creek a leaf is a delicate rowboat making its way downstream. It dips and nods on riffles before it is carried away.

Nature never takes a day off – even when it looks like she's done and there is not a leaf on a tree, she is not sleeping.

Instead, the seeds she has dropped are being consumed by birds and mammals – spreading the wealth for a later date. Down below her surface mycelium is colonizing and spreading out like underground webs.

The scientific reasons for fall's color palette involves an intricate choreography of weather, carotenoids and chlorophyll.

The warmth of fall's days and their brisk evenings create a domino effect of activity within the leaves.

Sugars which are made at daylight and then trapped in leaf veins and not permitted to move out, and cause the purples and reds that we love. These are known as anthocyanin pigments.

Also contained in leaves are carotenoids which create the showy golden yellows which we have come to enjoy so much.

There is so much to enjoy about alluring autumn!

Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also formerly wrote for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has adult dogs and puppies waiting for homes this week.

This week’s available dogs include mixes of cattle dog, Chihuahua, husky, Labrador Retriever, mastiff, pit bull and terrier.

Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.

The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).

Male pit bull mix

This young male pit bull mix has a short brown brindle coat.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 2, ID No. 8617.

Mastiff puppy

This male mastiff puppy has a short tricolor coat.

He’s in kennel No. 4b, ID No. 8614.

Male Chihuahua

This male Chihuahua has a short tricolor coat.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 5, ID No. 8558.

Pit bull terrier

This young female pit bull terrier has a short white coat with brown markings.

Shelter staff said she gets along with other dogs.

She’s in kennel No. 7, ID No. 8607.

Male Labrador Retriever

This male Labrador Retriever mix has a short black coat.

He’s in kennel No. 13, ID No. 8626.

Pit bull terrier

This young male pit bull terrier has a short tan and black coat.

He already has been neutered.

Shelter staff said he gets along with other dogs.

He’s in kennel No. 20, ID No. 8623.

Male husky

This male husky has a long gray and white coat and blue eyes.

He already has been altered.

He’s in kennel No. 21, ID No. 8577.

Cattle dog-hound mix

This male cattle dog-hound mix has a short gray coat.

He’s in kennel No. 31, ID No. 8462.

Female cattle dog

This female cattle dog has a short red coat.

She’s in kennel No. 32, ID No. 8476.

Female Labrador Retriever

This female Labrador Retriever has a short black coat.

She’s in kennel No. 33, ID No. 8477.

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm.

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

College students working with NASA are helping devise solutions that may make living on other worlds possible.

Short for eXploration Systems and Habitation Academic Innovation Challenge, the X-Hab Challenge represents one of several platforms NASA leverages to crowdsource solutions to complex challenges in order to keep humans healthy and productive in deep space.

Universities submit their ideas and NASA's technical experts review and select the proposals. NASA surveys the agency for issues that need solutions to enable exploration.

“There are key issues needing solutions for food production in microgravity during exploration missions. These issues are water and nutrient delivery to the root zone and the recycling of nutrients from inedible plant materials and waste," said Charlie Quincy, Kennedy Space Center’s Life Science maturation manager. "This year, two projects tackled both watering plants in space and nutrient and material recovery."

Ohio State University in Wooster, Ohio, recently finished its project, entitled “Passive Watering and Plant Biomass Recycling Systems for eXploration Habitat.”

This project was two projects in one – while one team focused on designing a reliable, low-energy, low-maintenance water delivery system using wicking and capillary forces, a second team examined how to incorporate recycled inedible plant matter, including root and stems, into a rooting structure for the next plant growing cycle.

The passive water delivery portion examined alternate water delivery methods for the Veggie experiment on the International Space Station.

The addition this year was to use a collapsible reservoir and a device to aid fluid flow in microgravity.

The recycling team designed a bioreactor and a process of shredding and dehydrating plant matter to transform plant waste into plant-growth substrate that could be used to grow plants for food.

The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor tackled turning urine into plant nutrition. Its project, entitled “Space Life and Physical Sciences: Wastewater to Plant Nutrient Solution,” extracts water and plant nutrients along with edible sodium from the wastewater and urine generated by a human space habitat.

The student team members presented the design process, construction and testing of the subcomponents of their hardware and software, and demonstrated how the hardware works.

The system involves a multistage setup of pretreatment ultrafiltration to separate materials, electrodialysis to remove inorganic salts, and finally ultraviolet light to remove bacteria and viruses. The resulting water and nutrients could then be recycled to grow plants for food.

The students were able to demonstrate that water and plant nutrient output from their system could be used to grow plants that are safe for human consumption.

X-Hab is sponsored by Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, a division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.

AES develops strategic partnerships and collaborations with universities to help bridge gaps and increase knowledge in architectural design trades, capabilities and technology risk reduction related to AES activities.

NASA Space Life and Physical Science Research and Applications Division provided food production research topics and funding for materials, parts and services for selected projects to address real spaceflight issues and inspire the future NASA workforce.

Amanda Griffin works for NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for Lake County and other parts of Northern California due to concerns for strong winds forecast to arrive on Sunday.

The agency said the red flag warning is in effect from 11 a.m. Sunday to 5 p.m. Tuesday.

A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly, according to the National Weather Service, which also reported that a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.

In the case of this latest warning, the National Weather Service said the highest threat across Northern California is in southern Lake County, the northern and western Sacramento Valley, and the adjacent foothills.

A combination of wind, low afternoon humidity and poor overnight recovery may create a period of increased fire starts or rapid spread through early Tuesday morning, according to the forecast.

The regional forecast calls for a gusty north to northeasterly wind to begin across the Coastal Range, northern and western Central Valley Sunday and spread across the Sierra Nevada Sunday night.

The wind is expected to range between 15 and 30 miles per hours, with gusts of up to 40 miles per hour in some parts of Northern California.

The specific Lake County forecast calls for light winds to actually begin on Saturday, with speeds ranging from the mid-teens in Lucerne and Lakeport into the mid-20s in the south county and Clearlake.

On Sunday night, wind gusts could range up close to 30 miles per hour on the Northshore and nearly 40 miles per hour in Middletown before tapering off on Monday, according to the forecast.

Temperatures in the coming week are forecast to range into the low 80s during the day and the low 40s at night.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.