A holiday tree-t

For 10 years, Jill Morris, owner of Jillian’s Hair Salon, has supported animal rescue organizations by collecting food, toys and money around a Giving Tree in her salon.

Last year, shortly after finishing decoration of the Giving tree, Morris got very badly bitten by a dog that she was trying to help.

“It was a dog that I had been watching for a while,” she said. “He was chained on a deck and I didn't see anyone that had been feeding him for a while. It was Thanksgiving so I just really wanted to feed him.”

Because her own car was in the shop and she was driving a rental, Morris didn’t have the tools she normally carries with her, so she had to stretch past a gate and push the food close enough for the dog to reach. Unfortunately, it was too close, and the dog misunderstood her intentions.

“He thought I was taking the food,” she said. “He bit down hard on my hand and ripped my tendon out.”

After almost a year during which she had painful surgeries, including a skin graft, and a great deal of rehabilitation, the time rolled around when Morris would usually set up her donations tree. When asked if the incident has changed her feelings toward helping strange dogs, Morris said that it didn't change them “even a little bit.”

“I would do it all over again,” she said. “I would just have a stick to use to push the food with me next time.”

This year’s recipients of the goodwill shown by customers and friends of the shop will be Ruff Life Rescue in Grande Ronde and the Lincoln County Animal Shelter.

“They both do important work and are always so thankful,” Morris said. “I don’t do it for the thanks, but the thanks are still nice anyway.”

Donations for the tree can be dropped off this Friday and Saturday, Dec. 20 and 21, between 10 am and 5 pm at Jillian's Hair Salon, located at 1315 SW Hwy. 101 in Lincoln City.

For more information, call 541-996-4247.