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WE ARE GOING TO DO JUST FINE! … During the first week of October 2020, Kim and Cairo got to meet each other. It was a very special day and Kim is so looking forward to when he can come and live in her home in Stryker. (PHOTO COURTESY OF KIM FREEHAN)
By: Rebecca Miller
Fall is a fun time of year for getting out new decorations and in Stryker, this year, some ladies are making it even more fun by turning it into a Fundraiser/Contest! The entry fee into the contest is only $10 and contestants can either set up their decorated Scarecrow in their own yard or bring it to the Stryker Subway to get put in the yard there.
Sharon von Seggern, owner of the Stryker Subway and one of the planners, already has one Scarecrow out there and is looking forward to having others join the crew. Sue Goebel, Brenda Short and von Seggern formed a committee to make this fund raiser happen for their friend, Kim Feehan, to help with the purchase of her new service dog, Cairo, and the expenses related to his care. There will be judging on October 25 by a committee of judges who will drive around and determine which one is the best.
This is mostly for fun and to help Kim, but there will be First and Second place prizes, of gift cards to Subway, donated by Thrivent ®. First Prize will be a $50 gift card and Second a $25 gift card, so get those scarecrows out of storage and set up! Call or email Sue Goebel to enter the contest, at sgoebel@williams-net.com or 419-572-0266.
Other ways to help are also being offered:
1. Deposit a donation in the Christopher H. Andrews account (in memory of Carol Feehan) at any F&M
2. Purchase food at Stryker Subway on October 25, which is also Scarecrow Judging day, as 10% of all their sales will go to the Fundraiser “Scarecrows for Cairo”
3. Eat at Pizza Bobs to participate in “Pizza for Pups” on Friday, November 6, as a portion of all their sales from 4:30 – 11 p.m. that day will be put toward Cairo’s purchase and upkeep
Kim Feehan, who was born in 1971 to Dick Feehan of Pioneer and the late Carol Feehan, has been a lifelong resident of Stryker. (You may have seen her name in the papers last spring, as she ran for the position of Mayor of Stryker.) Kim needs a service dog, as she has been a quadriplegic ever since she was involved in a car accident in 1991.
Her first service dog, Graham, whom she had for 10 years, passed away suddenly in January 2019. She says it has been so hard to be without him, and then when her mother passed away in January 2020, it got even harder. She has home health aides and a cousin who stays with her, as well as her dear Black Lab/Golden Retriever companion dog, Cracker, who was her mother’s pet.
SCARECROWS FOR CAIRO … This crazy looking scarecrow with a raven on his arm can be seen in front of Stryker Subway, as part of a fundraiser to purchase a new service dog for Kim Feehan, resident of Stryker. (PHOTO COURTESY OF SHARON VON SEGGERN)
The need for a service dog is still there, and will be met soon. Excitement is mounting as she gets ready to have her new service dog, Cairo, come to be a part of her life. Recently they got to meet each other and on October 22 he will come and meet her cousin and Cracker. Training starts in early November and by the end of the month he will be there to live with her in her home.
“Cracker is wonderful company,” Kim shared in a phone interview, “and I tell her she will always be the Princess in our house, but it is not the same as having a service dog. Now she will have a Prince and I will have more help.” The reason Kim chose to get her new service dog from Toledo is because they do not require Cracker to be re-homed, as some service dog places do. Cairo, who is a Yellow Lab is coming from Ability Center Assistance Dogs which is located in Toledo.
Ten homes have already signed up to put out a “Scarecrow for Cairo”, with the first one on display at Subway and pictures of several others on Facebook. Come on Stryker residents, why wait to compete with Christmas Decorations when you can have some fun and be a blessing to a neighbor, right now? Happy Decorating!
Rebecca can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com