Special Issues & Guides
Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides

Rescuing Animals Out of the Ashes

Behind the scenes with Central Oregon’s Pet Evacuation Team, which cared for dozens of pets from the recent fire zones
by Laurel Brauns

As the recent Oregon megafires ripped through the forests and towns east of the Santiam Pass and along the McKenzie River, some frantic evacuees barely escaped with their lives. Many were unprepared to leave immediately, awakened in the middle of the night by emergency response officials ordering them out. Some didn’t have time to prepare […]

Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides

Are Essential Oils Safe for Pets?

Diluted essential oils can help with pets’ emotional issues, as well as preventing some airborne illness, local holistic veterinarian says
by Laurel Brauns

Essential oils have been used for centuries to help people with physical and emotional ailments. The uplifting scent of citrus may bring to mind sunny summer days even in the darkest months of winter. As many pet owners have grown to love and depend on the healing effects of essential oils for themselves, many have […]

Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides

Look Who’s Talkin’ Now

Local pet psychic communicates with everything from cats and dogs to fish and frogs
Avatar photo by Cayla Clark

When you meet someone new and ask them what they do for a living, you might expect to hear a response like, “I’m in advertising,” or, “I’m a teacher.” If the person responds, “I communicate with animals,” you might assume this new acquaintance is more than slightly off their rocker. After speaking with Pet Communicator […]

Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides

The Nose Knows: Working K-9s of Central Oregon

Local canines work in drug detection, search and rescue, and wildlife crimes
by Damian Fagan

Dogs have been taking a bite out of crime (sorry, couldn’t resist) for over 120 years. First used in Belgium around 1899, dogs have assisted law enforcement in activities such as apprehension, tracking, drug detection, evidence collection, search-and-rescue, poachin, and even arson, to name a few. Highly trained teams of dogs and their handlers work […]

Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides

Pets in a Pandemic

With so much stress out there, pets’ roles as emotional caretakers have become all the more apparent. Locals share how their pets are helping out
Avatar photo by Nicole Vulcan

Animal shelters around the nation—including the Humane Society of Central Oregon—have reported higher adoption rates during the pandemic. With people being home more—and some having more time on their hands—the timing has been right to adopt that long-awaited furry friend. But good timing is not the only reason—nor the only benefit—to pet ownership during this […]

Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides

The Leaflet — Fall 2020

The Source Staff

Welcome to The Leaflet, Central Oregon’s first—and only—local guide dedicated to all things cannabis. It’s your one-stop shop for updates on legal weed. What’s Inside: Green Building with Hemp Hempcrete offers a non-toxic alternative to other building materials From Illegal to Essential As marijuana sales continue to break records, a local cannabis startup cashes in […]

Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides

Puff, Puff… You Shall Not Pass

COVID-19 has changed many a thing, including standard stoner etiquette, some 420-friendly locals report
Avatar photo Cayla Clark

Before the most recent Leaflet hit stands last spring, I invited a harem of 420-friendly buddies over for a weed-themed photo shoot. It was a grand old time; Funyuns, gummy worms and giggles galore.  My, oh my, how things have changed. Not only are sizable social gatherings frowned upon in the age of COVID, but basic […]

Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides

Pot and POC

New programs providing seed money for marijuana startups are popping up around the country. Could Bend follow?
Laurel Brauns

New programs in Portland, and other progressive cities across the U.S., offer grants and loans to new cannabis businesses owned by people of color. Historically, arrests and convictions for pot-related crimes have disproportionally affected BIPOC communities. Some believe investing in Black-owned cannabis business is one way to right the wrongs of decades of discrimination and […]

Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides

From Illegal to Essential

As marijuana sales continue to break records, a local cannabis startup cashes in big with online sales
Laurel Brauns

At the beginning of the pandemic, the threat of police-state lockdown orders loomed large on the horizon: Weeks before the initial outbreak in Oregon, China and Italy forced people inside for weeks with threats of arrests and even jail time. Some Americans raced to the store to stock up on toilet paper, groceries and medications. […]

Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides

Green Building with Hemp

Hempcrete offers a non-toxic alternative to other building materials
Damian Fagan

The hemp industry is budding in Central Oregon. By “hemp,” I’m referring to the “sober cousin” of Cannabis sativa—industrial hemp, not marijuana. Drive around the tri-county area and you’ll see fields full of lush, dark green industrial hemp plants. Grown for cannabinoids, such as CBD oil, these plants represent the present status of hemp production […]

Verify your email

We'll send a verification code to .

Sign up for newsletters

Get the best of The Source - Bend, Oregon directly in your email inbox.

Sending to:

Gift this article