No End In Sight: The Rachael Scdoris Story

Great Essays
“I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.”
Abraham Lincoln

Located at the end of County Line Road, near Alfalfa, Oregon, the large sign at the entrance served as a notice that I was entering the Oregon Badlands Wilderness. Exploring the wilderness areas in Central Oregon and absorbing the seclusion they offer is invigorating. Beyond the dirt parking lot at the trailhead a gravel road continued into the federally protected wilderness area. Designated wilderness areas do not allow any vehicles, but here was a well-maintained gravel road. Disembarking from my Subaru and heading out, down the gravel road a strange sign appeared. The sign warned about sled dogs being on the road. This location rarely gets
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The book, No End in Sight: The Rachael Scdoris Story, records her story. Living in Central Oregon myself, I am aware of some of the bullying she endured as a blind child. The book tells about school bullies taunting her, and knocking her books out of her hands. In one episode she reacted by making a well know obscene gesture with a finger at her tormenter. The school contacted her father, Jerry, and asked him to get her to stop behaving like that. Bullying had been a regular part of what she had endured, which the Redmond school had seemed to ignore. However, her gesture-required action. Rachael’s recollection about her father’s reaction provides a window into the soul of this family. His words were, “We are Scdoris and we do not act like that”.
Early in November of 2015, I visited a training session for the Scdoris sled dogs. Jerry had been very receptive to a visit, recalling both of our love for dogs. He had asked me to arrive between 7:45 and 8:00 AM. Driving down the gravel road towards their house, I could see a truck, as it watered down the road. The driver pulled over as I caught the water truck. Nick, Rachael’s husband, and their one-year-old boy, Julien were inside. The smile from both of them put me quickly at ease. Nick climbed out of the truck, turned the water off, and greeted

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