WHENEVER EILEEN WIDMAN finished the last of a carton of yogurt, she would put it down on the floor for her Pomeranian, Regie, to lick clean.
In fact, Regie liked yogurt so much, he didn’t just put his head in the tub.
“Three-fourths of his body would be in the container,” Widman said.
Pomeranians were bred to rid castles of rodents, so it’s not surprising how far Regie would go to run the last bit of yogurt to ground.
But it was a photo of him doing so that led Widman to go after a bigger prize.
Thinking the company would like to see how much her pet liked their product, Widman took a photo of Regie, bits of yogurt stuck to whiskers and fur, and sent it to Stonyfield, an organic yogurt maker in New Hampshire.
In return, she received a thank-you note and coupons and started receiving regular announcements by email.
One of them was about a contest, “Fueled by Stonyfield,” with a $5,000 prize for a community project that fosters health, wellness or fitness.
“I went to the website and saw what other people were trying to do,” Widman said.
Entered contest
What Widman did: enter Quilcene’s Habitat for Humanity Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative project in the contest.
Her goal: to help people have a safe, healthy place to live.
“I wanted it specifically to go to that program, specifically for fixing up homes in our community, especially homes with children,” Widman said.
“Kids need to live in a healthy environment.”
Widman and her husband, Rodney, know what it’s like to live in alternative housing.
When they first moved to Quilcene 16 years ago, they built a yurt and offered it to their daughter and her husband in exchange for help getting the property in shape.
Unfortunately, their son-in-law, who was from Wisconsin, knew how to cope with the cold but did not like the rain.
After the young couple left for northern Wisconsin, the Widmans used the yurt as their bedroom.
“We had a king-sized water bed with hot water, a pot-bellied stove and rugs on the floor,” Widman said.
The Widmans also had a business in Quilcene selling indoor air and water purification systems.
The business was originally in part of the old Sears building, where the Olympic Art Gallery is now, then in a pole building they built on their property on Center Road about a mile outside of town.
When the business went bust, Rodney, an electrical engineer, got a job long-haul trucking to pay off the business debts.
But being on the road five days a week and home two was hard on them both, so he looked for a job locally and now drives for Mountain Propane.
The pole building sheltered the Widmans until recently, when they moved a manufactured home onto their property.
They plan to use the pole building for a home business for Eileen, a seamstress who made costumes, formal wear and wedding gowns in Kitsap County.
“I don’t have money to pass out,” she said. “If I won the contest, it would be a start.
“It isn’t a lot of money, but it could benefit somebody.”
A rescue dog, Regie came to live with the Widmans in Quilcene when he was 12 years old.
He was originally adopted to be a companion for her mother, Widman said, who had him for four or five years.
Rats, snakes gone
In addition to licking the yogurt container clean, Regie would go after rats and snakes on the property.
But as he got older, his eyesight and hearing began to fade.
One day in early spring, he was chasing something in the driveway — probably the shadow of one of a pair of eagles that nest on the property — when the Pomeranian ran into the road and was hit by a car.
Widman’s other business suffered from the loss — she raised chickens and sold eggs under the name Eileen’s Cheerful Chicken until a predator got into the chicken coop and wiped out most of the flock.
Now she’s trying to get the coop back in shape and start over.
“We’re ready to get another dog,” she said.
Unfortunately, Widman didn’t see the email about the “Fueled by Stonyfield” contest until the voting period was already half over.
So when she entered, there were only two weeks left.
Even so, her entry garnered 88 votes before last Friday, the closing date.
The 10 finalists will be announced Nov. 17.
First prize includes a trip plus the $5,000 grant.
Second prize is a $2,500 community health and wellness grant.
First, second and third prizes include a year’s supply of yogurt.
Even though she didn’t win, Widman said her entering the contest may get someone started thinking about different ways to support the Habitat project.
“Somewhere along the line, another offer will come up,” she said.
“We all need to be doing what we can.”
Started as farm school
Stonyfield, which makes organic yogurt and Oikos Greek yogurt, started out in 1983 as a farm school for teaching sustainable agricultural practices.
The company is committed to helping family farms survive and according to its website donates 10 percent of its profits to efforts that protect and restore the environment.
It accepts applications throughout the year for its “Profits for the Planet” grants.
For more information, visit www.stonyfield.com.
What the website doesn’t have is the answer to the question: “Is yogurt good for dogs?”
But the consensus of online advice is that while dairy products are not part of the natural canine diet, yogurt can be helpful for dogs who have taken antibiotics because it helps get the digestive system back on track.
It is also OK for healthy dogs in small quantities — like a spoonful a day.
So go ahead. Let Rover lick the carton.
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Jennifer Jackson writes about Port Townsend and Jefferson County every Wednesday. To contact her with items for this column, phone 360-379-5688 or email jjackson@olypen.com.
