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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 17, 2021)
DECEMBER 17, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A6 Feline shelter reaches milestone in adoptions By BEE FLINT Of the Keizertimes Salem Friends of Felines (SFOF), a shelter for stray cats, recently adopted out their 17,000th cat which was a one-eyed kitten named Pokey. Pokey was also their first spay and eye removal surgery in their brand new on-site surgical suite. The suite offers spays and neuters, eye removals, and limb amputations to cats and kittens in their adoption program. Opening an on-site surgical suite has been a dream for the organization since they opened in 2004 and executive direc- tor, Chelsey Marks, is happy to finally see it become a reality. “One immediate benefit we've seen is that the cats and kittens don't have to be so stressed during travel to and from vet clinics across town for their surgeries. Now they just wake up in a warm recovery condo, wrapped in a soft blanket, monitored by a caring vet assistant with no travel needed,” Marks said. Although the new suite has been help- ful, the process of opening it brought up a few challenges for the organization. Marks felt that the supply chain issues during the COVID pandemic caused the organization to struggle in getting the necessary medical supplies and veterinary equipment required to provide high-qual- ity surgeries. “COVID has really pushed SFOF and myself to open this surgery suite quicker, because of all the backlog at local vet hos- pitals we've not always been able to get our adoption and foster program kitties spayed or neutered in a timely fashion and now this surgery suite has helped tremen- dously,” she said. Through all of the challenges with the pandemic, Salem Friends of Felines leaned on the community and volunteers for their support. “We're getting through it with lots of community support, our amazing volun- teers and very dedicated team working daily to provide the best care we can for the cats and kittens,” Marks said. Marks specifically wanted to thank the Willamette Humane Society, VCA Keizer Veterinary Hospital, Santiam Equine/ Cordon Road Vet and Woodburn/Sequoia Veterinary Clinic who all took on extra surgeries to help Salem Friends of Felines during the transition. Salem Friends of Felines has currently done over 50 spay and neuter surgeries in the new suite. SUBSCRIBE Keizer news in your mailbox only $35 a year* Call 503 . 390.1051 keizertimes.com/store *Rate for inside Marion County Keizer man to be featured on The Price is Right Bowers It took 10 years but Dusty Bowers of Keizer finally got called to ‘come on down’ on CBS-TV’s long-running game show, The Price is Right. Bowers, a 2005 graduate of McNary High School, went to see a taping of the show 10 years ago with his friend, Jeremy Green, who was a contestant on the show ; Bowers didn’t make it on camera in 2011. On Monday, Dec. 20, Bowers will appear as a contestant on The Price is Right. It will air at 10 a.m. on KOIN-TV channel 6. After that it will be available on CBS.com and then on Paramount+ on demand. Wanting to be part of the 50th anni- versary season of The Price is Right, Bower’s friend, Jeremy, got an inter- view to be a Christmas-themed show and was chosen. He was able to bring up to four guests to the taping. Several shows are taped at one time. Luckily for Bowers, there were not enough people in the audience for the second taping and they were asked to stay to fill out the audience. When he was called to come on down to be the next contestant, Bowers said he and his friends hugged each other and jumped around. “It seemed like we were jumping for about three minutes, but it was actually mere sec- onds. It was so fun,” he said. Sworn to offer no spoilers, Bowers did not say if he got on stage, if he won any prizes or got to spin the Showcase Showdown wheel. To find out what happens, tune in on Monday, Dec. 20 at 10 a.m. Affected by the Oregon wildfires? Find resources to help you recover. 1-833-669-0554
