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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 2015)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL December 16, 2015 7A It’s not like her. Mom has always been so patient, but now when I ask her questions she gets angry. We can help. A Christmas Myrakle 1-855-ORE-ADRC HelpForAlz.org OREGON DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES PROGRAM D Douglas G. Maddess, DMD FAMILY AND GENERAL DENTISTRY Brightening Lives One Smile at a Time See our new website: douglasgmaddessdmd.com We Want Your News! The Cottage Grove Sentinel wants to be your source for all things Cottage Grove. But we need your help! If you’ve got a news tip, we’d be glad to hear about it: $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM In person: 116 N. Sixth Street, Cottage Grove Email: cgnews@cgsentinel.com Office phone: 942-3325 ivine timing: Something which creates beauty and amazement and there is no earthly way you could have or- chestrated it. Miraculous days start “nor- mally”. I had been care tak- ing my mother for a year, 500 miles away, and it was good to be home, for a week’s break, doing “normal” things with my husband and cats. Our cats’ litter had deteriorat- ed, so we drove 25 miles to Eu- gene to fi nd a more effective one at one of their 12 or more pet stores. The kitty litter aisle was 40 feet long! We did not want pine, as it is hard on my and the cats’ breathing. We had tried the newspaper brands, crushed walnuts were not to our liking, and we were not sold on the clumping brands because of our Persians’ long fur. If it attached to our cats’ fur, then when they groomed, we wondered, ‘would the litter clump’ in their digestive tract?’ We were reading bag after bag of clay and crystal litters. When someone pushed their large metal grocery cart up to the lit- ter section, I approached them like the “kitty-rozzi” and inter- viewed them about their choice. “Have you used this brand long? Does it hold odor? How often do you change it? Do you have long or short-haired cats?” Ev- eryone gracefully answered our survey with a smile. We then read up on their se- lected brand. In the hour of ‘scientifi c investigation’ none of the customers shared their cats’ names. Then this beautiful, blue-eyed woman with shoulder length white hair, reminiscent of a white Persian cat, tossed a bag of litter into her cart. I noted her kind face and purr-ceded to ask her my list of questions. This was a brief few seconds of di- vine timing with our lives merg- ing in a city of 161,000 after leaving our town of 10,000. When she responded, “We have two short haired cats.” I quipped, “Oh, you look like someone who would have Per- sians.” She stopped, caught her breath and quietly said, “We did have two. We loved them. But Myrakle died a year ago.” I already knew the answer to my next questions, before ask- ing them, so I began crying. I tearfully chocked out “Was she a rescue cat? Was she orange and black? Was her full name Ms. Myrakle?” “Yes”, said Linda. What were the unbelievable odds!? I explained, “We fostered and named Ms. Myrakle for the Hu- mane Society of Cottage Grove. She was a tangled fur ball. It took three days to gently clip off all her fur mats. When the last vicious ball that was preventing her from moving her back leg to its full extension was clipped off, she lifted her head off my lap and looked into my eyes as if to say, “Thank you!”. Then she slowly stretched her leg fully out for the fi rst time — in a long time. She was the sweetest cat. She never fought with our cats and accepted my daughter’s two dogs. But sadly, we had to give her back to the shelter, when I had surgery. It was a tearful goodbye. We have wondered what happened to her, even after all these years. Just this morning I was reminiscing, thinking about her while look- ing at the newspaper article I had written, trying to fi nd her a loving home.” Linda, now also crying, re- counted her life with Ms. My- rakle. “Four years ago I told my husband, Gene, that I wanted a cat for my birthday. We saw Ms. Myrakle on the shelter’s web- site. Persians have lovely purrs- onalities, and we liked how her name was spelled - so we went right over and adopted her. She was elderly, had only a few teeth, so we knew she would be Photo by Mr. Angel Scribe Mary Ellen “Angel Scribe” fostered and named Ms. My- rakle because her survival was a miracle. But what this cat did this holiday season for two women that loved her will blow feathers out of your wings and have you BELIEVEing. a challenge. Gene would get down on the fl oor and hand feed her soft foods. We both loved her; she was the sweetest cat. We live close to this pet store. I never come in on a busy week- end. I have no idea why I came in today. While driving here, I was feeling grief because it has been a year, this week, since Ms. Myrakle’s passed from old age. I miss her and our other cat, it is the oddest thing, they both died the same week, but a year apart. Then what she said next stunned me again! “Our other cat’s name was Angel,” she added. I had to grab her litter fi lled buggy for balance! As the au- thor of the online Angels and Miracles newsletter for 20 years, teaching others to “Ex- pect Miracles” (name of my fi rst book) this divine encounter by the kitty litter was an unex- pected overwhelming joy. For a day that started off “nor- mally” it had a remarkable mi- raculous ending! Linda and I felt that Ms. My- rakle’s love brought us together to assuage our grief and thank us for the gift of loving her. My- rakle had found a loving home! We discussed how we felt My- rakle had come from a toss- away-breeder after “no longer being of use” and the cat was thanking us for her last years of love, comfort and grace. As soon as Linda arrived home she told her husband, “I had the most amazing thing hap- pen at the pet store.” He said, “Oh! NO!” And began looking around for a newly adopted pet! She laughed and told him that it was someone she met in the kitty litter department. Linda and I are now good friends, united by a cat in heav- en. May you live a life fi lled with miracles. TIPS Caring for pets can change your life, open your heart and make you laugh. Find your next awesome pet on Pet Finds like Linda did! www.PetFinder.com Also, this article illustrates how fostering a shelter pet gives them the help they need for their forever home. Share your pet tips and tales. angelscribe@msn.com “Follow” Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/ PetTipsandTales Cottage Grove Sentinel - Santa Contest Try to fi gure out which Santa belongs to which business. They won’t have their Santa hats on or be wearing a beard, but they will be in the businesses and could be helping you. This entry form must be received by Monday, December 28 at 12 Noon, mail or bring in to: Cottage Grove Sentinel, 116 N. 6th • P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424. The Winner will be the one who correctly identifi es the most Santas. If more than one person has the most correct answers, the winner will be randomly drawn from those entries. Santa # Business ___________ South Lane Fire & Rescue ___________ Jonathan Backer, DDS ___________ Dave’s Place ___________ Remax ___________ Commonwealth Financial 1 2 3 Name: _________________________________ _ _________ Address: __________________________________________ City _______________________________________________ Phone: ____________________________________________ 4 5 Cottage Grove Sentinel 50 Prize $
