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
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douglasgmaddessdmd.com
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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
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