COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL November 23, 2016 7A Free community Thanksgiving meals attention. Several years later, in April of 2014, Mayhem mysteri- ously disappeared. You might say, ‘total mayhem’ ensued as Sharlene’s family searched the neighborhood. “Our son, Cameron, owns KNND radio station,” she said, “so he continually asked people to look out for her. We ran news- paper ads, checked Craigslist and ... nothing. We were very, very sad. Then in August 2015, I was out walking when my cell phone rang. The nice ‘voice’ on the phone asked me if we ‘...had a cat named Mayhem’ I said, ‘Yes, but she has been missing for quite sometime.’ The kind ‘voice’ said she was calling from Pet Finder and that Mayhem had been found and was at Eugene’s Greenhill Hu- mane Society. I could barely be- lieve my ears! Yes, we have all our cats microchipped and that little-itty-bitty microchip was the reason for the happy phone call! Mayhem had somehow trav- eled 12 miles from home and was spotted starving and fed by a kind woman at the upper end of Cottage Grove Lake. It obviously had been a long hard 16-months, and poor May- hem was in bad shape. She was extremely thin, her eyes were a goopy mess, she was skittish, Mayhem’s Miracle S everal years ago, the animal shelter asked for people to foster kittens. “That sounds like fun!” thought Shar- lene. Now, that would be dangerous if I had read it! For many of us, cats are like jelly beans! They come in multiple colors and, of course, you can’t have just one! But Sharlene jumped right in and fi nding it rewarding raising and then sending little felines on to their FUR-ever homes. She admitted that, “It was also challenging because you get at- tached to the fur babies.” Then reality set in, she, apparently, loves jelly beans, too! Oh! Oh! “Our feline family grew,” admitted Sharlene, “I thought the weak ones could not live without me, but it was the other way around. I would have been heartbroken to let them go. That’s how we ended up with Mayhem!” Mayhem was found aban- doned in a fi eld with her litter mates. “She was tiny and sick- ly,” said Sharlene, “and almost died. We kept her because she has chronic respiratory issues and runny eyes.” Mayhem has a sweet purrs- onality and she loves everyone! She is exceptionally patient with children and she lives for Photo by Mary Ellen “Angel Scribe” Cameron, Sharlene and Joel with their sleepy miracle kitty, Mayhem. hissy and growly. Not at all like Norine volunteered to watch before her disappearance. Either her nephew’s new dog, Hudson, she was delirious from dehydra- while its family vacationed in tion, from the hot summer, or Hawaii for 10 days. The neph- she was still terrorized from ew lived a two-hour drive away, ‘trying’ to exist on her own. And so after she picked up the dog, obviously not doing a very good as she was unloading groceries job at it. into her home, she tied Hudson As I now look down at her, to the front steps hand rail. She resting on my lap, I think, ‘she came back, minutes later, to an is our miracle cat!’ She is chub- empty harness! Hudson had by and healthy! It took her a few wriggled free and took off to months to return to the cat we parts unknown! knew. At fi rst she cowered be- The search was on. She post- hind my computer, in only fi ve ed LOST DOG notices. Several inches of space. She made it her sightings were reported, but to safe-warm nest as she healed no avail. Norine lost weight physically and mentally. worrying and walking, search- She ‘hid’ there until meal ing for Hudson! She was in a times, then she would ‘wolf’ terrible state wondering what to down her food in SECONDS! It tell his family. But! The day be- took a month before she realized fore they fl ew home, who walks that she was going to be fed, on up her driveway, but their lost a regular basis, before she ate dog! How had Hudson found normally. Starving is a terrible the house he had only been to for memory. We are grateful for mere minutes? It was as though the microchip technology that he knew that vacation time was brought her back into our lives. over and he’d better get back to Guaranteed she is, too!” Norine’s so he could go home to On another rescue note: his family. It was miracle! Stop By And Pick Up A Gift Certifi cate For Th e One You Love TIPS A microchip, the size of a grain of rice, is what reunited Mayhem with her family. Hu- mane societies and vet clinics provide the service of inserting them. “Microchipping only works if you register the chip,” advises Janetta Overholser, president of The Humane Society of Cottage Grove. “If you move, immedi- ately call and update your pet’s information. We have one sweet cat here that has a chip and it is heart breaking because his chip is not registered. He won’t have a happy ending like Mayhem unless we fi nd him a great fam- ily. He needs them.” 541-942-4353 davesplacesalon.com 704 E. Whiteaker • Cottage Grove, OR 97424 INSTAGRAM: @davesplacesalon Cat lost for seven years - found! http://www.msn.com/en-ca/ news/offbeat/after-seven-years- cat-comes-home-for-christmas/ ar-BBnXffC?li=AAggFp5 Share your pet tips and tales. angelscribe@msn.com Thanksgiving Meal Thanksgiving Breakfast First Baptist Church, locat- ed at 301 S. 6th St. in Cottage Grove, will be hosting the an- nual free community Thanks- giving dinner on Thursday, Nov. 24 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A full meal will be served, and all are welcome to attend. There will be a free Thanks- giving Breakfast on Thanks- giving day at the 6th & Gibbs Chruch of Christ, 522 White- aker Ave., from 7 to 10 a.m. COMMUNITY BRIEFS Holiday Memorial Giving Tuesday Service At the Nov. 14 meeting of the Cottage Grove City Coun- cil, Mayor Tom Munroe read a proclamation dedicating the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 29, as “Giving Tuesday.” Now a national event that encourages giving to charities and efforts of one’s choice fol- lowing Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday offers a chance for participants to vol- unteer at their favorite charity, donate to an organization or help one’s neighbors. In Cot- tage Grove, the Family Relief Nursery is also organizing a Su- perhero Coat and Book Drive at its location at 720 N. 14th Street from 1-6 p.m. Online donations made to the Nursery at familyre- liefnursery.org of up to $1000 will also be matched that day. Smith-Lund-Mills Funeral Chapel knows that the holiday season can be a very diffi cult time for many people. Those who have experienced the loss of a loved one have the extra burden of grief. In an effort to lighten this burden, Smith- Lund-Mills extends an invitation to the community for its 29th Holiday Memorial Service, a special program is designed to give comfort and strength dur- ing the holiday season. Everyone is welcome to this community-wide gathering: The program includes live mu- sic, readings, a memorial slide- show presentation and a candle lighting ceremony. There will be a hosted re- ception with holiday treats and refreshments following the ser- vice. The fi rst Holiday Memo- rial service was held in Cottage Grove in 1987. Doug Lund, former owner of Smith-Lund- Mills, had observed that the holiday season could be a chal- lenging time for the members of our community who had experi- enced a loss in their lives Since then, the Holiday Memorial Service has become an annual tradition at Smith-Lund-Mills in Cottage Grove. Thankful for blood donors Lane Blood Center will be in Cottage Grove Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, from 1-5 p.m. at the Cottage Grove Com- munity Center. To schedule giv- ing blood, call Lane Blood Cen- ter at 541-484-9111. 'A Christmas Story' opens Dec. 2 Thanksgiving Listen Cottage Theatre concludes its 2016 season with 'A Christmas Story,' written by Philip Grecian and based upon the 1983 movie of the same name. The play will run for three weekends at Cot- tage Theatre from Dec. 2-18. Cottage Theatre's production of 'A Christmas Story' is direct- ed by Eliza Roaring Springs, with costume design by Me- lissa Cooper, lighting design by Ward Fairbairn, and set design by Tony Rust. The cast features K.D. Carver as young Ralphie Parker and Brian Bull as adult Ralph Parker, who serves as narrator to the story. The Great Thanksgiving Lis- ten is a national project that empowers high school students to create an oral history of the United States by recording an interview with an elder over Thanksgiving weekend using the StoryCorps App (available for Android and Apple smart phones). The StoryCorps app can walk participants through the record- ing process and provide ques- tions to choose from: https:// storycorps.me/. Health Services Directory Counseling & Mental Health South Lane Mental Health ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ Dental Health Douglas G. Maddess, DMD Serving Cottage Grove Since 1988 ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ Oregon Hearing Aid Consultant Preventive and Cosmetic Family Dentistry ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ Dental Health Preventive and Cosmetic Family Dentistry 942-8437 1498 E. Main St. www.grantshearing.com New Patients Welcome Next to Safeway in Cottage Grove ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ 350 Washington Hearing Aids For Every Need And Every Budget Medical Equipment Grove Grove Medical Medical Equipment Equipment Dr. Shane Parsons “B UILDING A H EALTHY C OMMUNITY ” 605 Jefferson Ave. Cottage Grove SALES AND RENTALS ฀ 1551 E. Main St. Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm Emergency appts. available daily New patients welcome Ave s Cottage Grove h53!#(#-.-50#&&5R5'5 ,#(&35(5,#(!5-.Ŀ (behind International Fitness) Please call for an appointment at 541-942-9171 Dr. Bitner D.D.S., P.C. The Most Natural Veneer 541-942-8444 New Patients Welcome Jonathan E. Backer, D.D.S. Lumineers Hearing Grant’s Hearing Center Jenna Buetow 541-942-7934 BIRCH AVENUE DENTAL 541.942.2471 Park W. McClung, DDS & Tammy L. McClung, DDS ฀฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ 541-225-5443 ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ 148 Gateway Blvd Cottage Grove, OR 97424 BI-MART Pharmacy Sedation Dentistry is a Dream come True... find out if its for You! 1325 Birch Avenue, Cottage Grove ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ Pharmacies Delaying going to the Dentist? ‡&RPSUHKHQVLYH*HQHUDO'HQWLVWU\ ‡ $GYDQFHG&RVPHWLFTHFKQLTXHV ‡,PSODQWV ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ OPEN at 9am Mon. - Sat. U Convenient Walk-Up Window 100 Gateway Blvd. U 942-9107 Benjamin R. Thornton, D.D.S., M.S. To list your business call us 541-942-3325