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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2018)
6A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL JANUARY 10, 2018 Pacifi c Power tips on bill savings Magic's miracle Sharon and her husband, Vic, raised seven daughters and a foster child, but today their lives "are all about our animals." Seven years ago, they went to a pet store to buy some aquari- um fi sh. Vic also looked at the adoptable cats. and instead of fi sh, they left the store purr-oud- ly carrying Mew-fasa. A year later, they returned to the pet store again looking for fi sh. Somehow, they missed the small print that there was a big cat adoption drive that day. Sharon fell in love with a beautiful black long-hair kitty, Magic, caged with an orange tabby, Simba. When they dis- PHOTO COURTESY MARYELLEN ANGELSCRIBE cussed adopting the black cat, Sharon and Vic with their miracle cat Magic the staff suggested that the cou- ple also adopt the orange kitty. The couple looked at each other, grinned, and left with both Magic and Simba. "We were happy with our three fur babies who were allowed to go outside. Magic was extremely friendly and went up to anyone, even strangers. But one day, he didn't come home. We drove all around looking for him, but we couldn't fi nd him." The heartbroken couple were paws-itive that he had been stolen. Nevertheless, they constantly searched lost internet cat boards and humane shelters. For the next four years, while driving, they kept a vigilant lookout for their cat. The black felines they saw never checked out to be Magic. They were convinced they would never see him again, yet they never broke the habit of stopping and checking out black cats. One day, a microchip company phoned Sharon and asked, "Do you own a black cat called Magic?" Someone had found her cat twenty miles from home and on the other side of the river! "I was ecstatic and cried," said Sharon. "They told us which shelter Magic was at and when Vic arrived home with Magic, I cried all over again. It was pure joy seeing and holding him again. (Magic, that is, but Vic is a charmer too!)" When Sharon put kibbles and kitty treats down, as much as the cat tried to eat them he kept dropping them. Sharon realized that he couldn't chew, so she gave him canned food, which he ate like he hadn't eaten in days (and he probably hadn't). They are taking him to a vet for his teeth. Many starved cat's teeth rot and fall out which appears to be what happened to Magic. There were some things about Magic that Sharon had forgotten like sittting with the tip of his tongue sticking out. He likes sticking his wet nose against her face, giving her head loving head butts, and he purrs so hard that he drools. "Magic is happy to be home," said Sharon, "and he and his kitty siblings are getting along. He is NOT happy that we aren't letting him outside because I'm afraid of losing him again." During Magic's world travels, Sharon and Vic adopted Shelby, a 160-pound St. Bernard. Poor Magic is trying to fi gure out if Shelby is going to eat him, but the dog's calm nature is winning over the "new" family kitty. "I think that, in time, they will be best buds," said Sharon, "because each day they are sitting closer to each other. We are so happy to have Magic home. We are thankful to the microchip company, the shelter staff and the family who recognized that Magic was a stray and took him to the shelter." TIPS On dark evenings, place a fl ashing light onto your dog's collar so vehicle drivers can spot you and your dog, and if your dog runs off you can easily see which way it went. You can also purr- chase a lighted leash or carry a fl ashlight for visibility. What is your pets story? angelscribe@msn.com "Follow" Pet Tips 'n' Tales at facebook.com/ PetTipsandTales. Humane Society for Neuter/Spay Assistance Program. (541) 942-2789 PORTLAND, Ore. -- The colder it gets outside, the more energy it takes to keep your house warm. No one can change that basic equation, but there are steps you can take to keep en- ergy bills from giving you the chills. "You may not change your thermostat, but when tempera- tures fall, the difference in tem- perature between the outside and the inside grows, and so can your energy usage," said Barb Coughlin, Pacifi c Power's vice president for customer service. "Being smart about your heat- ing can go a long way towards keeping your energy bill low." Here are tips you can use to- day to battle cold weather: * Set your thermostat as low as comfortable, aim for 68 de- grees. When you are asleep or out of the house, lower the tem- perature by another 10 degrees and this will reduce your energy usage by about 10 percent. * Use space heaters sparing- ly and safely. Running a 1,500 watt portable heater 8 hours a day for 30 days can add an extra $30 to a monthly power bill in winter. * Close drapes and blinds. Closed drapes and blinds can help your house stay better in- sulated and reduce energy use. * Avoid the temptation to bump up the thermostat when it gets colder. That won't get you to your desired temperature faster, you will just make your furnace run longer and use more energy. * Improve your home's heat- ing and cooling systems by cleaning or replacing furnace fi lters and scheduling routine system maintenance to help air fl ow through the system more effi ciently. Move furniture that is blocking intakes or heat reg- isters. You can save even more ener- gy by taking a longer range view of your energy use. In Oregon, Pacifi c Power teams up with Energy Trust of Oregon to offer energy effi ciency consultation and cash incentives to upgrade your home and save energy and money. Visit bewattsmart.com or call the Energy Trust toll free at 1-866-368-7878 to learn more about qualifi cations and services. Another step is manage winter bills is to switch to Equal Pay. Under Equal Pay, energy costs are averaged out over the year so bills are more predictable and manageable. Customers can enroll in Equal Pay online at pacifi cpower.net/equalpay, via the Pacifi c Power mobile app, or by phone at 1-888-221-7070. "The sooner you call, the bet- ter for Equal Pay," said Cough- lin. "If you wait until the higher bills have already come, your average will have gone up, too. This program also helps if you have high cooling costs in the summer." SLMH earns grant to help kids Cottage Grove-based South Lane Mental Health has received a $10,000 grant from the Eliza- beth S. Holden Fund of The Or- egon Community Foundation to expand its school-based therapy services for students in Cottage Grove and Creswell. Therapists are available at 12 school cam- puses in both districts to assist students of all ages. South Lane Mental Health’s mission is to restore hope and re- new lives through compassion- ate mental health services, sup- port, and advocacy. In addition to school-based therapy, South Lane Mental Health’s services include: outpatient counseling, crisis response, medication and case management, Intensive Community-based Treatment Services for Children and fam- ilies, an outpatient recovery program, and a foster home and supported living services for adults with persistent mental ill- ness. South Lane Mental Health provided services for more than 2,600 people last year. To learn more about South Lane Men- tal Health, visit www.slmh.org. The phone number is (541) 942- 3939. The mission of The Oregon Community Foundation is to improve lives for all Oregonians through the power of philan- thropy. The Foundation works with individuals, families, busi- nesses and organizations to cre- ate charitable funds — more than 2,000 of them — to support the community causes they care about. Through these funds, OCF in 2016 awarded more than $108 million in grants and scholarships. 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