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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 2018)
6A • COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • DECEMBER 5, 2018 Cowboy 911 rescues animals after wildfi res The Carousel House Catering Bed & Breakfast Carousel Horses, cozy quilts, and legendary breakfasts. Savor the peace and quiet of a country bed and breakfast. Soothe your soul with the sounds of the nearby Row River while you relax your muscles in our luxurious hot-tub. By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com Brandon Blakesley’s fi rst interaction with Cowboy 911 was on Facebook. Th e group, which now has 21,000 followers on its page, was using the social media platform to reach out to potential volunteers and donors in an eff ort to max- imize their missions to Cal- ifornia, where they rescued livestock and other animals aft er the Camp wildfi re in Paradise destroyed entire communities. “My goal is to try and in- form people ways they can get involved,” Blakesley, a Cottage Grove resident said during a phone interview. He had made another trip to California with his three working dogs and his trail- er and said the eff ects of the fi re still lingered in the com- munity. “Going through the heart of the community, you know, this community that was built so well is stripped of everything it once had,” he said. “Th ere’s neighbor- hoods I went through and there’s maybe one house that survived on the road.” Th e Camp fi re tore through more than 150,000 acres in Butte County, Calif., in the 18 days that it burned before being declared 100 percent contained on Nov. 25. Nearly 14,000 homes were destroyed along with 4,800 other structures, killing 88 people. At one point, more than 1,000 were reported missing. Th at number has since dropped to 25. Cowboy 911 was started by Justin Jones aft er he ran into an elderly couple with a fl at tire. Instead of wait- ing for help, Jones told local media outlets he thought of all the nearby commu- nity members who would have gladly off ered help and eliminated a long wait time. When the Camp and Car fi res started, commu- nity members turned to Cowboy 911 and the group Simple Elegance • Legendary Breakfasts Down Home Hospitality A place where your family can stay. 78215 Cedar Park Rd. • Cottage Grove Judd & Sharon Van Gorder • (541) 942-0046 PRICES VALID THURSDAY., NOVEMBER 29TH THRU SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8TH, 2018 Up to 30% OFF Select Appliances Up to 45% OFF Gifts for the Workshop Start a new lease today for $60 See store for details PHOTO C/O BRANDON BLAKESLEY Cottage Grove resident Brandon Blakesley and his three working dogs recently made an- other trip to California to help Cowboy 911, a community-based group, search for animals in need of rescuing in the wake of the recent wildfi res that have swept the state. has since then rescued thou- sands of animals. “People had 30 seconds to a minute to get out of their homes,” Blakesley said, “So, yes — it only takes 30 sec- onds to a minute to write their phone numbers on their horses. But for some people, it was 30 seconds to a minute to get their chil- dren out of the house.” Blakesley, who moved to Cottage Grove in 2012, has rescued all types of animals in his handful of trips to California from horses to dogs to lizards, exotic birds and tortoises. His most memorable rescue was a pair of horses up on a hill when the smoke was still so thick it hindered his vision. “It was a horse with no eyes and a mare and that horse followed that mare all the way down,” he said. “Th at mare was a seeing eye dog for that horse and they were best friends.” Th e animals Cowboy 911 rescues in conjunction with North Valley Animal Disas- ter are housed at the Chi- co Airport and the Butte County Fairgrounds. Resi- dents missing animals can call a hotline and volunteers work to match animals with their owners. “It’s neighbors helping neighbors,” Blakesley said. “And a neighbor can be a neighbor whether they're 10 minutes away or 10 miles away or 10 hours away.” Locally, Wagon Wheel Feed and Grain in Creswell is working with Blakesley to gather donations for the animals that Blakesley says can go through 40,000 tons of food a day. According to the feed store, it is accept- ing credit card numbers of those who want to donate but don’t make the trip to Creswell. For those who do, FREE END OF YEAR In-Town CLEARANCE SALE Delivery Hours: Mon-Fri 9:00am-6:00pm | Sat 9am-6pm | Sun 11am-4pm 118 Gateway Blvd., Cottage Grove (Next to Bi-Mart) • 541-942-7377 they can drop off donations at the store or purchase feed at the store to be shipped to California. Donations are being sold for the cause at wholesale, rather than retial price, ac- cording to the store. “To some people, maybe they can’t have children but these animals are their chil- dren, they’re family,” Blakes- ley said. “And it’s the tough- est time, the holiday season so I just want to let people know how they can help.” For more information, contact Blakesley at 541- 206-8591. To donate, contact Wag- on Wheel Feed and Grain at 541-942-4386. Fall Heating Tune-Up Only $99* We’ll make sure your system is running effectively and effi ciently. Call for details and an appointment today, and beat the winter rush! Complete Heating & Cooling System Service Reasonable Rates • All Work Guaranteed * Limited-time offer. Restrictions apply. Call for details. 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