Monday, December 13, 2010

The 28 Days of Christmas at Rikki's - to date

On the Twenty-seventh Day of Christmas,
 look what came to Rikki’s,

twenty seven versatile volunteers, 

twenty six dogs a drooling, 


twenty five delightful donors, 

twenty four plump pigs a plundering, 


twenty three goats a butting,



twenty two sheep in need of sheering, 


twenty one chickens a cackling, 


twenty puppies a pooping, 

nineteen rebellious roosters, 


eighteen litter challenged kitties, 

seventeen emus escaping, 


sixteen dangerous ducklings, 


fifteen peaceful pigeons,


fourteen peacocks plotting,

 thirteen humans helping,


twelve temperamental turkeys

eleven pouting pussies,

   ten crotchety creaking canines, 

nine grumpy geese, 

eight kicking kittens, 

seven guinea fowl freeloading, 

 six lizards a lazing, 

 five guinea pigs a gnawing, 

four elderly equines, 

 three burly bossy bovines, 

 two rabbits a mating, 

and a chukar in a cherry tree.

YOU are the SUNSHINE 
that makes OUR Christmas BRIGHT
Please put a penny in our stocking!

Vincent's 25 Days of Christmas - to date

Vincent's 25 Days of Giving 
with Love at Christmas





Click on the animal               Click on the gift
you wish to feed                  you wish to give



On the Twenty-Fifth Day of Christmas
all the critters of the Refuge,
want to wish the very best to YOU!
Please join Vincent enjoying 25 meals, Christmas breakfast, Christmas snack, Christmas lunch, Christmas snack, Christmas dinner, Christmas snack ....

Vincent wants to remind you to feed your favorite cat.
We end our 25 days of Christmas from a final plea from Vincent for canned Fancy Feast! Case of Fancy Feast!   Please sign up for a monthly delivery!!!  Pretty paw please !!!!



On the Twenty-Fourth Day of Christmas
All the doggies are as happy as can be
chowing down of gourmet doggie food

twenty-four happy mutts, 
eating till they are full
Today we have another request from the dogs for people to gift them a Case of Canned Dog Food! 














On the Twenty-Third Day of Christmas
Rikki’s hospital patients received
lovely hanging, easy cleaning, dinner bowls

twenty-three bowls for all the yummie
Some of these small, hanging, stainless steel feeding dishes would be great to have for the hospital ward! 














On the Twenty-Second Day of Christmas
the hoomans were in a great mood
getting automatic help opening all the food

twenty-two labor saving can openers
Despite our love of pop-top canned pet food, the staff know they will have to deal with cans that have to be opened by hand. So a few of these electric can openers will speed up feeding time and make everyone happier.  Two would probably be enough but we’ll share with 22 volunteers!

On the Twenty-First Day of Christmas
the hoomans and doggies alike
were thrilled to chase off the windy bite

twenty-one warm and fuzzy uni-species balaclavas
Want to support the workers who take care of all the creatures in 30 degrees and BELOW weather? Some Balaclava’s will really help keep them warm. And since these are fleece with a hole cut in them, we can always think outside the box and wrap sick or senior pets in them for added warmth.  They would actually be perfect for that since they wouldn’t fall off like a blanket would.  At only $6.50 each, these are a terrific buy.












On the Twentieth Day of Christmas
our hoomans sighed with relief
to have wonderfully dry feet

twenty warm and toasty feet
Have you ever worked in wet shoes or boots? It is awful – especially when the temperature dips and the wind blows!  Today we’re thinking of the staff again with this electric boot/shoe dryer.  A bit pricey, but it dries 2 pair of shoes/boots at the same time. 












On the Nineteenth Day of Christmas
wouldn’t it be wonderful if
all the doggies got wonderful long walks

nineteen dogs a walking
We never have enough dog leashes and collars to walk the dogs who live in Doggy Downs! Having a bunch of spares would ensure that the Doggy Downs dogs (as opposed to our mascot dogs) get walked regularly.  Any color and any brand will do, as long as it is a nylon leash – not retractable – and the collars should be wide and snap close.  No need to buy matching sets – unless you want to. 










On the Eighteenth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s welcomed eighteen extra eyes on the lookout

eighteen extra eyes on the lookout
Now its time to think about our wildlife. Unfortunately, we have poachers who come into the woods around the sanctuary to hunt – despite our NO TRESPASSING / NO HUNTING signs. This poses a danger not only to our wildlife, but also to our dogs, staff and volunteers. We routinely have volunteers patrolling our property to keep the poachers out, and a few pair of these waterproof binoculars would surely help! 











On the Seventeenth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s received radios to keep up on any emergencies

seventeen ears a listening
A couple of these solar power / self-crank emergency radios (with flashlight and cell phone charger) would be great for the times when the power goes out AND we’re out of batteries – and that could happen at any time of the year! 













On the Sixteenth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s is happy to have
sixteen healthy hoomans caring for the critters.

sixteen healthy hoomans a caring
Time to think of the staff again, this time with a supply of Airborne Immune Boosting tablets.  There is no such thing as a “sick day” at the refuge -- the animals have to be cared for every day.  These Airborne tablets would give the staff a little extra boost to help them get through the day when they are feeling run down. 














On the Fifteenth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s received fifteen seniors breathing easily,
in moist humidified air.

fifteen seniors breathing easily
A few humidifiers for the senior center  would really be great.  Here is one that will run for 12 hours on a single filling and has an automatic shutoff. 













On the Fourteenth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s welcomed your help to trap
and fix all the feral kitties.

fourteen feral kitties happily helped to the speuter clinic
We’re getting close to Christmas and people are thinking about others.  Let’s help the feral kitties.  We could really, really use as many of these feral cat TNR (trap, neuter, return) traps as possible – both for work we do here at Rikki’s and to support our Wild and Feral division. We never use traps to catch and kill!  The more of these traps we have, the more cats we can help get to the speuter clinic. 











On the Thirteenth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s memory received a boost,
with lots of storage room for photos and medical notes.

 thirteen terabytes of memory
You know, it’s easy to forgot about all the hard work that goes on in the office. Today’s gift request is for a couple 1 Terabyte External Hard Drives so Kerry can backup Rikki’s photos and medical records!











On the Twelfth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s jumps with joy to receive,
dozens of Gift Cards for lots of goodies,

twelve glorious gift cards
Most people hate gift cards – but not us – we just love them! And some of the favorite places we would love to have gift cards for are Target and Home Depot.  And I bet you can think of a lot more useful places!























On the Eleventh Day of Christmas
our hearts, well our hands and toes, would be warmed to receive, a little wondrous warmth

eleven wondrous packets of warmth
 Most of our daily chores take place OUTDOORS. Winter is tough, especially when the wind blows. A few  boxes of these hand warmers would work wonders at taking the edge off!   



 













On the Tenth Day of Christmas 
look what came to Rikki’s,
ten hoomans who can see in the dark

 ten hooman helpers illuminated to see
At Rikki’s work starts before sun up and ends long after the sun has gone down. Several of these 7 LED headlights would be so welcomed by our staff and make night rounds so much easier!   
 



















On the Ninth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s Doggies jumped in glee
excited to receive
domed doggy igloos

nine domed doggy igloos

A happy day for the dogs!!   They’d love to have these lovely outdoor houses. Medium size is fine, we don’t want them too big or they get drafty. Stuffed with straw, these houses will be used by dogs – and sometimes a goat or pig – and maybe an occasional chicken! 















On the Eighth Day of Christmas
The kitties stopped climbing the tree
and curled up all cozy in their condos fit for three

eight cozy kitty condos
One thing we can never have too many of are outdoor cat condos! Yes, we have the cat barns, but many of our felines like to have their own space. These outdoor condos, stuffed with straw, work great all winter – and beyond. 













On the Seventh Day of Christmas
the guinea pigs rejoiced
as they as they climbed their new porch
and explored guinea pig garages

seven guinea pig garages
The guinea pigs would love to use this as a shelter – especially when we stuff it with straw!  Yes, we know the product says it is a covered cat litter box, but we get used to thinking “outside the box”.  You see the nice little stairs and the cozy compartment inside? 










 
On the Sixth Day of Christmas
you warmed our hearts, hands and feet
as Rikki’s received warm and wonderful heat

six months of warm and wonderful heat
Winter is here - boy is it ever - and we never seem to have enough heat!  A few of these ceramic tower heaters would certainly keep the senior center, hospital and office nice and toasty!  And they are economical too.  There’s always cooler areas of the building that can use a boost!  This is a great price too!














On the Fifth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s received gentle, soothing,
healing music complete with a player for CDs
 five gentle, soothing, healing musical CDs
Calming soothing CDs to help the animals recovering in the hospital unit and/or those living in the senior center.    












On the Fourth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s received some light
to help us see all the creatures at night


four lights to help us see all the creatures at night
These Solar-Powered Motion-Activated 80 LED Security Floodlight can be installed ANYWHERE!!!!  It gets really dark at the refuge in the winter, and when we have to check on our creatures during the night, it would be great to actually be able to see them!  We could use several of these lights for around the main house and the cat runs in the barns and everywhere.














On the Third Day of Christmas
doggy lovers want to feed,
nummy canned food to all the doggies
 three nummy cans food 
for each of the doggies
The doggies are drooling for a case of Pedigree, ground, Butchers select canned – with the pop top lid. Or any flavor that is ground and has a pop top lid. We get more mouthfuls out of ground and when it is 20 degrees outside the last thing anyone wants to do is fiddle with a can opener! Amazon gives you the option of sending us a case every month if you want to . . hint, hint. We really need canned for the dogs during the winter to help keep them warm and healthy.
















On the Second Day of Christmas
those who love us want to see,
all the old folks and the hospital patients warm and very comfee

two snuggy pads to keep us comfee
This wonderful Microwaveable heating disc will give up to 12 hours of warmth to our seniors or sick.  We have plenty of towels to cover the disc, so no need to buy a cover.  We use them a lot, but we only have two, and we can’t afford to buy more.  We really wish we had half a dozen or even a dozen!  They are just the bestest.  Wonderful for somebody sick and super safe, never get too hot but hold that heat for hours.  Even Iggy likes them and tries to share with old Mr. Sam.  Mr. Sam and the other old arthritic folks love to have one under their bed, they wake up with less creaky and stiff joints. 













On the First Day of Christmas
those who love me want me to get,
my very own case of FANCY FEAST ....
 
and one VINCENT eating FANCY FEAST ....
Those who love me want me to get my very own case of FANCY FEAST ....   You know what’d be really nice and like Christmas ALL year round????  If you signed up to send me a case a month!!!  I’ll love you forever, I promise !!!!

 












You can have Amazon send gifts right to us!

Vincent D. Cat
Rikki’s Refuge
10910 Barr Ln
Rapidan VA 22733

AND it even counts towards Amazon point for Rikki’s cuz you’ll be going in thru our site with this link!!!! 

Interested in buying other items from Amazon for yourself or for gifts for all your friends and family?  Use this link to make your shopping shop for Rikki’s - it doesn’t cost you a thing - Amazon will make a donation to Rikki’s when you enter their site thru this link!!!   http://www.amazon.com/?&tag=wwwrikkisrefu-20&camp=212361&creative=392013&linkCode=wsw&