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Rikkis Refuge, VA, USA
Voting for Vincent and Proud of it!
If you know any papers who haven’t done an article on Rikki’s, why not ask them if they would? The more people who know about us, the bigger we can grow and that means we can save more lives!!! I just LOVE doing that!!!
On the Eighteenth Day of Christmas,
look what came to Rikki’s,
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.
See all the pictures
We wish you a Merry Christmas!
Two brave Volunteers
came to help yesterday. Candy went to pick up a truck load of produce and bread for the critters and then drove it all the way out here. With all the traffic her round trip was about 10 hours long. Thank you Candy. Petunia says it’s wonderful to have some fresh fruit during this cold weather.
Ann, who loves guinea pigs and has adopted a few, came to help out. She checked up on her favorite guys and then washed dishes and dishes and dishes. Did you know that we have enough dishes to fill the bathtub THREE times !!! Every day!!!!
Poacher Patrol
Efforts have been so good the last couple years and the catching trespassers and poachers leading to arrests seemed to have quieted things down this year. They’ve been caught patroling at our borders - and chased off. One night they were on the property, off and on all night, and it was a full night watch to keep the animals safe.
They are out in droves this morning. They released the hunting dogs onto the property before sun up. And they won’t let up. First from one side of the property, then to the next.
If you’re legally armed, have a small 4wd vehicle or atv, please contact us about helping with poaching patrol for the next couple weeks. Last day of hunting season should be the first Saturday in January - thankfully the First of the month!!!!
Sure does tie in with the shopping suggestion for the 18th - and that wasn’t planned!
Wrapping Christmas Presents
Candy, Fred and others will be giving it a try at Barnes and Nobles Book Store in Falls Church, Seven Corners, Virginia on Monday and Tuesday from 4 pm to 10 pm. So Save up your book and music shopping till then!!! I think they’ll even let you bring in other presents to have wrapped. 100% of all donations for wrapping goes to the animals !!!! There’s standard Christmas paper and Candy also supplies fun kidz paper, Hanukah paper and more. And lots of pretty bows!!! Let the pros take care of it for you!!!
Somebody needs to come and rescue me NOW - I heard dem hoomans talking about needing their very own "Wrap a Vincent" video .... get me out !!!!!!
Hop on in and help
A wonderful donor has pledged up to $15,000 in matching funds to meet your generous Christmas Donations.
For every dollar you donate - this special donor will match your donation - up to a total of $15,000 !!!!
You donate $1 and the animals get $2, you donate $5 and the animals get $10, you donate $25 and the animals get $50, you donate $100 and the animals get $200, you donate $250 and the animals get $500, you donate $500 and the animals get $1,000, you donate $1,000 and the animals get $2,000 !!!!!
Please help us meet this challenge and help us help the animals !!!!
Just $1 a Day
Is all it takes us to care for the animals. That’s ONE DOLLAR PER DAY PER ANIMAL. I think that’s pretty good, don’t you? Nothing, but nothing, goes to waste here. Every penny is stretched and then stretched again. Our volunteers work tirelessly begging for donations of food and other supplies, then they drive miles and miles, buying their own gas, to pick up the supplies and deliver them to Rikki’s. This is how we can do it on only $1 per day per animal.
With 1,259 mouths to feed every day, 1,259 bodies to keep warm and safe and healthy every day, 1,259 piles of poop (or more!) to clean up every day, it’s a big big chore. And we get it all done, and done well, for only $1,200 a day. Pretty dawg gone good huh????
So we need your help. A little here and a little there. I know how hard it is for most folks right now. Income is down, expenses are up. You’re all cutting back.
We’re in the same boat. Income, which only comes from donations, is down. The price of everything we have to buy is up. Food, medicine, propane, everything. And we’ve cut back as far as we possibly can. The only thing left to cut back on is lives. And we won’t do that. We promised our residents that once they came to live at Rikki’s, they were guaranteed a wonderful home forever. We’re not going to take that back to reduce our expenses.
And so we must count on you to continue to help us feed and care for all 1,259 critters. If we can fulfill this $15,000 challenge ..... it will cover our expenses for almost a month. This means the world to us.
If you can spare anything at all, please help. If you have someone you’re looking for the purrfect gift of love, make a donation in their honor. It’s a great Christmas present. Every animal lover on your list would be very happy to have us fed lunch on Christmas in their honor!!! Give us their address and we’ll send them a card!
You have choices!!!
You can choose to spend your money supporting Sam, Iggy
http://rikkisrefuge.chipin.com/double-your-donations-christmas-for-the-animals
Because of YOU, Vincent SAVES LIVES
Thank you for making it possible for us to save them.
Adam and Eve's Pets
And God said, I will create a companion for you that will be with you and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourselves.'
And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve.
And it was a good animal and God was pleased.
And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve and he wagged his tail.
And Adam said, 'Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and I cannot think of a name for this new animal.'
And God said, 'I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG.'
And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them.
And they were comforted.
And God was pleased.
And Dog was content and wagged his tail.
After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, 'Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride. They strut and preen like peacocks and they believe they are worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well.'
And God said, I will create for them a companion who will be with them and who will see them as they are. The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration.'
And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam and Eve.
And Cat would not obey them. And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat's eyes, they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings.
And Adam and Eve learned humility,
And they were greatly improved.
And God was pleased..
And Dog was happy.
And Cat . . .
Really did not care either way !!
Baby Margaret
Her eyes are beautiful. Most babies measuring 5 ft would be considered big, but newborn giraffe, Margaret, at Chester Zoo , UK is seen as unusually small for her species. She is one of the smallest giraffes ever born at Chester Zoo but pint-sized Margaret will soon be an animal to look up to.
Little Margaret, who is the first female Rothschild giraffe born at the zoo, is being hand-reared by her dedicated keepers. The first calf for six-year-old mum Fay, Margaret, who was born two weeks early, tipped the scales at just 34 kilos (75 lbs) and is a mere 5 ft tall.
Tim Rowland's, team leader of the Giraffes section, said: 'Margaret is one of the smallest giraffe calves we have ever seen. Fay isn't the largest of giraffes and Margaret was also early which might go some way to explaining her size. 'Margaret was having difficulty suckling so our keeping team are now hand-rearing her'.
I'm sure you'll agree that she is precious!
Vincent's 25 Days of Giving
with Love at Christmas
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!
Click on DEER to feed the wildlife or the binoculars to send them as a gift.
seventeen ears a listening,
sixteen healthy hoomans a caring,
fifteen seniors breathing easily,
fourteen feral kitties happily helped to the speuter clinic
thirteen terabytes of memory,
twelve glorious gift cards,
eleven wondrous packets of warmth
ten hooman helpers illuminated to see,
nine domed doggy igloos,
eight cozy kitty condos,
seven guinea pig garages,
six months of warm and wonderful heat,
five gentle, soothing, healing musical CDs,
four lights to help us see all the creatures at night,
three nummy cans food for each of the doggies,
two snuggy pads to keep us comfee,
and one VINCENT eating FANCY FEAST ....
You can have Amazon send it right on it’s way to
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&
If you missed any of Vincent’s Shopping Suggestions - here they all are!
Peace on Earth and Good Will to All
help me make it happen. Spread a little joy this holiday season. Do something special for somebody. A tiny effort on your part, a small part of your heart, makes you a HERO to somebody. Be a HERO today !!!
Love,
Vincent
