I’m Vincent D. Cat and here to make you happy! You are HEROES! You work hard every day and you deserve to smile every day! Those of you working to save us animals hear so very many very sad things. And there’s lots of very glad things too and that’s what we talk about here! All pawsitive all the time! I want my friends to be happy and smile and know there’s a lot of good - including YOU - in this world!! Be kind and pass it on! Please send me your Good New and Fun Stuff to share, personal or global. Let’s keep it fun and interactive!! After all, if we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane! Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org
My Favorite Quote, Today
Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.
--- Carl Bard
I’m so glad I kind of got to start over. My beginning would have ended that day I ran out into the road if Rikki’s Refuge hadn’t been there to give me a new beginning!!! Thank you all for making Rikki’s Refuge possible so my life could be saved!!
Sally is So Funny
Sally is the fattest goat on the planet. Like little dogs who think they can rule. Sally thinks she can fit into small places. Sally CAN’T fit into small spaces without causing damage or getting stuck. Last night Sally decided to sleep in a dog igloo. Sally doesn’t fit in a dog igloo. At least not without a LOT of pushing and shoving.
She picked her house and shoved her head inside. She then shoved and shoved. And shoved some more. She simply wasn’t going in. Though she was slowly pushing the dog house across the yard. This was occurring about midnight last night. Finally she shoved hard enough and long enough that she got the igloo against a building and could then get some really good traction to shove even more.
Mom was tempted to set up the tripod and leave it out to video tape. BUT she knew better. The camera would end up on the INSIDE of Sally. And that’s not very good for it’s future functioning. And mom was just too lazy to stop the chores she was trying to finish up and sit down and film herself. I wasn’t about to sit out there in the middle of the night filming with my tail freezing!
Next time mom walked by Sally had the shoulders in the dog house and just stuck out from the enormous belly on.
A while later there was only a tail sticking out. And later still her nose. How on earth she turned around is a total mystery.
About 2 am mom was begging old Sam to eat an egg. That’s about all he’ll eat now. He didn’t want his (late) midnight snack. So mom scrambled it up cuz Ting Ting likes scrambled eggs. When she walked past to take it to Ting Ting, Sally stood up and burst the igloo apart, separating the top from the bottom, and with the top part stuck on her back, took off after mom to get that egg!
Mom escaped with her life and the egg. And then Ting Ting was missing! Mom looked all over and couldn’t find her. She loves to climb to the highest place possible and mom thought she’d looked everywhere. She gave up. But this morning at 5:30 Ting Ting was found sleeping way up high, right near the ceiling on top of a bin on top of the cages. She stuck her head down when breakfast cans started opening. Mom gave her her COLD egg then! And she gobbled it up.
I love eggs too. I can’t figure out how to open them like the dogs do. Sometimes they’re lucky to have really big mouths!!!
This is Ting Ting
It’s filmed before she came to Rikki’s
We think Ting Ting should be our representative in the Agility Contest at the Cat Show next year. I thought I did just fine but the hoomans said .....
Mike Delivers
Mike Wood is a real Rikki’s kind of guy. He doesn’t do anything in a small way!! Purina’s food packaging plant in Pennsylvania called. NUMS - come and get ‘em! So Mike got up early in the morning and he drove and he drove, over the river and thru the woods and across the snow and the ice. Then he loaded up his truck. And he turned around and he drove and he drove, over the river and thru the woods and across the snow and the ice and all the way to Rikki’s! He arrived a little before 4 pm. It's a LONG LONG day!
It was all hands on deck to unload fire brigade style.
Many competent hands makes quick work of a big load!!! From left to right: Tippy, Billy Crisp, Valerie Fast, Wayne Timmins, Paul Fetzer, Mike Wood.
2,000 pounds of nums. Sounds like a lot but with 1,259 critters ...... Most of it was for the doggies. Beneful and Dog Chow and lots of treats too. And they slipped in 18 bags of Purina One cat food too!!! Num num num.
The giant quantity seems like it’d last a long long time. But when you have a giant quantity of animals it goes very quickly. Purina has been very very good to us. In the last 12 month period they’ve given us 100,000 pounds of product. Pretty amazing, huh??? 86,000 pounds was that recent delivery of cat litter. 2,000 pounds yesterday of mostly dog food. 4,000 pounds of cat food a month or so ago. And it was the tail end of December, just like it is now, when the previous donation had come. 8,000 pounds of Moist and Meaty!
And Speaking of Huge Quantities
With 1,259 animals a day, even though we spend on average only $1 a day per animal, that’s a big number. Something like $1259 I think. And it you want to see us cared for, the food that’s needed that isn’t donated, the flea product, the worming medicine, bedding, all the cleaning products that aren’t donated, all the care and medical bills and medicines, and believe me, lots of us are medicines, then that means about $10,000 a WEEK. EVERY WEEK.
Gee if we had just $3 a day per animal we’d all be living in luxury! But we’ll take basics and our lives! Cus without Rikki’s, non of us would have out lives!
My bills just went up today. I’ve got the poops, that’s a common problem for me cus of my internal injuries, from when I got hurt before I came to Rikki’s. Now the hoomans are gonna cram three types of medicine down my throat - and believe me I’ll fight every pill - twice a day. I hope it gets better quick cus if it doesn’t, then they’ll start holding me down and prying my mouth open four times a day!!! YUCK.
And We’re Up to 68%
of our Double Your Donation challenge !!!! Gee only two more days to make it possible. Today and tomorrow. Last year the donor let it run thru December 31 and we’re waiting for an answer to see if we can have that extra day this year.
Somebody said to me - WOW with $30,000 if you can match that challenge what will you do with all that money. We’ll pay our bills and we’ll all get fed and be warm and be cared for, for THREE weeks. I know that sounds huge. But think what it costs to take care of YOUR animals and multiply by 1,259!!!!
I know you’ve already helped us towards this challenge. Would you please tell a friend about it. If you love animals and you want to see us survive, I bet you have friends who do too. Ask them if they’d like to add a dollar or two or even $5 to the challenge!!!
We’ve just got to make it. If we don’t it will be the first time we’ve ever missed a Double Your Donation challenge. It seems such a shame to lose that.
I try real hard to be the mostest excellent kitty I can possibly be. If you have any suggestions on improving myself, please tell me how!
Did You Know?
American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad in first class.
I wish we had one more luxury we could cut back on. I think we’re down to the bare bones around here. A few years ago we had a lot more things. Now the hoomans have to cut back this and cut back that. Just like you do at home. It’s been hard on our volunteers and on our donors. Less money means less things. It means all the frills and fancy stuff goes. All of it. It means you go back and see what else you can strip out. I can’t wait for things to get better again so the hoomans don’t have to worry so much about how they’re going to take care of us.
I’m so glad mama agrees with me, we will not cut back on one single life to save money, we may all get a little skinnier (oh no that’s gonna be hard) but we’ll keep all of us alive and healthy!
Good Times in the News
Rescue dogs help the humans who adopt them
From: The Animal Rescue Site
Many people do their best to help animals in need, but sometimes it's those same furry creatures who rescue their two-legged counterparts. USA Today recently chronicled the stories of three separate adopted animals who later saved some very lucky people.
One such case involved a hound-mix from Kentucky named Digger. It was a frigid night when the 10-month-old pup began whining and begging to go outside. Once there, he quickly alerted his owner, Teresa Oney, to a woman crying for help on the other side of her fence.
"Ordinarily he'd bark and bark if something grabs his attention," Oney told the news outlet. "It was because he was so still and made no noise [once outside] that I was able to hear her. He seemed to understand he needed to be quiet."
According to the news provider, it turns out Oney's neighbor became disoriented and slipped and fell in the middle of the night. Thankfully, an ambulance was quickly dispatched to the area.
Those contemplating adding a furry friend to their family may want to head to their local rescue shelter and adopted a special, loving animal. Pets have been known to lift spirits and create happiness in home. The choice may also save their lives - and yours.
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Dear Vincent
Lots of you have questions about Rikki’s Refuge. I’ll pick one or two a day to answer here. Ask your questions in the blog comments or sent to me at Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org
QUESTION: I want to make a recurring monthly donation, how do I do it?
ANSWER: That’s wonderful!! Recurring monthly donations are a real help for us too, it makes it easier to plan. If you have a paypal account or want to set one up just go here http://www.rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php and fill out the information in the second paragraph Recurring Donation. Do the clicking and such and you’re all done!!
If you want to use a credit card without paypal, all you need to do is give that information to mom, contact her at Kerry@RikkisRefuge.org She’ll need your card info and the amount you want to contribute.
You could chose to send a check in every month. If you have a bill pay type program with your bank, they usually have a way to wet that up. If you’re not sure, ask your bank. Or ask your bank about an automatic monthly debit.
New Years Day Pristine Nature Hike
First event of 2011 - the traditional New Year’s Hike. Over the river and thru the woods, and we’re not kidding. You might find some trails or you might blaze them. Follow Fred’s bright orange vest - and please wear bright orange or red yourself, no hunting on our property but poachers have been known to trespass - and he’ll get you back to the complex sooner or later!!! The November hike took a few twists and turns and ambled thru the brambles - but they did arrive alive and uneaten by bears!!!!
Nature hike takes off at noon sharp. Don’t be late cuz you can’t catch up. Gates open at 11:30 am on the first.
It’s outdoors so dress for the weather and before heading out that day call 540-854-0870 x3 to confirm that it’s on. Bad weather shuts down our road very quickly and for your safety we have to cancel if it’s been too wet or there’s any ice.
Admission is a case of canned cat food per person!
New Years Celebration
New Years Eve will be a quiet time at the refuge where we sit back and count our blessings during 2010. No wild parties and no staying up till midnight. But Mariza has invited me and my close friends to her house in Spotsylvania on the evening of the first, Saturday evening. This is Mariza our great chef who did Thanksgiving dinner. She’s NOT going to be our chef this time!!! That’s a lot of work and no time for all the fancies. It’s pot luck appetizers and snacks. She’s near route 3 and 20 in Spotsylvania about 20 minutes from the Refuge. If you’d like to join us let mom know, Kerry@RikkisRefuge.org
Don’t forget - end of year TAX DEDUCTIBLE donations to help you out on your tax bill for 2010 !!!!! We’re honest and we’ll tell you exactly where your dollars go!!!
Because I Love YOU
and we all love each other
Love,
Vincent
PS You tell me what you want! Email me at Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org with instructions to change your subscription: additions, deletions or modifications! Subscriptions: Vincent’s VIPs - up to the second alerts about issues at Rikki’s Refuge for those who care and want to be intimately involved. Scheduled as needed. Good Morning Good News - a little something to get you going in the mornings, for those of you who want to keep smiling with us! Scheduled daily. Hairballs - so you know what’s coming up at Rikki’s! Scheduled weekly.
Rikki's Refuge, supported solely by private donations, houses over 1200 animals of 22 species. On line at http://bit.ly/Give-a-gift-to-Rikkis Checks, money orders, cash, items at Rikki's Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960
Rikki's Refuge is owned and operated by Life Unlimited of Virginia, Inc., an IRS 501(c)(3) not-for-profit Virginia Corporation, tax-id 54-1911042. Combined Federal Campaigns #77674, Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign #3163, PetsMart Charities #1377. A financial statement is available upon written request from the State Office of Consumer Affairs.
Learn more www.RikkisRefuge.org and help spread the good word, tell everyone you know about Rikki’s Refuge
