RIKKI’S REFUGE
HAIRBALLS AND HAPPY TAILS
HAIRBALLS AND HAPPY TAILS
The newsletter of thanks from grateful animals to their beloved rescuers brought to you by
Duke Thomas Peabody and Vincent D. Cat
Building a Better Planet
One Rescued Animal at a Time
portraits compliments of artist Wayne Morris
We are the happy animals of Rikki’s Refuge who so thank you for giving us the gift of our lives and the tools to build our Refuge. We represent all the animals, the world over, whose lives have been saved by kind and loving people just like you. Thank you for being an animal rescuer.
Are you enjoying 2011 so far?I sure hope you’re having a wonderful time! We’ve been having all kinds of exciting events at the Refuge already and we’ve only done five days so far!!! I think 2011 is going to be a really good year!!! I hope it’s wonderful for you.If you want to keep up with daily happenings
at the Refuge sign up for Good Morning Good News Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org or check the blog for all the daily happenings and lots of fun stuff. http://rikkisrefuge.blogspot.com . You’ll know who’s out visiting, what projects are getting done, what the animals are up to and we’ve got special treats for you every day.
Fun things like My Favorite Quotes; Live from Vincent Video; Fun and Inspiring Tidbits; Tails of Trivia; Meet the Critters and Dear Vincent.
Stay tuned
in a few days I’ll be starting the beautifully and colorful computer painted series of The Cats of Cod by Wayne Morris. He’s a fabulous artist.
Wayne painted my snowsuit
the Good Shepherd and his Dawg
and our bedroom
Isn’t it great?
Keep up with Good Morning Good New and the blog to meet the Cats of Cod, the town founded by cats, for cats. Visit Tabby Airlines, The First National Bank of Trout and CatSmart. Meet the Nurses, Newscasters, Sheriff, Golfers, Bankers, Teachers and Fine Ladies of Cod, all kitties!
Watch for our upcoming Auction where Wayne will study a photo of the winner’s favorite critter, envision their secret self and handcraft your own unique and original portrait!
we came very very close to making our goal!!! I truly appreciate everyone who chipped in to help out!!!!
The next Shelter Challenge starts on January 10thYou made us number one in Virginia in 2010.2011 is the year to make Rikki’s Refuge number one on the planet.Get ready to start voting every day at http://bit.ly/VoteRikkisRefugeand enter Rikkis Refuge, Orange, VA, USA ... I’m hoping it’s the same voting site!!!
It’s CFC time.
That’s the Combined Federal Campaign. I need your help. I need you to write a paragraph or more about the value of Rikki’s Refuge. This is the time of year we have to write that really tough essay justifying Rikki’s existence as a Human Health and Welfare Organization. If you can gear your paragraph towards the benefits YOU as a human have gotten from your association with Rikki’s or the value you see Rikki’s giving other humans that’s the best!!! Or simply tell us WHAT RIKKI’S REFUGE MEANS TO ME!
We need that CFC and CVC funding so we have to prove to them we are worth keeping!!!
Please send your testimonies to Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org
Thank you, your efforts will help us very much!
Katarina needs you early Saturday - can you help?
I was able to get in touch with the people at Miller farm to ask if we could have their pumpkins that have been sitting in their field. They has tons! A couple hundred at least. They said that we can take them but we have to go when the ground is frozen! That means early in the morning. I set up a time for a few of us to pick them up this Saturday at 7:30 am. So far Melissa Felts has volunteered her time and her truck to pick pumpkins. I will also have my truck and my sister has said she would help us load up. If we could get 2 more trucks and a few more people our pigs can have a couple more weeks of pumpkins and that will save us some money. The more people we have the faster the work will go and the more we can feed the animals.
Miller Farm is just past Fawn Lake about 20 mins from the Refuge. The address is 12101 Orange Plank Road, Locust Grove, VA 22508. Contact Katarina to help out: katarinagalvin@yahoo.com
If you don’t like pumpkins how about turnips
The other place that is helping us is Sneads Farm in Spotsylvania past Belvedere. They have a field of turnips, some of which are bigger than my fist, and some left over pumpkins. Melissa and I are going to take our trucks out there in the afternoon on Saturday to pick up what we can. We would really like a few more people to come help pick the turnips with us. Again the more people the faster the work and the more we can feed that animals!!! We will be meeting around 2 pm. If you would like to help earlier please let me know.
Sneads Farm address is 18294 Tidewater Trl Fredericksburg, VA 22408. Contact Katarina to help out: katarinagalvin@yahoo.com
Flying High over Rikki’s
This is a great ariel photo of Rikki’s Refuge.
Upcoming Events
Singles Day - a great place to pick somebody up !
January 8, is the 2nd Saturday of Month and that means ... SINGLES DAY!
10 am - 4 pm - Something for everybody. Come and do a day of service at the refuge and meet like minded souls. What a great way to learn more about somebody in a safe and friendly environment. If you're an animal lover you'll want to make friends with other animal lovers. What a good chance to observe someone doing what they love and interacting with the creatures you love. You'll learn more about their true nature working side by side than over a candlelit dinner or in a dark movie theater. This is one of those "Feed two cats out of one bowl" opportunities. You know what they say about two birds and one stone? Such talk is improper at a no-kill animal sanctuary. So here we "Feed two cats out of one bowl". And that's just what you can do. Benefit yourself, meet new friends. Benefit the animals, make their lives better, make your life better. Put together a group of people to come for a work party on Singles Day. They can meet the animals and meet each other. Invite that guy or gal you've been to shy to ask out for dinner. The leader who puts together the biggest work party wins.
January 8 SATURDAY Donation Drop off, noon - 2 pm, got something to drop off quick? The gates will be unlocked. No tour at this time, just drop off. Donation Drop Off will be available every Saturday from noon - 2 pm in 2011
January 8 SATURDAY HOUND DOG DAY - In honor of the birth of Elvis Presley on January 8, 1935 we celebrate all Rikki's Dog's Birthdays today. Come and honor Rikki's Hound Dogs, bring them treats, take them on walks, adopt one.
January 9, SUNDAY TOUR THE REFUGE - NOON Sunday mini tour, take a walk around and see the animal facilities. Every week on Sunday you can join a mini tour where you can walk around from animal neighborhood to neighborhood, from Piggy Paradise to Horsey Haven and see the animals. One tour only, starts at noon. Please be prompt.
January 9, SUNDAY ADOPT A REFUGE DAY - help clean up the refuge like others clean up the highways. Sign in and get your garbage bags. Who ever can fill the most from debris that's been blown about and has migrated from the woods, wins.
What’s a Docent?
Every Saturday from noon - 2 the Refuge will be open for Donation Drop off. A docent will be on hand to meet you and to help you unload all the nummy food you bring for us and to answer questions!!! No need to call ahead. Depending on the work load of the day and any needs of the animals, the Docent may or may not be able to give you a mini tour. Remember: care of the animals always comes first!
Every Sunday a Docent will be on hand to give a tour at noon. Join us at noon on Sundays for a mini tour where you can walk around from animal neighborhood to neighborhood, from Piggy Paradise to Horsey Haven and see the animals.
So what IS a Docent? A knowledgeable person who can interact with visitors, with staff, with volunteers; answer questions, provide assistance, give tours and provide commentary.
So what IS a Docent? A knowledgeable person who can interact with visitors, with staff, with volunteers; answer questions, provide assistance, give tours and provide commentary.
Would you like to be a Rikki’s Docent and learn to give tours of Rikki’s Refuge? Doesn’t that sound like fun volunteer work?
Your choice, Saturday or Sunday, devote two hours a month, a week, or just a time or two a year and let people experience the joy of meeting the animals!!
Interested in learning a little about Rikki’s Refuge and our residents? No litter box cleaning required!!! Contact Cindy cindyw2525@aol.com our Docent Director or Katarina Galvin katarinagalvin@yahoo.com our Volunteer Director.
Speuter Commuter
Big Hip Hip Hurrah to Dr Meredith Vargas and the team that went to Guatemala for the Speuter Clinic last month. This is the third year the week long marathon Speuter Clinic has run in Pana and surrounding areas. Huge congratulations on 217 animals “fixed”!!! We met a lovely young lady who was a vet student on our first trip there. Now Astrid is a practicing vet and Dr Vargas got to work with her and other new vets and student vets to help hem perfect their surgery skills!! And Dr. Vargas is a GOOD teacher, her techniques are great, she has a lot of experience to share and she explains and gives tips. She was really happy about all the teaching she got to do too!!! 22 of the animals they caught to speuter came from the dump. And while there catching them, they discovered three families living at the dump and surviving by selling plastic for recycling and barely making enough to be able to buy a little food. Mayan Families took these three families under their wing and now they have clothes, enough to eat and the kids are in school. Overall it was the best trip yet!!!
Meet the Animals
Meet Beauty the Cat
Meet Anya the Dog
Meet River Rat the Cat
Meet Sally the Goat
Meet Ting Ting the Cat
Meet Baby Elliot and Osiris
Meet Mystique the Cat
Meet Samantha the Feral Kitty
Memorial to Sam
Live from Vincent Video
Good Morning Chickens http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaMK87XEgE4
First Visit at Rikki’s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxPXdO30hK8
Don’t forget Amazon
Enter thru that link no matter what or why you’re buying from Amazon!! Just like magic, they’ll send a check to us!!! Costs you nothing but a click!!
Kathy had a great idea! I just bought an external hard drive for work and I went through the link to get it. Please remind people that if they are ordering things with their company charge cards that they should also go through the Rikki’s Amazon link. Every penny counts and it doesn’t cost you a thing!
Great
Tractor Supply has a two pack of humane traps on sale for $25. One is a standard cat size and the other smaller and fits inside, works on small cats, kittens, rabbits, squirrels, etc. That’s a great price!! Stock up on what you need for feral TNR. Rikki’s needs a few too, so if you’re going past a Tractor Supply, please stop in and buy a set for us!! Thanks so much.
Free Food Fridays
Every Friday send an email to Giveaway@freekibble.com with the subject "Shelter Giveaway" to enter PetCo’s drawing for a $50 PetCo Gift Card every weekend. A winner will be chosen at random every Saturday. It may as well be YOU! http://www.freekibblekat.com/giveaway.asp
What we NEED this week
Metal Pitch Forks (2-4 of them, the plastic ones are breaking while shoveling frozen dung!)
Paper Towels (we need about 6 rolls a day, it’s more sanitary and sterile than sponges)
Canned Cat (we need 16 cases a day) - anybody near Waynesboro? Barbara can get us stocked up on 5.5 oz cans of good food for only 25 cents a can. Martins in Culpeper also has cat food at that price.
Canned Dog Food (we need 4 cases a day) Martins or Aldi is Culpeper has the best price
Laundry Detergent (we need to do 22 loads a day)
30 Gallon Trash Bags (we need 26 bags a day)
Dish Detergent (we need about 16 ounces a day to wash to wash 317 bowls, plates and platters)
Donation Drop off Noon - 2 pm every Saturday !!!
Thank you for your love and support.
Together we’re making it work!!!
LOVE,
VINCENT
January 6, 2011
The Fine Print
Rikki's Refuge in Orange County, Virginia, is a 367-acre, no-kill, all species, peaceful sanctuary supported solely by donations from kind and loving individuals just like you! We help farm animals, domestic animals, and wildlife. Over 1200 individuals of 22 different species now reside at Rikki's Refuge. Please continue to help us help the animals. To learn more about Rikki's Refuge go to http://www.rikkisrefuge.org/, http://www.rikkisrefuge.blogspot.com/, and http://www.flickr.com/photos/rikkis_refuge .
We survive on donations from kind and loving people, just like you. We live on a shoestring and make it on less than one dollar per day, per animal. So if you can spare a couple of bucks to buy a few meals, please go to http://www.paypal.com/ and use our email address of mail@rikkisrefuge.org . We do accept checks, money orders, cash and stuff, too! Thanks for your support. Rikki's Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960
Your donations directly support the Critters of Rikki’s Refuge. Rikki's Refuge is owned and operated by Life Unlimited of Virginia, Inc., an IRS 501(c)(3) not-for-profit Virginia Corporation. Federal Tax-ID 54-1911042. We hold membership in all Combined Federal Campaigns in Virginia #77674, Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign #3163, PetsMart Charities #1377, iGive, Benevolink, paypal.com (mail@rikkisrefuge.org), your donations provide direct support. A financial statement is available upon written request from the State Office of Consumer Affairs.
If you know others who'd enjoy reading about the exciting adventures at Rikki's Refuge let me know and I'll be happy to include them. If you are one of those strange humans who does not wish to laugh and cry with us, simply reply with "REMOVE" and nothing but "REMOVE" in the subject line.
