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 dear, dear adoring friends -
guess what Deb from Indiana did?
She made the contribution that made us
meet out Double Your Love challenge.
AND THEN
guess what I received from Jan and Larry this morning????
SIT DOWN
you’re not gonna believe this !!!
“Dear Vincent,
We are so utterly impressed with your devoted followers and
how they have matched the Vincent's Valentine's Challenge
that we have been inspired to
-- YES ---
you guessed it -
up the ante!!!
We challenge you and your incredible admirers
to match an additional $300.00!!!!!
Can you do it Vincent -
You charmer - you?
Love, Jan and Larry
WOW !
my dearest, kindest, compassionate friends -
LET US DO THIS FOR ALL MY CRITTER FRIENDS
AT MY HOME - RIKKI'S REFUGE.
LET US SHOW JAN AND LARRY THE MONEY!!!!
WHO LOVES YOU BABY,
VINCENT THE ADORABLE LOVABLE CAT
THAT’S WHO !!
VOTE TODAY
http://bit.ly/VoteVincent Rikkis Refuge, Orange, VA, USA
The Animal Rescue Site - Shelter Challenge
YOU voted Rikki’s Refuge #1 in Virginia in 2010
Let’s do it again for 2011
quick, simple, free
Your daily vote can win $1,000 - $5,000 for Rikki’s Refuge’s Animals!
Your votes are keeping us at the top of Virginia
with 28.01% of the Virginia votes!!!
And number 7 planet wide with
0.87% of all the votes in the whole wide world.
That means almost 1 out of every hundred voters
on the planet are voting for Rikki’s Refuge!!!
Spread the world so 1 in 100
vote for Rikki’s!!!
Be sure to do YOUR part today!
There’s lots of ways you can vote
as long as you remember to enter
Rikkis Refuge, Orange, VA, USA
click on any of these and take it from there !!!!
Post it everywhere - VOTE FOR RIKKI’S REFUGE!
Bissell MVP Contest
Vote daily thru Tuesday February 15th for Vincent
YOUR official Valentine Varmint !
quick, simple, free
Your daily vote could win up to $10,000 for Rikki’s Refuge
Click here to Vote for Vincent
My Favorite Quote, Today
Remember your ABC’s
Round the Refuge
IS THIS EVER A GOOD NEWS DAY !!!!
Spring is here!!!
The bluebirds are here!!!
The goats have eaten all the flowers!!
Boy did we get the bestest surprise ever yesterday! Mary Ellen came to visit. And that’s not all! She came with more than two pallets of feed in her truck. For those of you who buy in small quantities, like cases, and 50 pound sacks. A pallet is a bunch of 50 pound bags that add up to about a ton. That’s like 2,000 pounds or thereabouts. They’re put on top of a wooden platform, called a pallet, and they shrink wrapped all together. That’s so you can pick them up with a fork lift and move them around all together. If we had a fork lift that’d be nice. But we don‘t. So when we get a pallet of nums - which we’re very happy to get - forklift or no forklift - I have to call out the hoomans to unload them by hand, one bag at a time. If you have enough toes to count to big number like 50 and 2,000 you can do the math to see how many bags on a pallet.
And so after the hoomans unloaded it all, Mary Ellen said, well gotta go get more!!! And off she went. And she came back. And she went and she came back. All together SEVEN PALLETS of nums!!!! For the horses, the cows, the sheep, the goats, the pigs, the chickens, the rabbits. For everybody but ME and DUKE. But that’s ok, cuz if mom don’t got to spend money on livestock nums, she can spend more on my nums!!!
All the numminess was donated by Village Farm Feed and Garden Center right down the road. Between Route 3 and 522 when you’re coming to visit us and headed out of Fredericksburg. They’re about 10 miles away at 28284 Constitution Highway, Rhoadesville, VA 22542. If you get a chance, stop in and say, “Thank you for feeding Vincent’s Friends!” and pick up something for your cirtters or bird food for our wild friends, or grab a few cases of canned cat or dog food or some Fancy Feast!!! They did send two cases of Fancy Feast out yesterday too that somebody had stopped in and bought for me!!! http://www.villagefarmfeedandgardencenter.com/ (540)854-8888
This is one of those it turned out funny but it could have been a disaster, do not try this at home, stories. Ting Ting is a wild cat. She started her wild little lift in the mountains of Katmandu and ended up in the arms of some American folks working there. They brought her back when they moved to DC. She looks pretty much like a cat. Kind of brown and stripy but she acts more like a flying squirrel. She’s always all over the place. Leaping from the top of something to the top of something else - like all the way across a room!!!
She’s frequently seen strutting up on the tippy top of the roof. Miles climbed up to play with her one day recently and he couldn’t figure out how to get off the roof. Ting Ting just sails across the yard to a tree and then scampers down. Poor Miles was on the roof for ages. Mom says she’ll stop being lazy all the time and get his video up tonight. Don’t you forget either mom!
So yesterday Ann was volunteering and scrubbing away at Mount Dishmore. That’s in the food prep and clean up room. Ann kept hearing a kitty meowing. Meow Meow. And she began to look. Best she could figure the poor kitty must be stuck behind the fridge or something. She got Lena to help her to move the fridge. But there was no kitty. Lena and Ann looked, in cabinets, everywhere. No kitty. Lena said maybe the kitty was outside and it just sounded inside. She looked and looked.
Ann and Lena were really baffled. Where was the meowing kitty? Have you guessed yet? Ting Ting was inside the fridge. She’s a cool cat but shouldn’t be that kind of cool. She was fine and leapt out of the fridge and to the top of the shelves and all around. But that’s really dangerous. Somebody must have gotten something out and turned their head for just that second it took Ting Ting to jump in. Everybody knows to watch the washer and dryer real careful. Now there’s a sign to watch the fridge too. Check and double check before closing the door.
You be really careful at home too, please. Always remember that kitties and doggies get into places they shouldn’t be. And it can be real dangerous. Always double check for a critter before closing anything that being inside could be bad. Thank you for looking out for all of us!
Ok, bye now, I’m gonna go out and play in this lovely spring weather!
The Cats of Cod
Artwork by Wayne H. Morris of New York
photography and art
visit to see more of his spectacular work
Wayne loves to study an animal and capture their essence which he then turns into a whimsical work of art depicting them at work or play. Your pet’s whimsical custom portrait available for only $300 (donated to Rikki’s Refuge). Contact me and I’ll put you in touch Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org Prints available, 8” x 10”, on heavy stock, suitable for framing, $25 each, resolution may vary so you may want to ask first. Specify which print you want and shipping address. http://bit.ly/WayneMorrisPrint
Mia makes the bestest of all cookies in Cod!
She’s always got a warm plate of
mouse chip catnip cookies
coming out the oven!!!
Live from Vincent Video
Camera Shy Chickens in a Dust Bath
Fun and Inspiring
Most people in a pool of mud
(ROBIN UTRECHT/AFP/Getty Images)
Two hundred people participate in the World Record attempt to get the most people ever in a pool of mud at the same time, in July in Esch. The event is organized by an animal welfare organization, to point out the fact that twelve million pigs in the bio-industry cannot spend time outside this summer.
Hmmm ... looks like the activities our pigs are up to today too!!!! But I don’t see none of my hooman volunteers wallowing in there with them!!!!!
Music and Motion
You’ve got to Neuter that Boy
Us Animals don't use plastic bags
Good Times in the News
Mountain gorilla numbers soar
KIGALI -- The number of endangered mountain gorillas in national parks straddling three African countries has risen by 26 percent in the last seven years, a sign that conservation efforts are paying off, a census recently showed.
Uncontrolled bush meat hunting, destruction of its forest habitat for human settlement and capture for the illegal pet trade led to the gorilla facing the threat of extinction, which could affect tourism earnings for the countries involved.
Scientists found the population of the endangered primate increased to 480 this year from 380 in 2003 when the last census was conducted in the Virunga Massif, a chain of volcanoes stretching along the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Rwanda's gorilla-viewing tourism industry is a leading source of foreign exchange.
"The increase in mountain gorilla numbers is a testament that we are all reaping from the conservation efforts sowed on a daily basis,"
- Head of Tourism and Conservation at Rwanda Development Board, Rica Rwigamba
The 24th Species
Rikki’s Refuge’s Human Habitat
Educational Animal Training
This is why we don’t teach cooking lessons at Rikki’s!!!
Upcoming Events
TODAY SATURDAY FEB 12, Ring Dog Rescue at the Pet Smart 27 South Gateway Drive Fredricksburg,VA 22406 from 11 am to 3 pm today. We will be bringing Sunny , Zeppelin, Noi and Gretchen. There will be more dogs there as well.
SATURDAYS 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
SUNDAYS TOUR THE REFUGE - NOON, mini tour, take a walk around and see the animal neighborhoods. 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.
2nd SATURDAY OF THE MONTH SINGLES DAY - 10 am - 4 pm
Something for everybody. Come and do a day of service at the refuge and meet like minded souls. The leader who puts together the biggest work party wins. 2/12, 3/12, 4/9, 5/14, 6/11, 7/9, 8/13, 9/10, 10/8, 11/12, 12/10
SATURDAY February 12, 11 am - 3 pm HONEY DO DAY - a little bit of this and a little bit of that, no matter what your talents we can use you!
SUNDAY February 13, 11 am - 3 pm VALENTINE'S DAY OBSERVED- bring special treats to all the animals to show your undying love.
Love,
Vincent
Hope I’m gonna see you today or tomorrow!!!
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
