Good Morning Good News, December 14, 2012

Don’t you just love Planet Earth?

And love working to make it happier, peacefuler, kinder, joyouser !!!

That’s what I love doing ... working everyday towards the goal of just a little bit more happy, peace, kind, joy today ... bringing forever happiness to just one more critter ... helping one more hooman who, otherwise, might lose their beloved companion .... well, that’s helping two, the hooman and the critter ... so much of reaching out to help a critter, helps a hooman too ... 

Some of you mentioned the sad in 2012 when I meowed about the joy of 2012 in yesterday’s Good Morning Good News ... and that sad was our friends who went to Rainbow Bridge ... my Daddy Vincent, my oldest horsey Greta, my beloved bovine India and the oldest and most wonderful goat on the planet Nanny ....  yes we did have especially sad times too.

I’ve only been living on Beautiful Planet Earth 16 months, and in the Republic of Rikki’s 13 months.  Afore that I lived far far away ... over the river and thru the woods in a place called Waynesboro with a mommey called Barbara.  But I was just a baby then.  I growed up at Rikki’s and I learned a lot about life. 

Life is a cycle, Daddy Vincent used to tell me.  We’re here, we’re at Rainbow Bridge .....  We learn, we teach, we share ....  We’re always spinning towards better and better, towards more joy, real joy ... the kind of joy you get saving a life ... of sharing a long and fulfilling life .... not the joy you get from a quick num of Fancy Feast.

I mean don’t get me wrong or nothin’ ... Fancy Feast Joy is good too ...  very good on Christmas ... just in case you’ve been wondering what was on my list .....

But real joy comes from kind of being one with Planet Earth and with Rainbow Bridge and knowing you have put joy in somebody else and knowing they’ll put joy in somebody and sooner or later ... that joy ... that joy of life ... joy of living ... joy of sharing ... joy of caring ...  slowly catches on .. from one to another ... and on and on ....  and our job it to work towards a time when it’s all one great big joy ...  that be very long cuz lots of folks hang on to sad

But my Daddy Vincent said so many things have some sad and some joy ....  like he told me about his life ... he had some sad ... he didn’t go to the speuter clinic when he was young and he thought that was joy .. but it was really sad ... cus it made him go chasing the girl kitties ... and that led to him getting runned over by a great big car ... and that made a lot o sad ... real sad when he heard that his people were just gonna leave him at the hospital to finish getting killed

But then he got joy when Helen said, Poor Vincent, I pay his hospital bill and he can come to my rescue.  Then sad same again when he couldn’t get all the way well from the accident and he pee pee-ed on his self and he had poopy accidents.  That’s icky!!  He had joy that he got around fine on three legs. 

And joy when he came to Rikki’s and started meeting wonderful friends, other cats, dogs, hoomans, cows, chickens ... he had joy with everyone he met.  And when the hoomans came to visit him trying to share sad cuz he wasn’t “whole” he said away with the sad ... let’s share joy for life and all that there is !!!  And they went away with joy and no more sad !!!

And that made Daddy Vincent have even more joy!!!  And he told me you have to say bye bye to the sad ...  keep it a little ... then send it on it’s way ... and let the joy come ... cuz there’s always the joy .. you just have to decide that’s the part you like better .... 

And so when I think of my Daddy Vincent, Iz sad for a second cus he isn’t here for me to snuggle with, but then I be joy cus he had wonderful joy and wonderful life and so much fun and happy, and he shared that with so many, and he taught so many of us to share that ....  

Vincent had a tough start and some tough handicaps ... but he chose to look at the joy in his life and to just force that on everybody who ever saw him ... one he had those paws around your neck ... how could you feel anything but joy !!!!   And he always discounted the sad parts of his life and lept from one joy to the next ....  and just how much joy did he give to the whole planet and everybody everywhere !!!!

When our friends at Rikki’s have lied long and joyous lives and then god says it’s time to go to Rainbow Bridge, we do have a sad, and we do have the tears, and saying good bye is hard, even though we know they are there at the Bridge and they come to visit us and they are there to keep helping us to learn to spread joy ..... 

But most important ... Daddy Vincent taught us to wipe our tears ... stop thinking about our loss and how we miss somebody .. to think of the joy that had in their lives ... of how we helped them have that joy ... and go on to help someone else find that joy in their heart ..... 

And that’s what it’s all about ....  JOY ....  and it’s all up to you to let your heart be Joy or sad ..... I know I like joy best !!!

Daddy Vincent decided we needed a slogan to help us all to remember to keep the world happy ... cuz it really is up to us ... we can make happy or something not so happy ....

Daddy Vincent has asked me to help him spread the word to all hoomans and remind them to THINK LIKE VINCENT ....  don’t think about him and think HE was such a happy cat no matter what, don’t praise HIM for all the happiness he brought to others ....  DO WHAT VINCENT DID .....   when ever you’re in a situation and you’re thinking .... What should I do?  Your answer is WHAT WOULD VINCENT DO?  If you act in a joyous Vincent way, love everyone, share .... even your Fancy Feast ....  then your life will be as filled with joy as his was !!!!    Try it ... you just might like it !!

 

So to help Daddy Vincent spread the word .... I’ve gotten in a great big box of magnets with his message on them !!!  They’re 5.5” diameter and will stick to anything a magnet sticks to ...  like your car ... our fridge .. file cabinets ... even your door if it’s a metal one !! 

Daddy Vincent wants me to make sure you have one, and you give one to everyone you know ... even that old sourpuss who lives next door ... who knows .. it just might put a smile on his face too !!!

So here’s the deal each magnet is $5 each, plus shipping 65-cents for each US address.  For international shipping or large orders ...  Melissa with your zip code dogslife24@comcast.net

Ready to order ?  Click here and be sure to tell me how many Vincent Magnets ... and don’t forget your address to ship them to !!!   http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php

PS the blurry part is just in the photograph, the actual magnet is purrfect!  I even bought one for MY brand new Toyota ... but I’m sharing with TACO !!!

Saturday Welcome

When we annexed the new property on Wednesday, I invited YOU to come see it on Saturday, at noon.  Little did I know at that time that the folks wouldn’t be quite all moved out ....  Their final moving truck is coming Saturday ... and they’ve promised to clean up on Sunday ....     So we can’t really have a house warming on Saturday ... not inside anyway ....  but if you do want to visit and see what it’s all about and check out the stables and other facilities ...  I’d love to show you.  Just let me know ... probably better to talk to mom about that one, cuz I get so much eamil sometimes my little paws can’t get all the way thru !!!  Kerry@RikkisRefuge.org  and she can give you directions.

Soon, just as soon as we can, me and Timmy and Duke will have a welcoming party right there just for YOU !!!!   I sorry it has to wait for right now.  Maybe it can be next weekend ... maybe Christmas ...  I just gotta see ...  but you can let mom know when you think would be best and she can try to arrange it !!!!

How About a Little Important Business ?

THREE VOTING DAYS LEFT

so please do your voting !!!

That simple little act, bring 4,000 meals to the critters

Please vote with us daily in every session of the

SHELTER CHALLENGE

Help the animals win money to buy food with your easy, simple, free votes !!

http://animalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces

and enter Rikkis Refuge in VA in the USA,

and always remind them that it’s Rikkis Refuge in VA in the USA and let them know that's it's easy, quick, FREE and no apps or sign ups, peoples hate those apps that keep sending out stuff AND that they can vote every day on every puter and phone they have !!!   Every day !!

Sterling Silver Pendants and Pins

Going like hotcakes ....  don’t miss out and be the only one without one this year !!!!  Hurry and confirm your order now ... I have a few in each design still left .....    Somebody bought one for her cat !!!  Now that’s a fancy cat collar charm ... sterling silver .... 

Handcrafted Rikki’s Logo Jewelry

Limited Supply

Sterling Silver Pendants with sterling silver chains and Sterling Silver Pins

Pendants and Pins measure ¾” diameter with precision detail

Photos cannot capture the beauty of these pieces handcrafted for you especially by

Michael Gallagher Jewelers

Includes lovely velvet jewelry box

Sterling Silver Pendant with 18” Sterling Silver chain, Christmas Special $50

Sterling Silver Pin ideal for lapel, tie pin, hat, or two for cuff links, Christmas Special $42

S&H $7.99 continental USA, rush, overnight, and foreign additional

Reserve your unique piece of Rikki’s Logo Jewelry today !!

mail@RikkisRefuge.org

actual size of pendant and pin, ¾” diameter

DONATION DROP OFF

Saturday noon - 2 pm gate will be open so YOU can bring early Christmas Dinner !!!!  Yeahhh I like early dinner !!!!   This is drop off only, the next tour is on Christmas Day at noon and REQUIRES AN RSVP !!!  So please check in with mom at Kerry@RikkisRefuge.org

This week we NEED

Canned Cat Food

Dry Cat Food

Dry Dog Food (we’re ok on canned this week)

Wild Bird Seed

Paper Towels

And Evil the Cat needs Temptations Mix Ups Catnip Fever, chicken, catnip and cheddar flavor treats - only this kind of Temptation AND Catty Shack Cat Treats Plus Catnip Flavor AND Gerbers Chicken Baby Food --- these are the only things, the only flavors he’ll eat ....  I can’t tempt him with tuna or anything cuz he pukes if he eats any seafood .... silly kitty

Several of you have asked about gifts for the staff ... da hoomans???  Dey get something at Christmas?  I thought it was for kitties only!!  Well maybe doggies too ... but HOOMANS????     Dey be liking prepaid gas cards, walmart cards, nummy kind of cards ... that kind of thing .... they’d also like to get Rikki’s Wear if you wanted to donate $20 for a shirt for them or $25 for a sweatshirt, and I bet they’d like a Vincent magnet too !!!!

Just a Little Nostalgia Before we Start to Sing

Thank you Kathy, for loading up some of BEFORE photos .... you can see more at http://www.flickr.com/photos/rikkis_refuge

Cogitating on how to fix up the busted up floors ... now that the roof isn’t leaking no more ....  So much to do with so little to do it with ......   Trained us from the early days how to put every scrap of everything to use and how to FIGURE IT OUT AND JUST BE HAPPY !!!!!

THE DITCH PROJECT lost a lot of volunteers ... one day of water pipe laying and .... that was it ... never to come help out again ....  for months a few dedicated volunteers prevailed ... coming early in the morning to feed the animals and to clean up the poo and mess ... and then to spend the afternoon laboring with ditch digging and getting water out of diches to lay lines and ....  my oh my ... what we all learned in those days !!!

.. and all the things mom has learned that she says she was happy knowing NOTHING about !!!  Like how to deliver breech baby pigs in the middle of a snow storm and calm and care for a very distressed mama pig !!!!!   And that just cuz they tell you “Oh no my female pig has never been near a male pig, she can’t be pregnant ....”  and that you can’t tell they’re pregnant till a couple days before delivery ...  and that every farmer worth their salt knows how to deliver a breech baby and they all laugh at the city girl having hysterics at the feed store begging for advice and help .... after finding out the local farm vet ain’t a coming for “just one pig” in a snow storm on Christmas Eve .....  and after driving the stick shift truck to the feed store in a snow storm with her RIGHT arm in a sling from having caught it in the post hole digger on the tractor ....  Joy joy .. it wasn’t ripped all the way off !!!  ....     

Yes ... the things we’ve learned while creating Rikki’s Refuge No Kill Sanctuary .....

Thank YOU for your help in making it possible !!!!!

http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php

Thank you for helping us make it thru our 15^th winter !!!!!    Every donation, large or small, is a huge help to the animals !!  Thank you for your kindness and generosity.  For without YOU ....  there would be NO Rikki’s Refuge and NO happy animals !!!!

And now Let’s SING .....

And by the way ... if you think all these things were made up and funny .... you gotz another think a coming ....  all these photos and titles come from actual experience !!!!

 

On the Seventeenth Day of Christmas

Look What Came to Rikki’s,

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 old cat’s hat!

Thank you, Vincent D. Cat and Duke Thomas Peabody

Love you great big whole lots !!!!  

               Love, Opie

You can click on my Daddy’s pic above to help us out !!

Thank you !!!!