Happy New Year, Good News !!!! January 1, 2013

Welcome to 2013 on Planet Earth !!!

My Motto for 2013 is

Purr More ... Hiss Less ....

Will YOU take the oath with me?

LOST DOG

ORANGE, VIRGINIA, USA

Rosco has been missing since December 28, 2012 in Orange, VA, near Monrovia Road. He is a black and white intact male mix with a wiry coat. He is very friendly and loves to be outside. His family misses him!!! Please contact me if you have any info! Email: jen23provolone@yahoo.com  (this is a courtesy notice, not a Rikki’s dog)

DOUBLE THANK YOU THANK YOU

Thank you to all who participated in our Double your Donation, making the winter of 2013 easier on the animals of Rikki's Refuge !!!!

YOU raised the funds to run the refuge for 37 days .....

This means that during January and February we can care for the animals without that constant dread of "how are we going to manage tomorrow" !!!!

It's a great feeling knowing that I won't get those panic "Wake Up Opie and figure this out NOW" mornings !!!

The winter months are slow ... slow in many ways ... slow in me wanting to get out of my nice warm bed in the morning ... slow with less light to do the everyday outdoor work ... slow so you're not falling on ice ... slow, financially too, cuz everybody seems hunkered down getting thru the winter on their own, so they don't think about being as generous ...

But it's fast fast fast in the nums department around Rikki's Refuge, about 35% more nums are needed in the winter than in the warmer months, and then we need hay .... when the grass isn't growing well enough, the animals need a pickup truck of hay everyday .... and straw for bedding, and every time it gets wet, from the rain, melting snow, tracking it in on your hooves .... it needs to get raked out and fresh put down, cuz wet straw isn't going to keep you very warm ... the cats and dogs get canned food everyday when it's real cold ... in the summer many of them don't even want it ... even the guys in the 9th Life, who always get canned twice a day, eat more in the winter ... there's a bulking up (I'm all in favor of this, it's the summer slimming down I totally disagree with) ... a fluffing of fur ... wool to grow ... have you seen the long curly hair on the cows? The older sheep and goats and horses need grain too .... hay isn't enough to keep weight on them .... and you've got to have a layer of fat to be warm in the winter .... I know all about that !

Fuel gets burned fast in the winter, especially on the long cold nights .... lights are needed for many more hours during the day so the hoomans can see that they are opening cans of nums right ... even more gas is needed in the trucks for all that hauling of hay and straw and more feed all over the farm ....

And every month we need to have the green money to pay for it all .... all them suppliers come with their hand out saying, you give, if you wanna live .... and so we have to pay them, or they won't bring that next load of hay or straw or nums or they'll turn the heat off .... yup, wez gotta pay 'em .... for 30 or 31 days every month, cept that one that's a bit shorter, but not that much!!

And when the donations for a month are only enough to pay for things for ... say maybe 18 days .... uh oh ... big troubles ... where's the more coming from? You can't just say, ok guys, you ate-ed good the first part of the month, now be hungry, wet and cold for the rest of the month !!

And it's just a never ending circle of bad news when mom makes me go to the bank and borrow da money to feed us ... cus then somehow that all gotta get paid back ... you'd think a nice bank would just give us some green when we need it, but no ... if you don't put it in, you don't get it out ... it's the same rules for us as it is for you !!

And so this is the struggle we've had in the winter before ... mom up all night driving far away to get hay somebody will donate cuz we don't got none ... me getting no sleep calling and writing and posting and begging and begging for enough green money to please please let me buy enough nums ...

The greatest fear of caring for animals is that you won't have the resources to do it ... when the pantry is low, and the bank account gots no green, it's all I can think bout ... tummy tummy nummy nummy what I gonna do ... and it's scary ...

And now BECAUSE OF YOU ... I don't have to feel that way this winter .... !!!!!

I gonna save the green in the bank and use it on the days no green comes in the mail or on paypal or nobody calls and says, Here Opie Use MY Credit Card ....

Now on the days mom comes running in and says OPIE quick DO SOMETHING, HELP ... I'll be able to take the goat cart down to the bank and take out one of these 37 days of saved up green you gived us !!!! And then I can come back and say LOOK mom, I got it, we're all safe and sound for another day !!!!

And that’s what it’s all about ... being SAFE and SOUND every day all year round !

THANK YOU ALL and especially to those who worked on sharing this campaign, I don't have your names listed, so many of you helped, and to those who donated !!   Listed in the order of your donation!

Kath Jones

Melissa Felts' Pet Sitting Client #1

Melissa Felts' Pet Sitting Client #2

Pat Nelson

Nora Eldridge

Ann Goldman

Lia Federico

Dara Fox

Colleen Graves

Martha Girdany

Bill Butler in honor of Mariza Soliman

Jennifer, Miguel, Wylie and Sami Donner

Debbie Hollander

Frieda Milam

Ed LaBarre

Kathy McLaurin

Kate Viscardi

Jenna & Dominique and Adah Mae, Simon, Pumpkin, Charlie Cat and Isabella

Carrie Scott

Todd Baugh

Dorothy Henry

Anne Smith

Sherri, GIlbert and Bentley Callahan

Maatje Brazier

Sherry Clarke

Amy Madison

Heather Riede

Donna Savory

Deirdre Schwartz & Dolores Campbell

Theresa Lorenzo

Deborah Henken & Martin Kamph

Patricia Nathan

Sherry Chumley Brockner

Torre Taylor

Laura Kovalik

Wil Houchins

Walt Willing

Julie Munson

Carol McBain

Donna Jacobi

Bill Pullen in honor of Sally and Mary Arason

Melissa Gonzalez

Deborah Barnett

John Cann

Debra Berry

Denise Halderman

Pleshette McGrady

Kathleen Crippen

Ninja and Mom

Sheila Fath

Gussie Lamoree raised from Gift Wrapping at Barnes and Nobel in Richmond

Lisa Millhorn

Julie Wallin

Sue Banning

Liz Elias

John Fairty for the Vet Debt

Sabina Dobo

Ginnie Lucas

Lesley Winch

Deb Forrest

Yvonne Wilson

Nora Eldridge - AGAIN !!!!

Mary Ann Bernald

Paul Simpson

Marie Gordon

Renee LeCompte

Richard Fischer

Karen Schulze

Helen, Martin and Adam Hauser

Jamie

Donald Lauer

Jocelyn Smyth

Carol Young

Susan Fisher

Janet Duran

Thomas Poole

April Nelson

Betty Brunson

James Firth

Martha Girdany AGAIN in Memory of Kathy Russell's father, John W. Russell

Patricia Gray in Memory of David Hanych

Kathy Russell

Nick Guagliardo

Cora Everett

Linda McConnell

John Bowman

Kim Williams

Suzette Haile

Jami Ojala

Margaret Leiendecker

Anne Anderson

Lawrence Gross

Daniel Masur

Buddy Sekely, In memory of his parents, Bernie and Dolly Sekely and their faithful rescue dog Maggie

Paul Totten

Arlien Mather

Jodie Rackley

Christopher Walters

Robert Tringali

Carol Boyse

Andy Thomas, Thanking Patricia Thomas for her donation to Rikki's Refuge.

Martha Girdany back for a THIRD time

David Coven

Donald Michel

Karen Friedel

Pam Donald

Mary Ann Bernald

Mary Baldwin

Susan Penney

Eddye Sheffield

Winging Cat Rescue

Barbara Lowe

Gail Lowe

RoseMarie Crean

Wendy Ingalls

Jennifer Walker

Tari Ott

Nancy Neimeth

Breck Sullivan-Carpenter

Christine Kent

Opie and Mom in honor of Great Grand Pa

Candy Neff

Elizabeth Gaver

Joan Flores

Linda Slaymaker for SmokeyJoe

Charlie Homer

Lisa Briles

Dennis Nagy

Suzanne Bolton

Joanne Whalon

Keggie Mallett

Margarita Pons

Emily Elder

Karen Friedel, BACK for seconds !

Linda Mathusa. In memory of Gingerbread Sillypants

Sherry Eller

Sherry Eller, BACK for SECONDS

Nancy Mottershaw

Stacey Vance

Virginia Brock

Alan Kent

Pam Harmon

Bill Isen

Carole Springer

Colleen Pilliod

Sheila Fath, BACK for seconds

Susan MacDuff

Barbara White

Dara Goldberg Kaye

Jefferson Sesler

Steph Selice and Jeff Reed

Mary Grettenberger

Alicia Boyd

Colleen Bauer

Marietta Lanza

Dorrel Edstrand

Karen Friedel, BACK FOR THIRDS !!!!

Lisa Marsico

Sally Arason

Sharon Kennedy

Joann Packard

Deb Lavoie, In loving memory of Vincent Cat and of my sweet baby Ashley

Art & Ara Storer

Sheila Fath, back for THIRDS !!!

Sam Iam

Grace Albert

Boob, Rudy and Gertie

Charlie Homer

Joseph Topich

Jennifer Ritter

Rebecca Tait

Melissa Felts

Twyla & David Jackino, in memory of Leslie & Dan May's sweet kitty Smokey

Marie Forman

Ron Herfurth

Patti Howard

Deb Forrest BACK again

Gigi Dul

Robyn Schnellenberger

Linda Hentman

Ellen Olander

Jane Whitmore

Senniug Rees and her facebook cat brothers

Kathryn McLean

Beverly Cain

Sasha Goldsmith, in love and honor of Shadow Goldsmith

Jean Evans

Greta Bollinger

David Preston Samson

Kathy Miller

Greta Bollinger, BACK for seconds

Jeff Green

Lisa Walsh

Rebecca Faris

Cindy and Walker Wright, In honor of all the Dogs at Doggy Downs and Rikki's - and in memory of those that went across Rainbow Bridge this year (Jack, Molly, our old beagles)

Sherry Eller

Laura Kovalik, back for seconds

Nora Eldridge, back for Thirds !

Kimberley Arrigo

Jane Whitmore

Trudy Perry

Karen Czar

Deb Forrest back for THIRDS and dug out coins from bottom of purse

Laura Whaley

Sarah Tulman

Lia Federico, back for SECONDS and In memory of The Divas French Toast, Sabeen Marie and Keena Kitty

A Dear Friend

Tari Ott, back for seconds

Howard Yarborough

Jessica Townsend

Patrick Hunt

Lisa DeFilippo

Debra Bruegge, In memory of her sister, Bonnie Brown

Robbie Martin

Sherry Webster

MaryJoan Hulsart

Patty Crocker

Joan Flores, Back for SECONDS

Michael Wood

Wendy R. Spiesman

Suzette Haile, back for doubles !!!

Rebecca Deloney

Bonnie Ornitz

Carolyn Demorest

Crystal Wood

Autumn-Skye Port

Carolyn Phillips

Bill Duran

Elizabeth Crawford

Vicki Gielen

Dale Eggers

Ursula Lowe

Thank you all. All of us animals at Rikki's Refuge - all 1295 - are wishing you a very Happy Happy New Year

Jessie Named Rikki’s Refuge’s 
Champion Head Butt-er Again in 2012

VERY SERIOUSLY NEED YOUR INPUT

Will you please write up a few words for me?  I have to get the CFC Essay done, I have to tell why Rikki’s is good and why it should be included in the CFC .... and part of that is endorsements from YOU ....  Would you pick 1 or more of these simple questions and answer them?  Or just tell me in your own words how you feel about Rikki’s Refuge and why YOU are a part of it?

Please SHARE your thoughts with me.

How did Rikki’s Refuge HELP YOU or someone you know this year?

What does Rikki’s Refuge MEAN to you?

What is the MOST important thing Rikki’s Refuge did this year?

May we use YOUR name?  Nick name or “anonymous” is ok if you prefer.

Where do YOU live?

Send to Vincent@RikkisRefige.org

Something we should all remember .... so much of GREAT is what we make of it !!!! Let's work hard to make 2013 GREAT !!! When we have a blip that ain't so great ... let's give each other a hug that IS great ... TOGETHER ... we can make 2013 the bestest year on the planet yet !!!! You with me?

Love you bunches,

           Opie