Friday, March 22, 2013

Good Morning Good News !!!! March 22, 2013






Are YOU doing your daily VOTES  ???
Will YOU help me win the contest at the Animal Rescue Site ???
You can do it in your home ....
You can do in on your phone ...
You can do it in your office ....
Anyway that Floats your Goat ... 
Just be sure to VOTE !!!
Every Day !!

It's real easy .... go here http://animalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3 and enter Rikkis Refuge, Orange, VA, USA and follow the directions ...


Easter Fun TOMORROW SATURDAY MARCH 23
noon - 3 pm
I’ve got some space left, let me know if you’d like to come !!!!


Guess What !!!!
Remember the other day when I told you we were getting close to making ends meet this week?  Thanks to the auction and all YOU awesome hoomans ....  we were closing the gap !!!!  

Now we only have $320.90 to go and we finish this week in the BLACK !!!!!  

How cool is that ....???   

If you'd like to help or to share ... this is where you can do it :

Here's the details about what it costs to keep Rikki's Refuge running in case you missed the story earlier this week http://rikkisrefuge.blogspot.com/2013/03/good-morning-good-news-march-19-2013.html
Thank You  !!!!



DO NOT BUY
Live animals for Easter .....  if you’re thinking of a bunny, chick or duck as an adorable present for your kids ..... please STOP and think this through seriously .....  

Real live rabbits, chicks and ducks ... poop.  A lot.  And they pee.  And it stinks.  Their cages need to be cleaned EVERYDAY or your home will STINK !!!  Really.  And they bite, scratch and aren’t used to being cuddly friendly critters.  Those that are, have had a lot of training.  Most kids get tired of being bitten and scratched long before they’ve spent the time to tame up these semi wild animals ..... But they often get sick of the stink of cleaning up the cage even before that.

So what does that mean?  It means that cute bunny, chick or duck will languish in a cage as somebody nobody wants anymore.  Shelters and pounds everywhere are flooded with bunnies, chicks and ducks about a month after Easter  .... that’s the typical time they stay in that new home.

Get chocolate .... you can eat it and it leaves no mess behind .....

Don’t like chocolate?  Want something more fuzzy?  Go for a stuffed toy animal.  They’re cute, they never bite, scratch or poop on your couch.  And when the kids outgrow them, just toss in the old toy box .... you, the parent, won’t be left to clean out that cage every day for the next 5-7 years.

But you really really want a live one?  And you’ve done the research?  Then please, please, call and adoption agency, a pound, a shelter .... many many of these little guys are sitting on death row right now, waiting for a good home.  And chances are you can find a real nice one that is already hooman socialized. 

Thank you for helping to save lives !!!!



STOP ... THINGS NOT TO EAT
That’s a cute picture, but it’s not a joke.

PLEASE don’t eat the flowers .... or any part of these plants.

This time of year I get lots of questions abut poisonous plants.  Things you often don’t think about at all, can be deadly to your pets.  Here are some to watch out for this time of year.

Easter Lily (and all lilies) are highly toxic to cats, causing quick kidney failure.  Dogs are affected too, though not quite as quickly as cats.  Hyacinth which is in the lily family and dangerous for both cats and dogs.  Daffodil, with the bulb being the most dangerous part, but any part of the plant can cause severe poisoning.  Tulips are also in the lily family and the bulb are the most toxic.  Easter Rose also called Hellebore, Christmas Rose, or Lenten Rose, which isn’t really a rose.  Azaleas, Rhododendrons and English Ivy (Hedera Helix L) are all poisonous when eaten.   Even Lantana, a popular flowering plant found in gardens almost everywhere, is toxic and can be deadly if a lot of leaves and berries are eaten.  Daisies and Chrysanthemums contain the natural insecticides pyrethins and sesquiterpene, so eating much of them ..... 

Bringing plants inside is the most common way our pets get poisoned.  Seeing something new, they naturally chew on them.  They are less likely to eat them outside, but it’s still a good idea to know what you have and keep an eye on your pets.

Symptoms of Poisoning - Don’t wait, get your pet to the vet if you see any of these symptoms.  Quick treatment can be inexpensive and life saving.  Delaying a trip to the vet can make for a very costly hospital stay and could even result in death.

weakness, sluggishness, lethargy,  depression
tremors, shakes, seizures, convulsions
unusual drooling, hypersalivation
abdominal pain, colic, stomach irritation, difficulty breathing
vomiting, especially intense
diarrhea, especially bloody or with mucous
excessive drinking and peeing

Check your Mulch.  While sprucing up this spring, be sure that any mulch you use is animal safe to.  It’s one of those things you might not even think about but that could so easily poison your pet, especially your dog as they’re more likely to eat strange stuff.   Cocoa Mulch which smells great and is advertised to keep small animals away from your plants is VERY TOXIC to dogs and that nice smell is very attractive to them too, though it doesn’t take much to poison them.  Rubber Mulch which is advertised to have a long life may not be exactly poisonous, but the surgery to remove it from your dog’s stomach is very expensive.  I’ve also heard of some new concoctions that are pest proof and various other claims - check ‘em out closely before putting them where your pets may eat them.  Pets are like small kids and they’ll put anything in their mouth - better safe than sorry!!

Have a Happy and Safe Spring!!



Laptop Experiment
HELP .. I desperately need 10 laptop puters NOW
.... I have to run an experiment. Does YOUR kitty like YOUR laptop? Like to lay on it .... like to lay on the keyboard when you're typing?  WHY?  Is it cuz it's warm .... or cuz it's "yours"?

Help me find out.

Mail working laptops to me right away at:
Opie's Laptop Experiment
Rikki's Refuge
10910 Barr Ln
Rapidan VA 22733

.... as soon as I get ten of them, I'll plug them in and leave them sitting around .... then I'll monitor their use and see if the one mom is typing on is used more often than the "unused" laptops.

AND after the experiment I'll donate them to Rikki's Refuge to use --- Lena would sure love a laptop that part of the screen wasn't burned out on, Mary would love one that didn't have keys that have fallen off, Valerie sure could use one .....

Hey this is one of those Feed Two Cats Our of One Bowl things ..... cuz at a no-kill sanctuary you're not allowed to use that saying about birds you know !!!

Learn more abut this program right here: http://rikkisrefuge.blogspot.com/2013/03/laptop-experiment.html


Love you bunches,
           Opie and Timmy

2013 is the Year of the Purr ....

Join the movement ... we’re adding purr to planet earth !
 Look! It's a great car magnet with the world's most loved cat -- Vincent Cat!!!!
"What Would Vincent Do?"
He'd "Purr More, Hiss Less".

Magnet is $5 each, plus shipping (65-cents for 1 magnet, $1.05 for 2 for U.S. addresses). For other shipping costs (international, or for more than 2 magnets) contact Melissa Felts dogslife24@comcast.net  with your zip code and how many you want.     Purchase your magnet TODAY right here http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php


Don't be the LAST person on your block
to have a PURR MORE HISS LESS magnet on your car!
Order YOURS today !!



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