Thursday, May 30, 2013

Good Morning Good News !!!! May 30, 2013


Rikki’s good friends Bruce and Nancy came for a visit recently.  They hugged and kissed everybody.  We were so happy to see them. 

After looking around for a bit ... they said ... 

So Wonderful to see everybody again!  And just look at all the new and improved things for the animals!  Every visit it all looks so much nicer and better and more space for the animals.  We especially like how you keep redesigning the spaces to be more and more animal friendly.  All the little touches of home!!  So very nice !!  It sure looks like everybody has just what they need and want to be right at home!  We love visiting Rikki’s.

BUT ......    we’ve never seen so many cone heads on a single visit to you before.

We’re sure happy to keep seeing the same old faces, year after year. 
BUT ......    that looks like a lot more medicine bottles lined up for them. 

They pitched in and helped out for the day.  Scrubbing litter boxes, loving on kitties, washing dishes, walking dogs, mucking barns, brushing horses.  And when all the hard clean up work was done for the day, they went off to run some errands for us.

One of their chores was going to the pharmacy and picking up the supplies we’d ordered.

The nice pharmacist told them all about all the supplies we order to keep the animals healthy and happy.  He told them how the monthly orders were growing all the time.  It was good the animals got so much care.
BUT ......    the bill was way over $900 an order, and even a wee bit late this time, and Rikki’s was now often ordering every 3 weeks now instead of every month.

Their next stop was the post office, where they picked up the mail.  And it was a BIG batch of mail they found stuffed into that itty bitty post office box.  There were donations, and presents.

BUT ......    there were lots of red stamps .... and the big red line on the bank account ...

And when they got back to Rikki’s they said,

What do YOU need the most ?

And we said, please, help us, help us to

VANQUISH THE VET DEBT !!! 

And so they went to their car ... and they conferred for a bit ...  and they pulled out their check book .,. and they studied and they cogitated.

And when they came back they said
      We can give you $15,590

BUT ......    that’s really only half of what it looks like you need right now.  We really wanted to double that ... what with seeing all that red ....

BUT ......    being there’s only two of us and all, I’ll tell YOU what we’re going to do, we’re going to sponsor

DOUBLE YOUR DOLLAR TO

          VANQUISH THE VET DEBT

Come on everybody - help us help Rikki’s - We’re DOUBLING ALL DONATIONS now, up to $15,590 ...

Let’s wipe out the RED at Rikki’s and put them back in the black !!!!

Together we CAN do it !!!

.....   as they rode off into the sunset, they waved good bye for now, and they waved that check ....  and they said you just call us when you’ve reached the goal .....  I know YOU CAN DO IT ... DOUBLE OUR $15,590 ... and our check will be in the mail .....  

And this is where YOU come in.

I need YOUR help to Vanquish the Vet Debt ... Right now ....

EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS .....    HURRY ...   press the button NOW !

to VANQUISH THE VET DEBT
Or if you prefer you can mail a check to

Rikki’s Refuge
Vanquish the Vet Debt
PO Box 1357
Orange VA 22960

If you can donate $1 ... or $10 .... or $100 ....  Together we can reach that goal to double ...

Please help VANQUISH THAT VET DEBT TODAY !!!! 

THANK YOU FOR
          ACTING NOW
                    TO HELP THE ANIMALS  !! 


Love you bunches,
           Vincent

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 !!


VANQUISH THE VET DEBT


Rikki’s good friends Bruce and Nancy came for a visit recently.  They hugged and kissed everybody.  We were so happy to see them. 

After looking around for a bit ... they said ... 

So Wonderful to see everybody again!  And just look at all the new and improved things for the animals!  Every visit it all looks so much nicer and better and more space for the animals.  We especially like how you keep redesigning the spaces to be more and more animal friendly.  All the little touches of home!!  So very nice !!  It sure looks like everybody has just what they need and want to be right at home!  We love visiting Rikki’s.

BUT ......    we’ve never seen so many cone heads on a single visit to you before.

We’re sure happy to keep seeing the same old faces, year after year. 
BUT ......    that looks like a lot more medicine bottles lined up for them. 

They pitched in and helped out for the day.  Scrubbing litter boxes, loving on kitties, washing dishes, walking dogs, mucking barns, brushing horses.  And when all the hard clean up work was done for the day, they went off to run some errands for us.

One of their chores was going to the pharmacy and picking up the supplies we’d ordered.

The nice pharmacist told them all about all the supplies we order to keep the animals healthy and happy.  He told them how the monthly orders were growing all the time.  It was good the animals got so much care.
BUT ......    the bill was way over $900 an order, and even a wee bit late this time, and Rikki’s was now often ordering every 3 weeks now instead of every month.

Their next stop was the post office, where they picked up the mail.  And it was a BIG batch of mail they found stuffed into that itty bitty post office box.  There were donations, and presents.

BUT ......    there were lots of red stamps .... and the big red line on the bank account ...

And when they got back to Rikki’s they said,

What do YOU need the most ?

And we said, please, help us, help us to

VANQUISH THE VET DEBT !!! 

And so they went to their car ... and they conferred for a bit ...  and they pulled out their check book .,. and they studied and they cogitated.

And when they came back they said
      We can give you $15,590

BUT ......    that’s really only half of what it looks like you need right now.  We really wanted to double that ... what with seeing all that red ....

BUT ......    being there’s only two of us and all, I’ll tell YOU what we’re going to do, we’re going to sponsor

DOUBLE YOUR DOLLAR TO

          VANQUISH THE VET DEBT

Come on everybody - help us help Rikki’s - We’re DOUBLING ALL DONATIONS now, up to $15,590 ...

Let’s wipe out the RED at Rikki’s and put them back in the black !!!!

Together we CAN do it !!!

.....   as they rode off into the sunset, they waved good bye for now, and they waved that check ....  and they said you just call us when you’ve reached the goal .....  I know YOU CAN DO IT ... DOUBLE OUR $15,590 ... and our check will be in the mail .....  

And this is where YOU come in.

I need YOUR help to Vanquish the Vet Debt ... Right now ....

EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS .....    HURRY ...   press the button NOW !

to VANQUISH THE VET DEBT
Or if you prefer you can mail a check to

Rikki’s Refuge
Vanquish the Vet Debt
PO Box 1357
Orange VA 22960

If you can donate $1 ... or $10 .... or $100 ....  Together we can reach that goal to double ...

Please help VANQUISH THAT VET DEBT TODAY !!!! 

THANK YOU FOR
          ACTING NOW
                    TO HELP THE ANIMALS  !! 


Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Good Morning Good News !!!! May 28, 2013


Don’t you wish it was that easy?

Just wake up and smell the coffee ....  and at the same time, without lifting a finger, the phone or getting on-line, be helping the animals too?

WELL - YOU CAN !!!!

Drink Rikki’s Roast and a portion of every cup helps to save animals!!  Is that cool or what!!  And for a limited time .... 25% off orders of $15 or more -- RIKKI'S ROAST COFFEE - use MAY25 as the coupon code -- Wake up and support the animals !!


So many wonderful friends
Thank you so much to those of you who bring supplies to keep the refuge running.

When you feed and clean up after almost 1300 animals every day ....  it takes a lot of clean up supplies !!!!    Rikki’s Refuge needs 83 gallons of Laundry Detergent per year, that’s 7 gallons a month or about a quart a day !!!   And in the effort to sanitize everything for the critter’s protection, we also use 1,278 gallons of Bleach each year, that’s 107 gallons a month, or 3.5 gallons a day !!!

If you couldn’t make it out to drop off a bottle of bleach or laundry detergent over the weekend, but you can afford to donate one, we’d greatly appreciate your help: http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php


Support Black Cats with a Click

No, no, no .... not black cats who have clicks !!!!   YOUR click can help us to save black cats all over the planet.  A click is worth a thousand lives ....  so here’s how to help ....

Please join ... and SHARE ... our Black Cat Appreciation page on facebook  https://www.facebook.com/pages/For-the-Love-of-Black-Cats-Black-Cat-Appreciation-Page/186841014709029

Currently over 68,000 members strong ... help me reach my 100,000 goal -- this is like signing a petition -- to save black cats - to spread awareness of the plight of black cats - to make black cats more acceptable as adoption options - to stop shelters from the practice of euthanizing black cats instead of giving them a chance at adoption -- please join (don't want notifications? It's easy to turn them off!)

Our strength is in our numbers - the media picks up on groups with the most followers --- please add your name to the list of those who want to see equal opportunities for all cats regardless of color.

This event is spreading around the world and is saving more and more cats every year.

Rikki's Reufge's artist Wayne Morris started this and it's become a very special and important focus of Rikki's ever since.

Every life saved means the world to that cat ... please join and help give them a chance.

Thank you --- please share so your friends join and so they share .... Help reach our goal -- 100,000 supports of Black Cats .... Thank you.



HUGE YARD SALE AT RIKKI’S
right on Route 20
Ok, well in the yard right there next to Route 20.  We’re not selling flat merchandise !!!

All kinds of goodies -- Saturday, June 8, at 8 am ... the gates will open and you can SHOP !!!
21410 Constitution Highway, Rapidan VA 22733  -- this is what we refer to as Rikki’s North !!

Would YOU like to help on the day of the sale?  Contact Melissa: dogslife24@comcast.net

Do you have fabulous things - clothes, kids stuff, toys, kitchen tings, home decor, useful stuff that you’re no longer using, gifts you never needed - as long as it’s clean, we’ll sell it to pay off our Vet Debt !!!   Contact Melissa: dogslife24@comcast.net about drop off times -- Deadline to donate for the sale is this coming weekend.

Jewelry?  This is a big seller.  The high dollar fancy stuff and the costume kind.  Any you’d rather see paying our Vet Debt than collecting dust at your house?  Contact Melissa: dogslife24@comcast.net

Want to help Melissa organize, sort and price?  Well you know what to do!  Contact Melissa: dogslife24@comcast.net

Nothing to donate?  Can’t volunteer?  Too far away?  You can still help us Vanquish the Vet Debt  with a tax deductible donation: http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php



Like Nice Shiny Things?

Not nearly as exciting as a red laser dot racing across the floor .... but some of you hoomans like to adorn yourselves .... and I’ve got some great adornments for you !!!

Just check out some of these jewelry values .... silver ... turquoise .... animals !!!!   Cool stuff !!!!
How cool would YOU look with these??  So click on the pic above to learn more or to place a bid !!

eBay Giving Works
Let’s you donate a percentage -- from 10% - 100% of your auctioned goodies to Rikki’s Reufge !!!  Just click on the pic to learn how !!



What Does Lena Do on Her Day Off ??
Spend most of it working around the refuge !!

Wait a minute there !
I know she can multi-task like crazy ....  leash training a dog ... pushing a mower ... but hang on ... what’s that on the mower bag??


Oklahoma Found Pets
Photos of pets found after the tornado in Oklahoma are circulating.  If you’ve found someone, or if you’re looking for someone ... Rikki’s is maintaining a Found and Hoping to be Reunited with Owner page of pets https://www.facebook.com/OklahomaFoundPets  ...  Add your photos, descriptions and contact information here. 

If you’ve got someone lost, keep coming back frequently and searching. 

EVERYONE - share this page with everyone -- someone may recognize a pet belonging to a neighbor, relative or friend.  Many many animals were left homeless, frightened and lost ... let’s work together to get them home!!

This is what working together does!
Intensive efforts to circulate this guy's photo today has FOUND his owners !!!!   And they are ecstatic!!!   Just imagine how it must feel to lose everything ... your home .... everything you owned ... your photos ...  your beloved cat or dog.  And just imagine the joy when you found your pet !!!!!  

Rikki’s Refuge is all about providing for every possible need and want of 1300 animals of 22 species every day AND for helping other animals all over the planet.  Your donations go towards caring for our resident animals, feeding, medical bills and keeping them clean and happy.  Our network of volunteers also work exhaustively all over the planet !!!   Thank you for making Rikki’s what it is so we can be a role model to others and help them learn to help, so they can teach others to help ....  it really is a winning circle !!!

Would you donate a dollar to care for ONE of Rikki’s residents today?  http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php


PRODUCE
is nummy and very healthy too!!!   And several stores in Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania have plenty of it to give away.  We have plenty of animals who want to eat it.  Pigs, goats, guinea pigs .....

Problem is it’s real hard to haul all the animals into Fredericksburg every day ... twice a day ... for meals ....

So we NEED YOUR HELP hauling the produce to Rikki’s ....  can you volunteer to help one day a month???  One day a week??  As an emergency fill in ??   Contact Melissa: dogslife24@comcast.net



That’s it for tonight !












Love you bunches,
           Vincent

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 !!


Monday, May 27, 2013

Good Morning Good Memorial Day !!!! May 27, 2013



Hi, my name is Timmy and I’m Opie’s big brother.  I want to tell you what Memorial Day means to me.

Memorial Day is all about people who did.  People who fought for their dreams to see them come alive. 

By the way, people doesn’t mean hooman.  People means conscious soul, so it doesn’t matter what species you are.  People is you and me and the horses over there.  If I’m talking bout hoomans, I’ll say so!

Anyway ....

To do what you believe in you have to have that I think I can song playing over and over in your head.  http://youtu.be/Yx9xO98kcBU

Some time I have to keep that mantra running in my head all day long.  You see I’m differently abled.   And that can mean I have to sing a lot of I-think-I-cans just to do the kinds of things you effortless and thoughtlessly do all day long. 

When I was an itty bitty baby, about 4 weeks old, I fell out the window of a car.  And lucky for me .. the lady in the car behind stopped and picked me up.  Yikes, don’t even wanna think about being smushed in the road if she hadn’t. 

And so she took me to a doc and they worked to save my life.  I did good, cept for my back legs that don’t work the way other’s do.  But I’m not gonna let something like that stop me from having a good, fun, happy and productive life!  

I came to Rikki’s to work as a Differently Abled Spokes Kitty and to spread the word about what it’s like to be differently abled.  It’s just fine !!!!  I’m still who I am, even if I walk different or look a little different.  I still have hopes and dreams and love to eat and play and be happy.  So I’m really not much different from you after all!!

But I do sing I-think-I-can a whole lot !!!!   It’s been a very important mantra for my life. 

They said I’d never walk .... and I said I-think-I-can I-think-I-can I-think-I-can and I can go anywhere anybody else can go now !!!! 

Snickers taunted me from the heights ....  she’d look down and sing, “you never gonna make it you gimpy littele thing!”  And I’d look up at her on the desk and I wanted to climb ....  and so I sang

I-think-I-can I-think-I-can I-think-I-can

And I worked real hard.  At first I’d just get part way up.  And I’d sing  I-think-I-can I-think-I-can I-think-I-can

And then .....


I made it to the top of the chair !!!

Snickers changed her tune .... “gimpy can’t jump to the desk, it’s MY desk and I’m not sharing, come and catch me if you can!” 

And I kept singing I-think-I-can I-think-I-can I-think-I-can

and soon I could lunge right from the top of the chair on to the desk and chase Snickers up to her loft !!!!

I’ll never stop working and I’ll never stop singing I-think-I-can I-think-I-can I-think-I-can ......

Will YOU sing along with me?  Will YOU help me help the differently abled?  I NEED your donations so I can take care of my friends here at Rikki’s Refuge.  Did you know that everyone of us here wasn’t wanted by somebody?  That’s just so hard to believe.  But nobody wanted us.  They said throw them away ... they’re no good ... they can’t walk ... they can’t talk ... they’re blind ... they’re deaf .... they’re old ... they have diabetes ....   they have asthma ... they have kidney problems ...  just toss ‘em out with the trash.  Isn’t that mean?

I’m so glad YOU said NO, let’s all work together to help those differently abled folks cuz they got feelings and they got rights and they wanna be happy and have life just like me.

And so with your donations that’s just what we get ...

LIFE !!!

Thank you.  And thank you for your Memorial Day contribution to help care for the differently abled !!!
http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php  Every penny you can spare will be turned into food and medicine for me and my friends.  Thank you for caring about us !!


Love you bunches,
           Timmy,Opie and Vincent

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 !!

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Saturday, June 8, 2013 YARD SALE

HELP make Rikki's Refuge’s Yard Sale a SUCCESS

YOU clear out the house - the ANIMALS pay their doc bills !!!!    WIN-WIN !!!!

Donations are rolling in - but we NEED more !!!

We NEED to make it BIG !!!   We need YOUR help !!!

The sale is set for Saturday, June 8 at Rikki's North! 
21410 Constitution Hwy, Rapidan VA 22733
Gates Opening at 8 am !!!

HELP us get ready !!!

Please scour your house, your closets, your cabinets, the attic, basement, garage and shed !!!  ALL donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE and proceeds will be used to pay our recent medical bills. 

If you have ANYTHING to donate - clothes, toys, kid stuff, kitchen things, games, sports equipment, the list is limitless -- please help us and make sure that everything is clean when you bring it.  That’s a huge help to us as clean things bring in more money and we just dog gone out of time for any more chores !!!

And don't forget to go through your jewelry collection!  Even if you have broken pieces, or missing earrings, it will HELP THE ANIMALS. 

We can sell ANYTHING and get $$$$!

Please contact Melissa Felts for drop off arrangements.
540-903-7669  or   dogslife24@comcast.net

Melissa will do her best to work around her own work schedule to be there to accept, and price, items. 

DEADLINE FOR DONATION ACCEPTANCE:  Sunday, June 2 at 3:00.  No donations will be accepted after that time and date as we must get things ready and we don’t have the storage space to wait for a future sale.  So HURRY !!!!

Also, can YOU help by working on the DAY OF THE YARD SALE ?   YOU are desperately needed! 

We need someone in charge of clothes, jewelry, and a few other areas. 

Help us convert YOUR clutter into HEALTHY HAPPY ANIMALS !!

Great way to volunteer with the animals and stay away from the heavy lifting, poop patrol, mowing grass and fangs and claws !!!!

Set up will begin bright and early on Saturday June 8th SALE DAY -- 6:00 a.m., in order to be ready to open the gates by 8:00 am !!! 

PLEASE HELP - Rikki's needs this to be a BIG fundraiser to help pay for many recent medical bills!!

THANK YOU for supporting the animals !!!!

PS Can’t help with yard sale?  All out of extra STUFF ?  Perhaps you could spare a buck or two to help us with the expenses?  Thank you, every dollar gets us one step closer to paying off the bills !!!  Thank you so much !!  http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php

THANK YOU for supporting the animals !!!!

With out YOU they’d have no place to call HOME !!!

Good Morning Good News !!!! May 26, 2013



Does your life run on crock pot time or microwave time?  

When I was an itty bitty kitten I’d watch Vincent run the refuge in his spare time ... he’d mosey along ... chow some nums ... and somehow always keep nums on the table for every one ....  he’d have some nums and answer like 14 thousand 11 hundred and 92 emails and then mosey out to nap in the sun ... then have some nums and round up the funds to pay for six surgeries !!!!  

And it all looked so easy!!! 

Since I had to take over, like about a year ago, it seems like I gotz 3 seconds to do this and 2 for that and if I get to stop in for nums in between anything I’m lucky.  So that’s why I have to sleep next to the nums bowl at night and wake up and eatz all night. 

Don’t you believe no stuff you hear from mom and da hoomans bout my belly being too big ....  when Iz working at microwave speed for like four dayz in a row with no breaks for nums ....  I need that belly fat.  So I need you to help me tell her to STOP this diet.  I’m just wasting away ....  I’ve lost three whole pounds and that’s a lot of ounces you know.  It’s something like almost half a hundred ounces and that’s a lot. 

Is your to-do-list longer than your tail or do you cruise the house bored looking for another place to take a nap?

I keep finding things to add to that to-do-list.  Just seems to grow every day, finding new things to do round here to keep making Rikki’s Refuge better and better.

So tomorrow is called Memorial Day in Merica here on Planet Earth.  That’s a day we are supposed to remember all the hoomans and other critters too, who worked so hard and sometimes even died to make Merica a free and safe place for all of us to live.  Thank you hoomans for all your work and all you gave.  I preciate you muchly.

Memorial Day was first officially observed on May 30 in 1868 .... that was a very very long time ago ...  when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.   The northern states recognized Memorial Day long before the southern states joined in ... until after World War I .. when those lost were remembered along with those lost in the Civil War ... and it became a time to remember those lost in all wars.

In 1915 Moina Michael had the idea of selling red poppies on Memorial Day in honor of those who died.  The tradition caught on and spread from country to country. 

Red poppies makes me think of red kitties.  Lots of folks call us Orange Tabbies “red”.  We’re not really that dark ... but that’s ok.  I think RED is easier for hoomans to say then ORANGE. 

And did you know where TABBY comes from?  The word "tabby" derives from a striped silk cloth made in Attabiyah, a neighborhood of Baghdad in Iraq.  

AND I’m an Orange Tabby !!!!!   

And I hope you’re having a great Memorial Day Weekend !!!!
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 !!