Did you know I turned TWO
YEARS OLD on August 4th ??
I’m a big grown up boy now !!!
If you missed my birthday, that’s ok, you can still send me a case of
nums!!! And did you know it’s only
$9.84 for a WHOLE case full ?? And I promise
to share too !!! I love you !!
Please
take a minute, or two, to Vote
You’re voting to feed the cats and dogs and everybody
else at Rikki’s Refuge
Winning contests is a big part of our budget
Please help out !!
Your clicks translate into food !!!
You DO NOT have to use
Facebook for voting --- you can use any EMAIL ADDRESS instead !!!
Remember to always vote
“Rikkis Refuge, VA, USA” ... if you’ll please, please log in every day and vote
for me you’ll be helping me to win food for the animals !!!
THANK YOU
And THANK YOU Mosby Food Bank for THREE great big trucks
full of canned dog food !!!!! Thank
you Paul, Jack and Mom for driving all the way to pick it up !!!
I just WISH it had been cat food ...... but I guess somebody’s gotta feed them
dawggies too !!!!
Did you know that YOU can volunteer by driving to pick
things up for us? Sometimes it’s big
heavy things like pallets of nums. And
sometimes it’s just small things somebody has donated .... like a case of Fancy
Feast. AND did you know that your
mileage as a volunteer is tax-deductible? And if you can’t fit great big loads in your vehicle, and if
you pass our insurance company’s driving test, you can drive a Rikki’s vehicle
for pick-ups?
Would YOU like to volunteer to be on the list of folks who
want to know about pick-ups Rikki’s needs?
This is usually not real far from the Refuge, though Mike goes to
Pennsylvania all the time to get nums for us !!! Thank you Mike !!!!
Just drop me a note Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org
if you’d like me to tell you when I NEED YOU driving .... I’ll give you the
details of the run and then you can let me know if you’d be available to help
!!!!
THANK YOU too to Dr. Megan McAndrew, Medical Director of the
Washington Humane Society, and her whole crew who camped out for the weekend at
Rikki’s Refuge and got to do all kinds of exciting things ..... lassoing sheep and goats, trimming hooves,
worming and vaccinating !!! I think
everybody had lots of fun !!!!
They’ll be back for further investigations .... but it seems
they may have found Big Foote’s hangout .... and have seen signs of a new
litter ......
You too could have the chance to encounter Big Foote and his
new kits .... Full Moon Walk at Rikki’s
Refuge, September 21, 2013, Saturday .... would YOU dare to walk into the woods
.... in the dark ..... with the Full Moon over head ..... and the Emus booming
.... and the Little Footes out romping about ?? Advance tickets required, Mail@RikkisRefuge.org
for more info.
Be sure you take pictures of YOUR moon overhead Thursday
night ... and send your best shot to me !!! Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org I’ll share them here !!!
Traveling
to Florida?
This is an oxygen concentrator. GGP has one that came from a company in Florida, and it’s on
rental, and it busted. They’d fix it,
but not in Virginia. It needs to go
back to Florida ASAP so the rental STOPS !!!!
It weighs about 40 # and takes up the space of an average cooler turned
on end. So it will fit in the back seat
of a car, back of a station wagon or suv.
It needs to end up in the Treasure Coast area and the company can pick
it up from where ever ..... that’s from
about Ft. Pierce down to Stuart ... east coast of Fl. If you’re headed that way .... or the vicinity where someone near
GGP’s home in Florida could come meet you on the way ... please let mom know .... thank you !!! Kerry@RikkisRefuge.org
All
Dressed Up and Ready to GO !!!
We just need YOUR help getting there !!
Petunia wants to go to Events and Festivals with me
..... but when we got out the carrier
that she arrived in .... it doesn’t seem to fit no more ..... I think Petunia grew lots more since she’s
been here than I have !!!!!
It’s a whole TEAM EFFORT to get the CRITTERS OF RIKKI’S
packed up and off to EVENTS AND FESTIVALS all over where they can meet the
public and star in KISSING BOOTHS !!!!
And we NEED YOUR HELP to do it !!!
WHY ARE EVENTS AND FESTIVALS SO IMPORTANT?
These Events and Festivals bring in donations so we can
continue to care for 1300 animals EVERY DAY.
By joining our team of Event Volunteers YOU can make our donations
soar!! We meet new Sponsors. We meet new Volunteers.
We’re educational; teaching kids (and grown ups) to love
animals, to be kind and to be good helpful Planet Earth Citizens.
Animals get adopted and find their furrever families.
YOU make things happen and YOU make it a better world for
EVERYONE !!
Going to Events and Festivals is a lot of fun. You’ll love working with other caring like
minded volunteers. You’ll make new
friends. We’ve even seen romances
blossom at Events !! Your mileage is
tax-deductible. And in some cases, YOU
get free entry to the events if you’re a volunteer! It’s VERY IMPORTANT work ....
Please join our Events and Festival Volunteers TODAY
!!! Events@RikkisRefuge.org
What can YOU do to help ?
Be OUR HEAD HONCHO HERO for an EVENT,
plan the shift
schedules for the Event Volunteers,
help coordinate
getting it all together.
Can I count on YOU ???
Raise your hand NOW !! Tell me
you’ll be in charge Events@RikkisRefuge.org
Be an EVENT VOLUNTEER !!! Here are some of the tasks YOU can do, depending on the shift
you’d like to take.
Help set up
Rikki’s booth !
Talk to people
about Rikki’s !
Hand out brochures
!
Sell merchandise
like our Vincent Tshirts and Magnets !
Help people put
their Donations in the collection cans !
Snuggle Opie
when he needs a break from the kissing booth !
Walk Duke when
he needs to stretch his legs !
Be the Companion
and Friend to an Adoptable Animal while they meet potential families !
Help take down
our display ! But not till the shows
over, Please !!
Drive items and
critters to the Event, or home to Rikki’s after the Event !
Sign up NOW to be an Event Volunteer Events@RikkisRefuge.org
Be a PRE-EVENT PREPARER !!!
Help get the
critters ready for their day out !!
Clip claws, give
baths, clean carriers and show cages, make sure collars, leashes, food and
water bowls, litter boxes,
clean up
supplies are ready and packed. Oh and
don’t forget the nums !!
Make sure the
posters and handouts and collection cans are all packed and ready to go !
This is great behind the scenes work to support Events if
you don’t want to do the public thing !
Sign up now to be our Pre-Event Preparer Events@RikkisRefuge.org
HOW
DO I SIGN UP?
It’s EASY ! Just sign up here Events@RikkisRefuge.org to be an
Event Volunteer .... tell me if you’d
like to be a Head Honcho Hero, an Event Volunteer, a Pre-Event Preparer for our
wonderful Events and Festivals ! I promise you’re gonna have a blast !!
We’re
Going Places !!
WHAT: Fredericksburg
Pet Expo
WHERE: Fredericksburg
Expo Center, 2371 Carl D. Silver Parkway, Fredericksburg, VA, USA
WHEN: Saturday, September 21, 2013, 10 am
- 5 pm AND
Sunday,
September 22, 2013, 11 am - 4 pm
WHO: Rikki’s NEEDS Event Volunteer and
YOU to come visit Opie at our Booth !!
We will have 2 shifts on Saturday,
Sept. 21: 10:00 until 1:00 and 1:00 until 5:00.
On Sunday, there is only 1
shift: 11:00 until 4:00,
but your help will be needed after
4:00 for taking down the booth and getting everything back to my car.
The goal is to tell everyone about
Rikki's, and sell lots and lots of stuff!
CONTACT: Melissa
at dogslife24@comcast.net
MORE INFO: http://www.fredericksburgpetshow.com/
WHAT: Rikki’s
15th Visit at the 17th Annual Charlottesville Vegetarian Festival !
WHERE: Lee
Park in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
WHEN: Saturday, September 28, 2013, 11 am
- 5 pm
WHO: Rikki’s NEEDS Event Volunteer and
Pre-Event Preparers and
YOU to come visit Opie at our
Booth !!
CONTACT: Ron
at topcat@cstone.net
MORE INFO: http://cvillevegfest.org/
CAN’T COME? You can still be MY HERO ..... it takes only $1 a day per animal to keep
Rikki’s Refuge running ..... our hard
working Volunteers, Sponsors and Donors make sure that each meal costs only 25
cents .... yet with 1300 critters ....
those dollars and meals go mighty fast !!!!
Would you donate $5 to care for 5 animals today .... or to serve 20
meals ??? Thank you !!! It’s kind and wonderful people like you that
make Rikki’s Refuge a place that continues to save lives. http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php
Sometimes
in the Animal World
.... well maybe most of the time, you should expect the
unexpected !!!!
It’s like working at Rikki’s Refuge ..... In the beginning folks think of all the fun
things ... patting the animals, watching the happy animals eat, walking the
dogs ..... they don’t think of the daily power struggle between the hoomans
trying to do the best possible for the animals .... and the animals’ own strong
wills and ideas of what might be more fun !!!!
Try pushing a 1,500 pound cow away when he’s leaning on you
to scratch his giant head up and down your back and you’re plastered against
the barn wall ...... kind of like being
between a rock and a hard place !!!!
If you’d like to have exciting and challenging events like
this to break up the monotony of your work day .... apply to work at Rikki’s
Refuge .... see details below.
Dog Owners
- Please take Caution
Everybody loves going out with their best friend. But sometimes is best to leave Rover home
and safe. From time to time various
epidemics spread up and down the east coast.
Sometimes it’s a dog disease, sometimes a cat disease. When this happens, all shelters go on high
alert. We have to be so careful not to
get any possible contagion that would harm our residents.
Right now there is a dog illness, two actually, one that’s
been identified as canine influenza and the other as of yet unidentified, that
is spreading and killing dogs. Vaccines
certainly help, but often new strains evolve and until our vaccines evolve your
dog may not be fully protected.
The state of Maryland has issued an epidemic warning. When a state does this, it means it’s severe
and really dangerous and they are hoping to prevent thousands of deaths. I’m also hearing of illness in North and
South Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It’s often the shelters who hear of these things early on
.... cuz we’re always talking about
what’s happening and working to help each other out. I’d only heard of a few unexplained issues that looked like they
could become epidemic when Maryland announced an epidemic warning.
HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR DOG SAFE ?
Exposure is thru contact, or from the air at close
quarters. Keeping your dog home is your
safest bet. Stay away from dog
parks. Don’t take your dog shopping at
PetSmart. Don’t bring them to the Pet
Expo this weekend or any other places other dogs may be.
Especially do not take your dogs where there are dogs up for
adoption. Dogs in rescue come from all
over, traveling from state to state to find the best homes. They often ride in vehicles with other dogs
from other locations. Responsible
shelters have extensive quarantine programs and do not allow dogs to meet the
public, their other dogs, or to go out to adoption events until they have been
quarantined at least two weeks. Not all
shelters and rescues have the facilities or the budget to be able to do
this. They do the best they can ....
but that could be putting your dog at risk.
What if you’re ready to adopt a new dog? If it will be your only dog ... no
problem. If you already have dogs take
a bit of extra caution. Make sure your
dog is properly vaccinated. That won’t
ensure they don’t get sick, but it’s a huge step towards protection or at least
reducing the seriousness of an illness.
Even when a dog looks perfectly healthy and is checked out by your doc,
they can be incubating an illness and spreading it BEFORE they are showing any
signs what so ever.
You’ll want to make sure the dog has been isolated from any
possible source of infection for two weeks before introducing him to your
dog. If you have separate facilities,
you can manage the isolation. Just
remember that germs spread thru air ducts, so houses that are centrally heated
and cooled can spread a disease in one room very rapidly to the next. Check with the shelter or rescue you’re
adopting from and see if they have exit isolation facilities. Board the dog with your vet for an isolation
period.
How long does my dog need to stay home? Usually these things run their course during
the summer. This one is starting late
this year. It will probably end when
the weather turns cold. That makes it harder
for germs to survive and spread.
What if I transport?
Just use caution. Don’t take
your dog along for the ride. Be sure
all dogs are always contained in a hard bottomed carrier or crate. Something that will contain the three Ps ...
puke, poop and pee. Lots of contagions
spared thru body fluids and if that gets in your car .... some diseases will
last in upholstery or rugs and then your dog can pick it up on his next
trip.
What if I volunteer?
Good for you !!! Keep doing
it!! Again, use caution. Don’t take your dog with you. If you get any body fluids - or solids - on
your hands or clothes, wash up or change clothes, clean shoes off well ...
before playing with your dog. Few germs
will live outside the body for long when they are not in a moist body
temperature environment ... so it’s rare to take an illness home to your
dog.
And
remember .. your dog IS your best friend and will always try to please you
just be
very clear in what you are asking of him !!!!
This
weekend at Rikki’s Refuge
Donation Drop Off - Saturday, noon - 2 pm - at our
Education Center, 21410 Constitution Hwy, Rapidan, VA, 22733 (sometimes called
“North”) - the gate is right at the corner of Rt 20 (Constitution Hwy) and
Quarterhorse Ln. Come on in the gate
and up the driveway, stop at the Education Center on the right and a volunteer
will assist you.
Please bring Canned Cat Food, Dry Cat Food, Cracked Corn,
Wild Bird Seed, Paper Towels, Trash Bags, the hoomans are asking for toilet
paper but I don’t think that’s important, Laundry Detergent, Dish Soap and
Bleach ... lots and lots of Bleach cus them hoomans got to sanitize everything
for our protection!!
Job Interviews - Saturday at noon, please do not
arrive late - at our Education Center, 21410 Constitution Hwy, Rapidan, VA,
22733 (sometimes called “North”) - the gate is right at the corner of Rt 20
(Constitution Hwy) and Quarterhorse Ln.
We’re looking for a few good folks to help with all that sanitation!!!
Fredericksburg Pet Expo - in Fredericksburg, see
details above. Saturday, September 21,
2013, 10 am - 5 pm. Sunday, September
22, 2013, 11 am - 4 pm
Full Moon Walk - Saturday, September 21,
2013. With sunset at 7:10 and moonrise
at 8:22 .... We’ll want to set off on foot from the Education Center about 8 pm
... it’s a three mile walk thru the animal areas .... and should be good moon
light by 10 or 10:30 pm. Advance
tickets required, Mail@RikkisRefuge.org
for more info.
Thank you for working with us, hand in paw, day in and day
out, to care for the critters of Rikki’s Refuge .... we couldn’t do it without
YOU!! Thank you for saving our
lives. http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php
Love you bunches,
Opie
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 !!
