Thursday, October 31, 2013

Good Morning Good News !!!! October 31, 2013

Trick or Treat!

Grab your FREE copy of Vincent's Words of Wisdom Kindle book today. Full color photos of Rikki's Refuge animals illustrate inspiring quotes. FREE TODAY!
Click on Vincent to get your FREE copy TODAY and TODAY ONLY!!

Life got you down? Let Vincent D. Cat's favorite inspirational quotes help you through your day. Color photos of Rikki's Refuge animals illustrate 50 of his favorite quotes. This book is filled with old world wisdom which seems to have been forgotten in recent days. It is perfect for young and old alike. All proceeds from the sale of this and other Rikki's Refuge titles are used to care for the animals. Not only do you brighten your day, but you help animals as well. What a great deal. If you love animals and good advice, then this is the book for you. Download a copy today and read it with your kids. You will be glad you did.


Don’t forget to VOTE today !!!!!
Click on Vincent to cast your vote for Rikkis Refuge, VA, USA .....  be a winner for the animals !!!! 

Your daily vote is very much needed.


THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME TO SAVE SO MANY LIVES
... with your support we’re able to help so many into their new furrever happy homes ....  and to give that life long home to those not quite so fortunate ...  Thank you for your support
Without YOU none of us would be breathing today !!

Love you bunches,
           Opie
You all be safe tonight !!


Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Rikki's 5K Run/Walk ... Nov 16, 2013


Rikki’s Run and Walk
                        Saturday, November 16th 9:00am
Place: Chancellor High School track
Awards - Age group awards to top 3 in each group.
*Special group for Individuals with disabilities.
Bring your Dog to run or walk!
Information - (540) 854-5375
Entry Forms - Virginia Runner




Event:  Rikki's 5K Run/Walk
Date:  Saturday, November 16th, 2013
Registration:  7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
Race Time:  9:00 a.m.
Location:  Chancellor High School Track, 6300 Harrison Road, Fredericksburg, VA  22407
Registration Fee:    $25.00
Race Day Registration Fee:  $30.00 or $25.00 and donation of cat food of any kind 
Phone:   540-854-5375 or 540-786-2606 ext. 2102
Contact:  Dennis Bane
Prizes:  Awards to the top male and female overall and top 3 male and female finishers in each age group.
Age Groups:  19-under, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60 and over.  Special group for individuals with disabilities.
Website:  http://rikkisrefuge.org  

Rikki's 5K Run/Walk, Saturday, November 16th at Chancellor High School Track, 6300 Harrison Road, Fredericksburg, VA 22407.  Registration Fee $25.00.  Race Day Registration Fee $30.00 or $25.00 and donation of cat food of any kind.   Registration 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m./Race 9:00 a.m.

Rikki's 5K Run/Walk will be held at Chancellor High School on Saturday, November 16, 2013. The entry cost is $25.00 pre registration or $25.00 and a can of cat/dog food on race day. Registration will be from 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM. The race will begin at 9:00 AM. Entry forms can be picked up at Virginia Runner in Fredericksburg. For a mailed entry contact Dennis Bane at 540- 207-2829 or email request to bugbane30@gmail.com. Completed pre entry forms should be mailed to Dennis Bane, 32100 Constitution Hwy, Locust Grove Virginia 22508. Checks should be made to Rikki's Refuge. All runners/walkers will receive a T-shirt and the top 3 in each age group will receive a medal. Any questions please email or call. A special thanks to Virginia Runner, Ed's Awards, Patterson's equipment and The REACH Program for sponsoring the Race.

Can YOU help Opie wrap?


Can you help Opie?

He's looking for helpers to wrap gifts for donations for the Refuge.  Rikki's volunteers will be at Barnes & Noble in Fredericksburg VA (USA) on Saturday, December 21, 2013; Sunday, December 22, 2013; and Monday, December 23, 2013.  This is at 1220 Carl D. Silver Pwky, in Central Park.

We would be delighted to have you come help.  You don't need to bring anything - Barnes & Noble supplies everything!  If so, please sign up for one of the following time shifts.  If you can't do a full shift, let us know any hours you can help out.  We have to have two people there at all times, so we need several helpers.


Saturday, December 21  -- noon to 4pm and 4pm to 9pm
               or possibly 10 pm - the store closes at ten and
               we can stay that late if we want.)  What a
               chance for night owls to help!
Sunday, December 22  -- noon to 4pm
Monday, December 23 -- 4pm to 6:30pm and
               -- 6:30pm to 9pm (or 10pm)

 

All you need to do is send an e-mail to Mary at Oliverequine@aol.com or to mail@RikkisRefuge.org  Please put "B&N gift wrap" in the subject spot, so we don't miss you.

If you can't come, Opie wants to remind you that you can go to http://RikkisRefuge.org/Donate.php to send him a Christmas Gift !!  Remember, even $1.00 will feed a meal to somebody at Rikki's, and we have 1300 hungry animals!



Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Good Morning Good News !!!! October 29, 2013


TWO PUMPKINS ?
TWO?
That’s supposed to feed us ALL ?

Yikes ... I need YOUR help !!!  I’ve got more pumpkins than volunteers!!! 

OH NO .... please volunteer to be a pumpkin loader or a pumpkin hauler ....  we need help in Northern Virginia, down to Spotsylvania, and to Richmond.  And YOU can find a pumpkin patch with left over pumpkins and haul from ANYWHERE ....  Just let us know when you’re coming!!

All those pumpkin patches and churches and nurseries selling pumpkins for Halloween ... want them GONE afterwards ... starting Nov 1, most pumpkins are free for the taking (but please ask first!). 

The cows, goats, sheep, horses, donkeys, rabbits, pigs, guinea pigs, pigeons, ducks, swans, geese, pheasants, turkeys, guinea fowl, chickens, emus and even the iguanas just LOVE to eat pumpkins ....   everybody except us cats and dogs .... 

Please help us get the pumpkins here.   Not only is this super nutritious for the animals ....  it saves a LOT of money on feed bills. 

Please let us know that YOU will help ....  mail@RikkisRefuge.org  we have locations scattered all over with pumpkins waiting for Rikki’s Volunteers to haul ....  please, please be a volunteer for this most important project !!!

Thank you !!!

Our first pumpkins arrived last night at sunset ....  over the next week to ten days we need to haul in enough pumpkins to feed everyone for several months ....  please help us out !!



Shelter Challenge is back !!!
Gee that was quick !!!!  And it’s time to vote again, click on Vincent to cast your vote for Rikkis Refuge, VA, USA .....  be a winner for the animals !!!! 

Your daily vote is very much needed.


With out YOU not a single one of us would have a home !

THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME TO SAVE SO MANY LIVES
... with your support we’re able to help so many into their new furrever happy homes ....  and to give that life long home to those not quite so fortunate ...  Thank you for your support
Without YOU none of us would be breathing today !!

Love you bunches,
           Opie



Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Good Morning Good News !!!! October 23, 2013


Morning !!!!   I’ve got a book out !!!   My very first, very own book !!! 

I’ve got a problem, can you help? I want to be a Top Cat. That is a big honor at Rikki's Refuge and that means I have to know alot about the place. My friends are saying I’m too young. They don't think I knows all the differences between the animals at Rikki's and I think they are trying to trick me. Help me prove them wrong. 100 colorful photos taken around the refuge are used to illustrate this book. There are 25 challenge pages with four photos on each page. One does not belong. There may be more than one difference on each page but there is only one right answer. You will need to use the clue at the top of each page to figure out the photo that does not belong. If you get stuck there is an answer page in the back. This book is formatted to be viewed in landscape mode. It is geared towards kids 5-8, but everyone will enjoy the photos of the animals. All proceeds from the sale of this book go to care for the animals at Rikki's Refuge.

So grab your copy and help me solve the puzzles TODAY !!!



Thank YOU !!!
for voting in the Shelter Challenge - you DID make a huge difference.  It takes each and every one of YOU to make Rikki’s happen !!!  YOUR voting brought in $1,000 .....  AND .... we’ll be receiving either 50 pet beds or 100 vaccines too !!!!    You DID IT !!!!  

YOU, my friend, are FABULOUS ....  and I LOVE you so so so much ....  cuz it’s all cuz of YOU that we all got a second chance and we get to live at Rikki’s !!!! 

Yippie  .. Let’s hear a BIG hand for our wonderful friends !!!  Sing with me !!!



Lives YOU have Saved
Thanks to YOU and your support ... you make it possible for Rikki’s to save lives every day.  Lives that others would have tossed away.  To us every soul matters, no matter how small, how many legs, fur, feathers or scales ....  they all deserve a comfortable life. 

And YOU make that possible when you support Rikki’s Refuge.  Thank you !!



Got a Green Thumb ??
Wouldn’t these look cool at Rikki’s?


Fruit for Life
Teaching hoomans about kindness is one of our very important missions at Rikki’s Refuge.  Kindness to the animals.  Kindness to one another.  We hope that someday all meanness in the world has gone away.  And that everyone will always do everything in kindness.  It’s really not hard.  It just means thinking about the options each time you’re picking an action .... and opting for the kind action.

Rikki’s Education Center was born in December.  We’ve had lots of programs there.  And as we gear up there will be more and more.  We’ve got a lot of work to do to fulfill all our dreams of what our Education Center will be. 

One project we’re working on now is planting a row of fruit trees at one of the borders.  This is a two fold project.  It will provide a pleasant shield between our animals and the neighbors, and it will give our animals yummy fruit in later years. 

You can be a part of this project by donating a hardy fruit tree.  We’ll be adding signs with donors’ names.  Bring your tree to Donation Drop Off on Saturdays between noon and 2 pm.  Add a $10 donation if you’d like your name attached to your tree.  Please be sure to give us your name printed clearly.  You can also do “In Memory of .... “ or “In Honor of ...” 

If you can’t make it out with a tree, for a $50 donation our volunteers will pick up the tree for you.  Same deal on a sign, if you’d like one.

Click http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php to order your tree, and sign if you wish.  Please add in the comment area that this is for a tree and if you’re requesting a sign too, then be sure to include your name as you’d like it to appear.

The goats, sheep, cows and horses who will one day inhabit this area of the Education Center say THANK YOU !!!!  

Donation Drop Off
21410 Constitution Highway (Route 20), Rapidan VA 22733 is the address of our Education Center.  We have a Docent on duty every Sat from noon to 2 pm.  The gate is right there at the corner of Rt 20 and Quarter Horse Ln. 

Volunteer opportunities to be a Donation Drop Off Docent --- just email us and let us know you’d like to help out one weekend !!  Thank you.  mail@RikkisRefuge.org



Kathy and Kim moving furniture

in for the first event held at the Education Center.


Vegetarian Thanksgiving
This is the kitchen at the Education Center and where we’ll be cooking up nummy vegan and vegetarian things for Thanksgiving Dinner .... some of our friends may join us .... but not in the oven or on our plates. 

We give thanks for all life forms ....  preferring to see them eat ... than being eaten ... 

If you’d like to join us in a celebration of life at our Thanksgiving Lifesaving Feast just ask me for details mail@RikkisRefuge.org  It will be on Saturday, November 23, 2013 ...  we’ve picked Saturday for our Thanksgiving as many folks wanted to be with their families on traditional Thanksgiving.   We pray that no matter where you are celebrating Thanksgiving ....  that part of your thanks will be for life ... life of our animal friends ...



Up Coming Fun
Saturday, October 26, Halloween Tour at Rikki’s and Nature Hike
Saturday, November 16, Nature Appreciation Day, Tour and Nature Hike at Rikki’s Refuge and Full Moon Walk

Contact us by email mail@RikkisRefuge.org  for details, times and tickets, all events at Rikki’s require tickets in advance.

Still looking for volunteers to help haul produce from grocery stores in the Fredericksburg area to Rikki’s.

Volunteers to help haul pumpkins in over the next couple week.  All over Virginia !!

Volunteers to help Sandy Paws at Fredericksburg PetSmarts with Photo Taking in December.

Volunteers to help with wrapping for donations at Barnes & Noble Bookstores.  We have Falls Church, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Charlottesville and Virginia Beach lined up ....  and it can be done at B&Ns anywhere ....

And of course .... scoop poop at Rikki’s !!!!   

mail@RikkisRefuge.org to volunteer or ask questions !!!




THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME TO SAVE SO MANY LIVES  
... with your support we’re able to help so many into their new furrever happy homes ....  and to give that life long home to those not quite so fortunate ...  Thank you for your support
Without YOU none of us would be breathing today !!

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 !!


Sunday, October 13, 2013

Good Morning Good News !!!! October 13, 2013

 

Morning !!!!   How are you?  We’re having some wet really fall weather right now.  Starting to miss those late summer days ....   We’re working hard to get everything in tip top shape here at Rikki’s Refuge in time for the winter.  Do you have any handy skills you’d like to practice here?  Fixing fences, painting, weatherproofing ??  Drop me a note if you’d like to help out around the farm, Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org


LAST day of the Shelter Challenge
Please 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 !!!   OR vote without signing in !!!


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 !!! 


Meet one of our obscure residents
Herbivore Tractorivoris
This resident, who’s been with us for years, has ancient origins.  The last of the descendents of the herbaceous titanosaur crossbred with mythical transformers and the family of herbivore tractorivoris was born.  Our herbivore tractorivoris is called Blue.  And sadly Blue is ill and needs some serious surgery.

Blue joined us many years ago. 
When we found him sitting by the side of the road, looking dejected, unloved and no longer wanted with a big ugly FOR SALE sign plastered on his freshly painted body ....  we said, “Oh, Blue, we’ll raise the money to save you and you can come live at Rikki’s Refuge ....  if ... you’ll help us out.” 

Thanks to wonderful donors who helped us help Blue, he came to live at Rikki’s ....  about 12 years ago ....  And you haven’t heard much of Blue since then.

Though Blue is always busy at work ....  it seems someone else always gets the credit.  Blue sympathizes with Candy, our horse who was a jumper and Blue Ribbon Winner.  When she was injured winning ribbons for her hooman, she was abandoned and left to die ... while the former owner carries Candy’s ribbons about and basks in the glow of the Blue Ribbons ... Candy enjoys the love and home she's found at Rikki's Refuge. 
Candy showing off the only Blue Ribbon she ever got to keep.

Poor Blue is always hard at work ....  while the hooman riding along seems to take all the credit.  With over 100 acres of fields to keep in tip top shape ....  you can often see Blue off in the distance chomping up grass and weeds and thorns and thickets ......

Being multi-talented, at night Blue transforms into a lovely sleeping platform.
Never a complaint, no matter who wants to nest down for the night.  Blue has such a lovely calm disposition.

When the need arises, Blue uses his transformer skills to convert into just the tool needed for the job.  Off with the bushhog and on with the backhoe ... when ever diggin is needed.
Fixing water lines so all the animals get good clean fresh water every day.

Planting trees that will one day feed apples to everyone ....  except me, cuz I’m a cat and I don’t eat apples.

Need to pick up something?
You can count on Blue’s transformer powers to scoop up what ever you’re looking for and cart ‘em off.

Way way back in ancient times, when Rikki’s Refuge was just a fleeting dream, way before we knew how many animals we’d end up being responsible for ....  way before Blue joined us ....  the goats and geese had the job of mowing
Seemed like the trees and the flowers always tasted better then the grass ....

Even when we offered the goats some help
The grass stayed long and made the jobs of caring for all the animals harder.

It’s mighty hard to chase down somebody who needs meds when the grass is high enough to hide in.

There’s an awful lot of Rikki’s that needs to be taken care of.
... lots of fields that need mowing, holes to make for fence posts, hauling gravel to smooth out the driveway, digging up to fix broken water lines, planting trees ... and so much more ....  Blue is known to work all over the great big refuge!

But now Blue has a terrible obstacle
and we need your help to get over it.  Blue needs new shoes!  After all these years of running thru the fields of thickets, of scooping up spiky gravel, of hauling fallen trees, after miles and miles .....  after dozens and dozens of repairs, patches, new tubes .....  

Blue can’t run any more

Not till he gets new tires.

Naw.... says Blue ....  Nothing that fancy .....

And I don’t think these are going to work.
 

YUP !!!  I think it’s gotta be more like this !!


We’ve shopped for tires for Blue ... and think we’ve found the best deal.  A good quality that should last for a while ....  hopefully another 12 years ....  but not the best or most expensive by a long shot .... and the pair, mounted and filled with fluid (for weight and traction) will be  ....  $970 ...  Yikes -- this is the cost of major surgery !!!

Will you please help us get Blue out of the hospital and back to work?  

Blue

Blue’s Great Great Great ... Great Great Grandfather, Brown, a herbaceous titanosaur
You can see some of the striking family resemblances. 

Please don’t let our Blue become extinct ....  help us afford the surgery for new tires that will give Blue many many more years of life and service around the refuge !!

Thank you so much for your donations to save Blue !!

socially ostracized kitties who have the fiv virus, this group would have died in a Florida shelter if wonderful volunteers hadn’t arranged for them to make it safely to Rikki’s where they are now living happily ever after

THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME TO SOLVE BLUE’S PROBLEM .....  
... soon as I’ve raised the money to get Blue back on his feet and mowing in the fields ... I’ll tell you about my new book !!
It seems such a shame to have to spend a whole pallet of cat food on shoes for Blue ....  but it’s an absolute necessity to keep Rikki’s Running. 

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 !!


Saturday, October 12, 2013

Good Morning Good News !!!! October 12, 2013

 

Morning !!!!   You know .... those of you who do a recurring monthly donation subscription are such a HUGE help !!!    Knowing I can count on you to help me feed the critters every month is so wonderful. 

I don't get here to thank you folks often enough, and I'm sorry ....  but believe me ... we're chowing down on your gifts every day !!!  Thank you ....  today Sara Whipple Coles and Donna Thomas Smith have chipped in to feed us breakfast !!!!    www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate

I’d love to add you to the list so more of us get nums on the 12th of every month !!!  Would you sign up for a small automatic monthly donation?  It’s real easy!!  You just fill out the info once and it’s all automagic after that !!

You can sign up right here !!!!  www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate  all by yourself !!!!! See the second paragraph “Recurring Donation” you just sign up there !!!!   $5 to buy some meds, $50 to see the doc, what ever works for you !!!!  Every little bit really helps here at Rikki’s Refuge and we can s..t..r..e..t..c..h.. out your help to make it HUGE !!!!


Next to LAST day of the Shelter Challenge
Please vote daily thru the 13th !!
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 !!!   OR vote without signing in !!!


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 !!! 



Remembering Catnip Candy
It was two years ago that Catnip Candy went to the Rainbow Bridge and left all of us behind to miss her.  And miss her we do !!!   Her smile, her joy for life, it was infectious to us all.  You could never feel bad for long with Candy there to cheer you up !!!  

Add your fondest memory of Candy in the comments below.  Let’s remember her and share her memory today as we keep Paul in our prayers.

How fitting to remember our Pumpkin Princess Candy now, just in time for Pumpkin Pickin season.  You see all the pumpkin stands out there selling pumpkins for Halloween?  Ever noticed how quickly they disappear after Halloween? 

Wonder where they go?  To Rikki’s Refuge !!!  At least if we’re lucky they do!!  All the animals ... except the cats and dogs ... love chomping on healthy nutritious pumpkin ....  and so our volunteers round up and start hauling as soon as it’s dark Halloween night. 

And we keep hauling, load after load, all day long for a week till we’ve cleaned out all the pumpkin patches we can.  We need YOUR help in Northern Virginia, Fredericksburg, Richmond, Charlottesville, Spotsylvania, Culpeper and anywhere else you can drive from. 

Join one of our Pumpkin  Pickin teams by emailing me now at mail@RikkiRefge.org or stop by the stands, nurseries and stores you see and ask if you can collect those and bring them to Rikki’s.  Be sure to let us know when you’re coming as the gate is kept closed to keep the animals in and we’ll need to open up for you !!!

Thank you Pumpkin People!! 


A great big huge thank you to Girl Scout Troop 3797
for raising the money to buy water troughs for the pigs and cows !!!! 
You all are awesome!!  Thank you for all the work you did sprucing up Rikki’s Refuge too !!!!
Rikki’s is a great place to do a scouting project !!!


What's coming next to a Kindle near you ???
We are working on an Animal Friendly Thanksgiving cookbook next and want to feature recipes from Opie's friends. .... and I don't think they mean Fancy Feast. Got great recipes that don't include animals ... that you'd like to share .... also send me a pic of you or your kitty (or other critter) trying it ... or any pic you'd like with it !!!! Thank you -- you can attach here as a comment, post on my wall, tag me, or send to me at Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org

"Please be sure not to copy a recipe out of someone's cookbook. We need main dishes, side dishes, desserts, appetizers, drinks -- the whole shebang. Submission deadline is October 15 so that we have time to format the book and get it into the Kindle store before Thanksgiving."


Sometimes in the Animal World
.... well maybe most of the time, you should expect the unexpected and never take your eyes off your back !!!!  

It’s like volunteering Rikki’s Refuge .....  the unexpected always happens ....  and the cows sneak up from behind and give you a “gentle” nudge ..... the cat sails across the room and lands on your shoulder ... with claws extended to grip on ... wouldn’t want her falling off now, would you  !!!   It’s all in the normal day volunteering at Rikki’s Refuge.


I’ve got some fun coming up for you at Rikki’s Refuge.

Saturday, October 19, Full Moon Walk
Saturday, October 26, Halloween Tour at Rikki’s and Nature Hike
Saturday, November 16, Nature Appreciation Day, Tour and Nature Hike at Rikki’s Refuge and Full Moon Walk

Contact us by email mail@RikkisRefuge.org  for details, times and tickets, all events at Rikki’s require tickets in advance.

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.   

Please help us our at this difficult time of year !!!   Every penny counts ... if you can spare $1 or $5 please help the animals today.
http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php   Winter is just around the corner ... we’re getting ready to buy winter bedding and stocking the pantry in case of bad weather ....  would you ... could you ... please ... help us out just a little bit?  Every penny counts ... 25 of them add up to feed one of us a meal !!!!

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 !!


Wednesday, October 09, 2013

Good Morning Good News !!!! October 9, 2013












My goodness !!!  Fall is certainly upon us, is it not?  One day it was hot summer and then it rained and turned into fall for sure.  The leaves are a turnin and a fallin .....    Overnight we’re chowing down almost twice what we were just a few weeks ago!!  Even though our minds know you’ll always be there to feed us .... our bodies worry about the lack of food in the winter ... so we flip into instinctual stuff it down while you can mode !!!  Have you found yourself eating more lately?








We’re closing in to the end of the Shelter Challenge
Please vote daily thru the 13th !!
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 !!!   OR vote without signing in !!!


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 !!! 


Fall means Halloween is coming !!!

That can be fun and scary.  It’s fun to trick or treat and get good things eat !!  It’s always good to get good things to eat !!   But it can be scary for us animals.  
All those folks coming round, dressed up funny, some dressed up scary, making scary sounds.  This upsets my doggy friends a lot ...  they have jobs of protecting their homes and their families and they don’t know about the fun people have on Halloween.  So they can get scared and they might growl or even bite one of your Trick or Treaters.  So please help them out on Halloween, let them stay inside in a safe room.  Don’t let them answer the door with you to hand out candy.  You never know when a terrible fright might make the nicest dog in the world get scared and nip our of fear.  And please, don’t leave your dog outside on Halloween night.

Keep us kitties in mind too.  Most every body is nice to us.  But there are a few not very nice people who might do not so nice things.  It’s best to let us stay inside too.  Especially your black kitties.  We’re not going to sit on your pumpkins and pose as lawn ornaments for you !!!  Please let us stay in a nice warm room, snuggled up and away from the human fun of Halloween !!!    Thank you !!!


And Halloween Means Pumpkins
Raise your hand (or send me an email  mail@RikkisRefuge.org if you can help haul pumpkins to Rikki’s.  They’ll be pick up sites in Northern Virginia, Richmond, Charlottesville, Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg and just about anywhere.  We need folks at the pumpkin sites to help load.  And folks who have trucks, trailers, vans to drive.  Please let me know if you would like to volunteer with the Great Pumpkin Patch Pickin’ !


Do you love food?
Well, so do the animals at Rikki's.
They love it so much that they are given some every single day!  The animals are so appreciative of the food, that they sometimes share their meals with their friends.

Costco and Wegman's in Fredericksburg love to help us feed the animals (and Rikki's bank account appreciates them, too!).  But, we need help getting the food from the stores to the refuge.  Can you help?  The animals will be oh, so grateful!

All you need is a large vehicle (like a pickup truck or van with seats removed, or an SUV) and a couple of hours.  Costco gives us food every day, Monday through Saturday, and Wegman's gives it to us on Tuesdays and Saturdays.  Food from Costco must be picked up between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m., and Wegman's can be picked up any time between 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Whether you can pick up 1 day a week, or 1 day a month, won't you join our team, and help give the animals at Rikki's delicious, fresh produce?  It helps to keep the animals healthy!
If you can help, please contact Melissa at dogslife24@comcast.net


Rap with Vincent
Don’t pay him no mind about advertising the wrong dates and locations ... he made this video a couple years ago. 

But we need YOUR HELP this holiday season !!!  

We have some good clean fun coming up in Barnes & Noble Book Stores in Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, Richmond and Northern Virginia.  You get to be inside where it’s warm.  And you wrap the books folks have bought as gifts.  You wrap, they give a donation !!!  Is that cool or what !!!  We need your help.  Please sign up as a volunteer to wrap for an hour or two, mail@RikkisRefuge.org

This is something you can do at any Barnes and Noble on the planet .... just ask the manager how you can sign up for the Holiday Fundraising Program !!!


Sandy Paws Needs YOU too !!
Sandy Paws is a very good fundraiser at PetSmart.  Melissa has been asked about doing pictures with Santa again this year at Petsmart.  Santa is lined up to provide the lap.  Can YOU be his elves and help out?  Please contact Melissa ASAP so we can secure dates, Melissa at dogslife24@comcast.net


Angel Trees Rock
It’s a fabulous program.  Merchants invite us to put up a tree in their store.  Rikki’s has the trees ... we just need YOU to help set them up !!  We have ornaments with pictures of the animals and a wish list of what they want for Christmas.  The customers pick an ornament and buy a gift for an animal.  A bottle of bleach for Petunia the Piggy, some Fancy Feast for me ....   The customer leaves the gift under the tree.   Every week or day, depending on how busy YOUR store is, you pick up the supplies and restock the ornaments.  It’s easy and it’s a HUGE winter help to the animals.

We’ll have trees in Northern Virginia, Charlottesville, Culpeper, Spotsylvania, Richmond, Fredericksburg and Virginia Beach. 

Will you be an Opie’s Elf and help me collect the nums at one store in your area?  mail@RikkisRefuge.org

VOLUNTEERS
These are all fabulous ways to help Rikki’s Refuge.  Please sign up for an event soon.  We NEED YOU !!!!


I’m not so sure about this Government Fur Low ....
you’d think they’d want Fur High with winter coming .... but I know it’s making some of us skip meals.  Many of our regular supporters haven’t been able to help us this week.  And that is scary. 

The first sign winter is coming at Rikki’s .... is the food bill goes up.  We all start eating more and more.  Longer nights and colder weather and we’re getting ready for winter just the way nature planned.  We’re fattening up and growing thicker longer hair.  And it takes lots of nums to grow all this luscious fur

Winter is coming and we’re trying to fill the pantry so we don’t have to go hungry on a snowy day when mom can’t get out to the store ......

Please help us if you can .....  we’re a little scared now, and it’s not cuz of the ghosts and ghouls coming for Halloween .... we’re getting worried about our next meal ....  Would you help us out please?  http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php  


ONE DOLLAR will buy FOUR MEALS .....  $25 will feed ONE HUNDRED of us !!!!   You can just imagine how far we can make $100 go !!!  Thank you so much for skipping a cup of fancy coffee, dessert, or a movie this week.  We so appreciate your help.  http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php  

And those of you having a hard time, those without jobs, those of you fur lowed .... YOU are in our prayers.  May better times come to us all soon. 


Sometimes in the Animal World
.... well maybe most of the time, you should expect the unexpected !!!!  

It’s like volunteering Rikki’s Refuge .....  the unexpected always happens ....  and the emus make off with your earrings ....  the sheep squeeze out the gate and you are lost for three days in the woods hunting them down .....   the pigs are overly anxious for their slop and knock you flat in the mud !!!   It’s all in the normal day volunteering at Rikki’s Refuge.

Yet .... YOU can VOTE, help haul PUMPKINS, tote the PRODUCE to the animals, WRAP in the nice climate controled environment of Barnes and Noble and be SANDY PAWS assistant all on a fixed scheduled .... without any unespected .... or dirty ... or scary .... happenings !! 

THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING TODAY!!

I’ve got some fun coming up for you at Rikki’s Refuge.

Saturday, October 19, Full Moon Walk
Saturday, October 26, Halloween Tour at Rikki’s and Nature Hike
Saturday, November 16, Nature Appreciation Day, Tour and Nature Hike at Rikki’s Refuge and Full Moon Walk

Contact us by email mail@RikkisRefuge.org  for details, times and tickets, all events at Rikki’s require tickets in advance.

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   Winter is just around the corner ... we’re getting ready to buy winter bedding and stocking the pantry in case of bad weather ....  would you ... could you ... please ... help us out just a little bit?  Every penny counts ... 25 of them add up to feed one of us a meal !!!!

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 !!