Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Good Morning Good News !!!! June 19, 2013



We are just popping with
            good news,
                        good donors,
                                    good volunteers, and
                                                GOOD ANIMALS !!!

I'm back !!!! I went to school this morning!!! Yup ... went with Lena and Melissa to teach dem kids some humane education !!! They was nice and humane to me and hugged me and loved me and gave me treats !!! My pal Gertie Priggy came too, she's a guinea pig. And Lena was telling the story about how her family dumped her at the pound cuz they didn't want her no more .... well guess what .... her little girl was there in that very school and said OH That's my guinea pig and she had pictures on her phone !!! So they got to do some kissing and love each other more. Tomorrow I getz to be on TV !!

Young Guinea pig in need of furrever home !!!!    Would YOU like to adopt?



Teach kindness everywhere you go
every living creature matters !


YEAHHHHHH The Deck on the office trailers just passed final inspection !!!!!!   Thank you Dennis and Spotsylvania County Schools REACH Program !!   Now it's time to get the electricity run over to them .... any nice electricians out there who'd like to help us ????


WOW .... a real genie pot !!!! And it's on ebay with proceeds going to Rikki's .... What are YOUR three wishes ? Would YOU like to see them come true? Will a nice genie come out if you stroke this pot and offer you three wishes? You all be very careful now .... wish wisely !!! Place your bid NOW to discover ... do genies convey with their pots on ebay??? I can't promise you'll get your three wishes if you win .... but I know you won't if you don't bid !!! So bid away !!!!!



THANK YOU my successful donors !!!  YOU won the whole jackpot on the Double Your Donation Challenge!!!  GOOD JOB !!!!


Let’s give a BIG HAND to Dennis and the REACH team at Spotsylvania High ... they recycle thru Terracycle for Rikki's and we just got a check that will cover four trips to the vet !!!! Yaaa hooo


I'd like you all to salute our wonderful volunteers who represented Rikki's Refuge at the Vegetarian Festival in Richmond Saturday .... lead by our fearless Events Leader Ron Herfurth .... thank you Melissa Felts, Donna Savory, Toni White, Grace White, Denise Leaghty Halderman, Diane Moore, Cynthia Wright, Walker Wright, Mariza Soliman, and Angela Soliman. That was the biggest team ever all working towards one common goal .... helping the animals of Rikki's ...

Your efforts will feed EVERY SINGLE resident, every one of the 1296 critters, every single one of the 22 species .... for a full day !!!! WOW

.... now if you'll please come out tomorrow and clean up the poop .....

Just kidding !!! YOU make the money, YOU feed the critters, we'll scoop the poop, well I'll instruct my hoomans to take care of it .....

Ron was on the look out for Kroger shoppers ..... if they get a Rikki’s Kroger Card ....  EVERY TIME they shop Kroger’s will make a donation to Rikki’s !!!   Is totally FREE to the shoppers !!!!   Here’s all the details http://rikkisrefuge.blogspot.com/2011/08/kroger-care-card.html

Come have fun with at volunteers at events !!!
They travel all over the state to tell people about Rikki’s Refuge, sell our tshirts, coffee and vegan chocolate !!!   Want some ... just ask !!!



How about a BIG HAND for Valerie from Brittany Commons at the Spotsylvania fairgrounds charity event Saturday !!! Thank you Nora Eldridge and Deb Barrett for telling Valerie about Rikki’s and for helping out.   They raised enough to buy flea drops for all the dogs and the cats of the 9th Life Center for a month !!!


Duke Thomas Peabody Celebrated his 7th Birthday
on Monday !!!!   Just click his pic if you’d like to send him a birthday present! 

Did you know Duke has his own stores??  Well maybe not a whole store .... but a booth at a mini-mall.

ANOTHER BIG HAND to Dennis and the REACH team at Spotsylvania High ... who run the booth at Minureman Minimall in Culpeper, the Duke Thomas Peabody Shop!

746 Germanna Hwy at the intersection of 29 and 3.   Stop in and visit us!!

Rikki's gets a check every month to help the doggies out !!!   They specialize in selling animal oriented things ... stop in and visit ... or let us know if you have items to donate !!!! Yaaa hooo



Hip Hip Hurrah for Buttons
He made it safely to Texas Sunday night.  He was living in a shelter in West Virginia.  His adoptor was in Texas.  It was going to take some time to arrange a volunteer train to get him home.  But the shelter said Buttons was out of time. 

So Buttons came to vacation at Rikki’s for a couple weeks while all the legs of his trip were filled with volunteers.  Bright and early Saturday morning .... he started his journey with his first driver.

One driver after another handed Buttons off for the next leg of his journey .....

And Sunday night he got to sleep in the arms of his new furrever mom !!! 


June is adopt a shelter cat month  --- have you gotten yours yet?

Buttons was adopted thru our Black Cat Appreciation Day.  Helping black cats the world over get out of shelters and into homes.  Learn what it’s all about  ... 76,000 people can’t be wrong ....

This poster is from another organization who’s joined our effort to dispel the myths about black cats and give them the chance to be adopted.  Since we starting this even two years ago, countless cats have been save  the world over.  Click on the kitties above to read all about this growing global phenomenon.


A big huge Thank you to Jan Chetnik for spreading the word about our need for supplies !!!  The quantity of food we go thru with 1300 animals, and the quantity of cleaning supplies would stun you !!!  Fill your car up ... and it will only last days !!  Not the year or two you’d expect.  And Jan knows this.  So she rounds up all her friends and co-workers to help out and buy supplies.  She even makes deals with stores just for Rikki’s!!!   360 Feed in Fredericksburg will sell 40# bags of cat food for only $21 if, and ONLY IF, you are donating it to Rikki’s Refuge.  You need a secret code to make that sale ... so ask us first !!!

When ever you shop let the store owner or manager know that you’re a part of Rikki’s and ask if they have any broken bags to give away, or they’d like to make a special deal!!  You’ll be surprised how often they want to help when you tell them about Rikki’s. 

Jan filled her car to the max and brought out the goodies on Monday.  Thank you Jan.   She also keeps an eye on collection cans in several stores and picks up the change ... which adds up ... and brings it out to Rikki’s.  Yippee.  That’s easy -- you can do that too -- make up a pretty jar and ask if you can put it at your favorite store.  Be sure to promise to come and collect the money every week or two !!!!

Thanks to you supply donors .... the pantry isn’t looking so bare !!!


Paws up to Deb Barrett who heard the plight of our pantry and began advertising for nums on facebook.  And to Wayne Morris who created one of those “a picture speaks a 1,000 words”
and to everyone who shared the photo and the donate site http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php and to everyone who donated .....  you’ve bought a pallet of cat food !!!! 



Up Close and Purrsonal - Visit the Neighborhoods of Rikki’s Refuge
Chicken City, Rabbit Rotunda, Cavy Castle, Pigeon Palace, Bovine Boulevard, Capri Corners, Horsey Haven,
Feline Fields, Piggy Paradise, Emu Estates, Doggy Downs, Turkey Terrace, and MORE ....
June 22, 2013 Saturday, tour at noon, Nature Hike at 2 pm
July 4, 2013 Thursday, tour at noon, Nature Hike at 2 pm


Tours are two hour, all outdoors, walking tour covering 2-3 miles and start at noon
Limited space on each tour so tickets must be reserved in advance
Reserve by email mail@RikkisRefuge.org or phone 540-854-0870 x3
The tour is an outdoor event, dress for the weather, and the animals (which means that for your safety, no sandals so your feet don’t get stomped by big hoofed animals, no short pants / dresses / skirts or bare shoulders so you don’t get scratched, no jewelry nothing shiny or dangly so the emus won’t injure you by grabbing)
Admission for Tour only is $12 per person, $5 for ages 12 and under!  If this is financially difficult for you let us know, Orange County residents may qualify for a scholarship. 

Nature Hikes take you thru the trails to discover who’s watching you from the thicks of the forest !!!   From birds to bears .... who you meet is different on every hike.  Some experts have recently been cataloging species of wildlife out there.  The last guy who spent the night camping out to learn who lurks in the darkness burst out of the woods around 2:45 am screaming about a giant creature chasing him.  The next day several experts went in to investigate .... they found no Bigfoot ... only some huge prints and other markings commonly found at Bigfoot sightings ... they are being investigated by a team now.

And in the meantime .... while we await the news ... will Rikki’s Refuge be adding their 23rd species, Bigfoot?

You can come explore the woods with us!  Our trails thru the woods are not like cultivated paths in a park!!  Expect to get snagged on pricker bushes and get your feet wet jumping stones or walking logs to get across creeks.  Lots of up hill ... and down hill hiking.  It’s relatively strenuous and we’ll be covering several miles.  Be sure to bring water.

Use the same dress code as for Tours, but add sturdy hiking boots !!!

Not suitable for little ones who’ll tire climbing the hills.  You know your kids better than we do, so you decide.  Please remember there is no way to get vehicles back into the woods, so if they tire, you’ll have to carry them!! 

Nature Hikes always start at 2 pm and run for two hours .... or until we find our way, a few times our hardy hiking guide has gotten lost and lead the troops out after about 4 hours !! 

Admission for Nature Hike only is $12 per person, $5 for ages 12 and under!  If this is financially difficult for you let us know, Orange County residents may qualify for a scholarship. 

Combine the Tour and the Hike for a special price, $20 for adults, $7.50 for those 12 and under.

Limited space, RSVP NOW by email mail@RikkisRefuge.org or phone 540-854-0870 x3
Tickets sales STOP 48 hours before event !!!!  So sign up NOW !!!!!




We never forget that YOU are our LIFE SAVERS ... our lives depend totally on your donations!!!

Love you bunches,
           Vincent and 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 !!