Is it really only two weeks till Christmas? I’m getting kind of worried.
I think maybe I haven’t been good enough this year. I don’t have enough to give everybody at
Rikki’s Refuge a present.
I want to give every cat a can of their very own, and every doggy a nice
big bone to chew on and every cow some delicious hay and every piggy ... well a
whole bucket of slop !!!!
I can’t do it without your help.
Please don’t let anyone go hungry ...
Will YOU help me feed everybody ?
If you have even a small donation left for us after your Christmas
Shopping, I’d be so grateful. I don’t
want to let all my friends here at Rikki’s down ....
Thank you !!! I always love you
very much, Opie ... who really want’s to be Santa to them all
Don’t forget to VOTE today !!!!!
Click on Vincent to cast your vote for Rikkis Refuge, VA, USA ..... be a winner for the animals !!!!
If you set up an account under this link, we could win an additional
$1,000 too !!!!
Your daily vote is very much needed.
$1,000 go so very far at Rikki’s --- and your votes make that
possible. Without YOU ... there would
be no food, no medical care ..... no
animals ....
PHOTOS
WITH SANTA
Saturday, December 14, 2013
11 am - 4 pm, Central Park, Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA at PetSmart ...
Rikki's is doing Pet Photos with Santa ....... come on down and get your photo
!!!!! Bring your MOST exotic friend !!!!
Benefits the animals of Rikki’s
I love snuggling with Mom and hearing the stories of how Rikki’s came to
be ... what it was like in the early
days .... about all YOU wonderful people who made it possible .... about all
the animals saved .... I’m sharing my
scratches about Rikki’s Refuge .... 15 Years in the Making with you as much as
I can paw in at one sitting ..... if
you missed Part I or II .... you can catch up here http://rikkisrefuge.blogspot.com/2013/12/rikkis-refuge-15-years-in-making.html and read from the beginning.
We ended last time hearing mom say, “... 30,500 lives saved, since we
first started clearing up that poison ivy.“
Rikki’s Refuge ....
15 Years in the Making
.... Part III
But it doesn’t stop there either.
We work with other shelters, rescues, organizations, to help them save
more. We teach the things we’ve learned
about managing so many animals. How to
manage feral cats in a shelter instead of euthanize, why TNR is THE way to go,
how to get them home or to good colony situations. In the animal world what people fear, people kill. When we teach understanding of ferals, we
dispel that fear, we give them options, we give them a chance for life.
We teach management of fiv, feline leukemia, acceptance of elderly and
handicapped animals for the adoption roster, not the euthanasia list. We teach rescues to work well with pounds
and shelters. The contention between
the two so often leads to the death of animals. When they understand and respect one another, they can work
together towards saving more lives.
We teach disease management in large groups of animals, quarantine
control, cleaning protocols. Every new
animal group will go through the same problems, they can reinvent it all,
losing lives in the process, or they can learn from the experienced. When you’ve been there, you know what works
and what doesn’t. I thank God every day
for the valuable insights I learned from others, from spending time at Best
Friends Animal Sanctuary, from visiting sanctuaries across the country, from
the long, long lists the really outstanding Directors told me of things NOT to
do ....
Yes, you’d think what TO do might be more important? I mean taking care of animals is pretty
obvious anyway, isn’t it? Yet so many of
those obvious things lead to disaster.
Disaster and lives lost that will happen if you keep learning from
scratch. I took those lists of DO NOTs
to heart. So often the plan warned
against would come up in plans and designs and I’d remember, “Oh they said
DON’T” .... Sometimes I wouldn’t
really see why this or that was a real no-no.
Later I’d always learn and see, had I not listened and not learned from
those who’d gone before me, someone would have been injured or died.
How many animals have been saved through information we’ve shared with
others working to save animals? I have
no idea. There’s no way to compute
those numbers. But I can tell you it’s
thousands and thousands. No doubt tens
of thousands over the years.
.....
WOW -- so that means YOUR support helps save the lives of domestic
animals like me, farm animals like Mikey the Goat, all kinds of wildlife AND
animals that end up in other shelters in close by and far away places.
Whose life would YOU like to save today?
Isn’t it wonderful to be a part of Rikki’s and know that YOU are helping
others to create the same kind of paradise on earth AND avoid mistakes that can
ruin it!
Your donation today WILL ENABLE ANOTHER LIFE to be saved.
Thank YOU for keeping Rikki’s alive and helping others stay alive too!
On line donations are easy at www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate you can even
sign up for a life saving monthly recurring donation!!!
I’m always happy to hear the check is in the mail! Rikki’s Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960
You can call me directly at 540-854-0870 x5 to make sure your credit
info is kept confidential.
Now Taking Reservations
Also Christmas Tour at noon on the 25th. This is ONE tour and is not an open
house. Tickets are required in
advance. Email to mail@rikkisrefuge.org for your ticket application, please mention which
day in your request !! Complimentary tickets
to Rikki’s Family Members and to those who have visited on Christmas Day
before.
The December 14th Full Moon Walk is cancelled cuz it’s gonna
be too overcast to see where we’re walking.
EVERY Saturday !
Sign up as a docent to stand by and accept donations at our Education
Center ! Easy, clean and climate
controlled. Mail@RikkisRefuge.org
This week we are in really desperate need of canned cat food. I know, it’s always all about cats! That’s not really so ... it’s just that
there are so many of them that they eat more.
Doggies are getting canned nums too and thank you Mosby Foundation for
running the food bank and for your recent generous donation of dry dog
food. And a great big huge monster hug to Paul Erhard, Mike Wood and Jack Buckhorn who braved the wintery ick yesterday to drive over the mountain and pick it up and bring it back to Rikki's !!!!
The dogs are laughing at the cats ....
they’ve got plenty to eat ....
the cats are having to ration ...
Won’t YOU
help US ?
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 looking forward to Christmas this year
!!
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 !!
THE BEST STOCKING STUFFER EVER !!!!!
THE BEST STOCKING STUFFER EVER !!!!!
