Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Good Morning Good News !!!! September 23, 2014


 

D is for Duke

Duke is the gentlest sweet dawggie you’ll ever meet.  He’s my favorite dawggie brofur.  Duke came to Rikki’s just over 7 years ago, on May 29, 2007.  My Uncle Paul and Aunt Candy drove him down to Rikki’s from Baltimore. 

Why did Duke need to come to Rikki’s?

Cuz he was going to be killed for being blind.  It’s not like it’s his fault or nothin.  He was born that way.  He couldn’t help it.  And it looked like once he was loved by his family, before he was left to die. 


He was found in a park in Baltimore with a collar and leash, running around, lost, all alone, unable to find his hooman.  Somebody caught him and turned him into the shelter.  The shelter got in so many animals, nobody could stay for very long, had to get adopted or killed pretty quick.  Back then, many shelters had policies of killing the “unsightly” or “defective” animals.  Like me too, I’d probably gotted killed in most shelters.  Me and Duke is so glad to have Rikki’s Refuge who not only wanted to save our lives, but love us whole lots too.


So anyway here was Duke, scared and blind in a shelter waiting to be killed if nobody answered the “found dog” ads or called in to say they’d lost their beloved companion.    And nobody called.  Duke would be killed to make room for a “perfect” dog that somebody might adopt. 

Lucky somebody made a call to Rikki’s Refuge and Duke was able to come to us.  Paul and Candy volunteered to drive up and get him and give him a ride down ... it was really way to far for a Dawggie to walk and anyway, being blind and all, it would have been a really difficult trip for Duke on his own.  He couldn’t even read his GPS !


When Duke went to see nice Dr Meredith Vargas at “our” animal hospital so she could teuter him, she found out he had a bleeding disorder.  Yikes ... he needed lots of blood and drugs to save his life.  Just from a simple teuter.  But luckily our wonderful doc acted quick and saved our Duke .....  then once she caught her breath, she called to tell us.  Boy were we glad he was ok !!!


Not too much longer later Duke had a seizure.  He was fine by the time he got to the doc ....  and it’s hard to tell what’s going on if seizures are quick and over with.   So we’d wait and watch.  No reason has ever been found, but a few times a year Duke will have a seizure.  We have meds that gets him up and on his feet real quick.  And they are infrequent enough that the drugs to prevent them would be worse than the occasional seizure.  My hoomans think they can often sense when one is coming and give him his meds and then he’s fine and doesn’t have one.  


Duke is like me, he’s a spokes critter.  He’s the Official Spokes Dog.  He and me goes to schools to teach little hoomans to be nice to differently abled.  We don’t care what species you are ... we know that if you’re differently abled you’re just the same on the inside as the so called purrfect of your species ....  it doesn’t matter if your eyes work or your ears work or you can walk like others ... it just matters what’s in your heart.  Yup ... it’s all about what’s in your heart. 


And Duke has only nice in his heart.  He’s so gentle and he’s so sweet.  Yes he is  ....  he’s a fine fine dawggie and I’m glad he’s here to work with me and go to places to help teach da hoomans.  Sometimes I think they need lots of lessons, big or small, it’s our job to teach da hoomans to be nice to da planet, da aminals and each other.  

If you love Duke, would you help him and his friends at Doggie Downs out with a little donation?  $1 buys them 4 meals.  $12 keeps the fleas and ticks off Duke for a month.  $67.50 supports Duke or one of his doggysibs for a whole month !!!!    Will you help out?  www.RikkisRefuge.org/FeedMe



Charlottesville Vegetarian Festival
If you can come out and help us this SATURDAY the 27th please let us know asap, we need VOLUNTEERS to help set up, hand out brochures, man the booth and take donations in exchange for merchandise, T shirts and more, and to be Opie and Sylvestra’s companions to meet the public !!   And of course, at the end of the day when we’re all tired, to help take down. 
Contact me NOW if you can help: mail@RikkisRefuge.org




THANK YOU    THANK YOU    THANK YOU
For your hard work and votes !!!!    YOU placed Rikki’s Refuge second in the Tractor Supply.  Coming up soon you’ll see Opie accepting the great big prize !!!!

The Shelter Challenge Contest is over for this round .....  in just a few days ...  we’ll know where YOUR hard work and voting placed Rikki’s Refuge !!!

Contests are such an awesome way to raise money to feed the animals !!!

NUMS for YOU
brought to you by Maria Appleby, Rikki’s Social Media Director
you share with me, and I’ll share with you
try this wonderful vegan recipe today
Duke says, “Almost as good as dog cookies !!!”




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 have been alive

to be looking forward to this fall !!

THANK YOU !!!!!!
Your donations saved Duke and every other animal who lives at Rikki’s Refuge  !!!!   AND your donations are giving them happiness today !!!   Pledge to work each and every day to make the planet just a little bit better.  Please make a donation to give everyone here a happy tomorrow !!!  www.RikkisRefuge.org/FeedMe 


COMING UP SOON!!
What did Opie do at the National Capital Cat Show?
How much Pizza did Ingido eat?
Opie accepts a the PRIZE from Tractor Supply !!
See Opie Dress Up at the Fredericksburg Pet Expo!
Meet the new arrivals at Rikki’s, quack, woof, honk, meow !!
Birthday and Special Day Contests !!
Memorial to our friend Greg.
STAY TUNED TO OPIE TIMES !!


Love,
    Opie













Join us on Facebook:      www.facebook.com/RikkisRefuge\
                                        www.facebook.com/vincent.cat
                                        www.facebook.com/Kerry.Hilliard
Rikki’s Web Site:           www.rikkisrefuge.org
Blog:                               www.rikkisrefuge.blogspot.com/
Help the Animals:          www.rikkisrefuge.org/FeedMe
Re-Tail our thrift store:  www.facebook.com/ReTail.org
             Web Site:          www.rikkisrefuge.org/?page_id=6330
             Location:           3503 Lafayette Blvd, Fredericksburg VA 22408  
             Phone:               540-891-5300
              Hours:              10 am - 6 pm Monday - Saturday
                                       noon - 5 pm - Sunday



Saturday, September 13, 2014

Good Morning Good News !!!! September 13, 2014



I really would like to say THANK YOU GOD !!!!   What a great day yesterday was !!!!   I've always believed in miracles .... or I should say I've relied on miracles ... without one miracle after another, Rikki's Refuge never would have been and could not continue to be .....   From the day I found the property and envisioned a sanctuary growing there .... to the day a donor stepped up and said, "I'll buy it for you." ....

.... to the day I sat on the back porch crying, no money, no more cat litter, 200 cats a poopin' ... and I looked up and said, "Come on God, you gotta do somethin' ... you got me into this mess ... you've got to get some cat litter" ... and the phone rang ... and the lady on the other end said, "Do you use cat litter?  Could you use 96,000 pounds?"  And I said, "96,000 pounds?  Do you have any idea how much that is?"  And she said, "Yes a full railroad car, can you come and get it."  One pick up truck load at a time ...  mmm hmmmm we did ....  Singing thank you God all the way home, trip after trip.   

And everyday when people are so kind to us, kind enough to buy food, kind enough to donate supplies, kind enough to give us their hard earned money, kind enough to vote for us in contests that are yet another miracle come true !!!!   

Thank you for keeping on voting in the Tractor Supply contest and keeping on sharing and helping us all to be WINNERS !!!!   We’ve only got a two more days to vote.  The contest ends on Sunday ...  so be sure to get in your Saturday and Sunday vote ....  Thank you !!!!


SUPER URGENT VERY IMPORTANT

We are in second place as one of the Top Ten Finalist in the Tractor Supply Company’s RESCUE MY RESCUE PHOTO CONTEST!    The grand prize?  $10,000!!   

WE NEED YOUR HELP!  The contest winners are chosen by VOTES.  It is free and easy and you can vote every 24 hours.  The contest runs through Sunday, September 14 at midnight!  The final prize winners will then be announced on Wednesday, September 17, the first day of the Tractor Supply Company Pet Appreciation Week (PAW).

AND you can come see us at The Orange, Virginia, Tractor Supply on Saturday September 20th from 10 am - 2 pm !!  Please VOTE for us so Tractor Supply will be featuring US as their WINNER !!!!!    Thank you !!    Click here to VOTE  https://www.facebook.com/TractorSupplyCo?v=app_340493986057345&rest=1


Please get your Shelter Challenge VOTE in EVERYDAY!! 
this contest runs thru 9/21 and allows daily, sometimes twice daily, votes !!!  The Shelter Challenge is a wonderful opportunity to help the animals with only a few clicks !!!!  Totally FREE and EASY and QUICK ....  turn your clicks into meds to prevent ticks !!!!

Please vote today and every day  ...  Just go to this link http://www.shelterchallenge.com/web/charityusa/nomineehome?userId=53331&nomineeId=17448
and enter Rikkis Refuge (no ‘ ... see ??)  in VA in the USA and that’s it !! Thank you



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 have been alive

to enjoy this beautiful summer !!

THANK YOU !!!!!!
Your donations have saved the lives of every animal featured here today !!!!   AND your donations are giving them happiness today !!!   Pledge to work each and every day to make the planet just a little bit better.  Please make a donation in honor of the animals you have loved to give everyone here a happy tomorrow !!!  www.RikkisRefuge.org/FeedMe 

Love,
    Kerry,Opie,Vincent,
    Timmy, Sylvsstra, Duke
    and Kiki



Join us on Facebook:            https://www.facebook.com/RikkisRefuge\
                                                https://www.facebook.com/vincent.cat
                                                https://www.facebook.com/Kerry.Hilliard
Rikki’s Web Site:                www.rikkisrefuge.org
Blog:                                       http://rikkisrefuge.blogspot.com/
Help the Animals:                     http://rikkisrefuge.org/FeedMe
Re-Tail our thrift store:            https://www.facebook.com/ReTail.org
             Web Site:                http://rikkisrefuge.org/?page_id=6330
             Location:                    3503 Lafayette Blvd, Fredericksburg VA 22408  
             Phone:                        540-891-5300
              Hours:             10 am - 6 pm Monday - Saturday
                                                noon - 5 pm - Sunday


Thursday, September 11, 2014

Good Morning Good News !!!! September 12, 2014



C is also for Cat Show -- Rikki’s was at the National Capital Cat show last weekend where we caught up with many friends we see once a year.

We need your help at other events.   Here’s what’s coming up.







Eat Pizza at CiCi’s for Rikki’s
Meet and Kiss the World Famous Indigo !!
Saturday, September 13, 2014
11 am - 5 pm














Saturdays, September 13, 20, 27, 2014



Saturdays, September 13, 20, 27, 2014


Sundays, September 14, 28 and October 12, 26, 2014



Rikki’s Refuge will be at the Fredericksburg Pet Show
Saturday and Sunday, September 20 & 21, 2014 
SATURDAY 9/20/14 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM
SUNDAY 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Fredericksburg Expo Center
2371 Carl D Silver Pkwy, Fredericksburg, Virginia



Rikki’s Refuge will be at the 18th Annual Charlottesville Vegetarian Festival
Saturday, September 27th, 2014
11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
located at Lee Park in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia



Rikki’s Refuge 6th Annual Benefit 5K Race / Walk
(bring your well behaved, all species friendly, leashed friend)
Saturday, November 1, 2014
9:00 AM
at beautiful Lake Anna State Park
Your entry fee of $25.00 (or $30.00 on race day) will help the over 1200 animals who call Rikki’s Refuge their home. Checks should be made to Rikki’s Refuge. Donations of pet food and/or other supplies are welcome.
Awards will be presented to the first male and female finisher and the first 3 in each age group (19-under, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, and 60-up). Also the team with the most runners/walkers. All pre- registered runners are guaranteed a T-Shirt. The race will be held rain or shine.
The race is sponsored by: Patterson’s Construction, Ed’s Awards & Engraving, VA Runner, Lake Anna State Park, Giant Food Stores, Meadows Farms, and The REACH program.
Entry Forms can be picked up at: VA Runner, Ed’s Awards & Engraving, Giant Food Stores, 360 Feeds or email bugbane30@gmail.com for more information.

VOLUNTEER TO HELP AT ANY OF THESE EVENTS
BY CONTACTING RIKKI’S REFUGE AT mail@RikkisRefuge.org

Of course you can always come out and visit us at any of the shows. 

Being our support personnel is really helpful.  There’s lots to do to have a successful show. 

Getting ready.  Packing up supplies, cleaning cages and car seats and thinking of all the last details.  Did you pack enough Fancy Feast for the day?  And the litter and scoop and bag and wet wipes and all the other things I might need? 

Getting the supplies and critters to and from the shows can be a big job too.  We go to events in Northern Virginia, Richmond, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, Culpeper, Orange, Shenandoah, Luray, Winchester and even more fun places when we’re invited.

Setting up our booth takes a few dedicated early risers to unpack and make everything look nice before the opening bell rings!


During the events, we need lots of folks 
there hoomaning the booth. 

        Some to sell our merchandise. 



Cuz every dollar of stuff we sell is four more meals for the animals ...  so this is very important.  And we have so much cool stuff !!!









So Close And Yet ......   dang I Need Thumbs
















A Boy’s Gotta Eat To Keep Up The
Strength To Hug and Kiss Fans ....


 Other folks catsit or dogsit or goatsit  to make sure we’re safe.  Every one of us who goes to a show needs a full time sitter to make sure we are safe.  You’ll introduce the spokescritters and then let us run the show doing our kissin and huggin.  Or you’ll introduce adoptable kitties and dawggies and see if there’s a match.

Ron guards Opie

Andy protects Socrates

Opie Hugs .....



Opie Kisses .....


















And we take lots of brochures and handouts.  We want people to know about Rikki’s cuz most people who do, want to help us.  They want to help feed us or pay or doctor bills or buy us electricity.  They want to help us scoop poop and fix fences. 

Ken answers questions about Rikki’s Refuge

Socrates hands out flyers










Andy shares stories about he cats and dogs he’s adopted from Rikki’s Refuge







Alanna talks about why she supports Rikki’s Refuge

Autumn-Skye Booth, Mrs Virginia 2014 and a member of Rikki’s Refuge’s Board, and her daughter Alanna Port, Miss Virginia Collegiate 2014, attract a lot of attention for Rikki’s at events !!!

It’s ok if you can’t answer all the questions, if it’s your first time at an event.  Just tell folks what you know and you’ll learn more as you go along.  If you get a hard question from somebody, you can ask another volunteer there to help out with the answer !!!!   

So sign up NOW at mail@RikkisRefuge.org to help us at one of these upcoming events !!!    Pleaz?  We have SO much fun !!!

Robyn and Ken show off the Official Rikki’s colors, Sage and Purple

Oh my gosh ....  THAT cat just told my daughter she NEEDED the most expensive thing here ......

What’s that lady up to?  She’s got a scary gleam in her eyes ......















Huggin’, kissin’, lovin’, THAT’S in my Spokes Cat contract ......  I don’t recall seeing modeling ?

The Iams Spokes Kitty competes 
against Opie for the Most Laid Back Cat


SUPER URGENT VERY IMPORTANT

We are in second place as one of the Top Ten Finalist in the Tractor Supply Company’s RESCUE MY RESCUE PHOTO CONTEST!    The grand prize?  $10,000!!   

WE NEED YOUR HELP!  The contest winners are chosen by VOTES.  It is free and easy and you can vote every 24 hours.  The contest runs through Sunday, September 14 at midnight!  The final prize winners will then be announced on Wednesday, September 17, the first day of the Tractor Supply Company Pet Appreciation Week (PAW).

AND you can come see us at The Orange, Virginia, Tractor Supply on Saturday September 20th from 10 am - 2 pm !!  Please VOTE for us so Tractor Supply will be featuring US as their WINNER !!!!!    Thank you !!    Click here to VOTE  https://www.facebook.com/TractorSupplyCo?v=app_340493986057345&rest=1


Please get your Shelter Challenge VOTE in EVERYDAY!! 
this contest runs thru 9/21 and allows daily, sometimes twice daily, votes !!!  The Shelter Challenge is a wonderful opportunity to help the animals with only a few clicks !!!!  Totally FREE and EASY and QUICK ....  turn your clicks into meds to prevent ticks !!!!

Please vote today and every day  ...  Just go to this link http://www.shelterchallenge.com/web/charityusa/nomineehome?userId=53331&nomineeId=17448
and enter Rikkis Refuge (no ‘ ... see ??)  in VA in the USA and that’s it !! Thank you



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 have been alive

to enjoy this beautiful summer !!

THANK YOU !!!!!!
Your donations have saved the lives of every animal featured here today !!!!   AND your donations are giving them happiness today !!!   Pledge to work each and every day to make the planet just a little bit better.  Please make a donation in honor of the animals you have loved to give everyone here a happy tomorrow !!!  www.RikkisRefuge.org/FeedMe 

Love,
    Opie










Join us on Facebook:          https://www.facebook.com/RikkisRefuge
Rikki’s Web Site:                  www.rikkisrefuge.org
Blog:                                       http://rikkisrefuge.blogspot.com/
Help the Animals:                  http://rikkisrefuge.org/FeedMe
Re-Tail our thrift store:           https://www.facebook.com/ReTail.org
             Web Site:                  http://rikkisrefuge.org/?page_id=6330
             Location:                    3503 Lafayette Blvd, Fredericksburg VA 22408  
             Phone:                        540-891-5300
              Hours:                        10 am - 6 pm Monday - Saturday
                                                  noon - 5 pm - Sunday