HAPPY BIRTHDAY RIKKI'S REFUGE !!!
Eighteen years ago, today, I
sat down and signed over my soul !
My life ... My heart !
After twenty years of cat
rescue in Northern Virginia, I was ready to take on everybody ! Well ... lots of 'em. 31 species of domestic and farm animals have
called Rikki's home over the years, and 51 species of rehabilitated wildlife
have come to live, and many more species of wildlife were already here, and
continue to live happily, on our 350 acres of protected woods and
wetlands. WOW.
Over 10,000 domestic and farm
animals have called Rikki's Refuge home.
Some for only a few weeks before finding a new home.
Many who didn't much care for
people, who had personality challenges or physical challenges or were just
older and never found adoptive homes, lived here happily their whole natural
lives. A very few from 18 years ago are
still with us, living out their senior years happy and loved.
In the beginning I was so
excited ... and scared ... and I thought all my friends and family would want
to give up their lives and join up in the dream of making Rikki's Refuge a
reality. A few did. Many thought I was crazy. Most had other lives they wanted to live.
And so along the way I've met
many new friends who've joined the dream of Rikki's to make a sanctuary, a
home, a place of peace, for the animals that had been tossed aside. The ones society leaves behind. The ones usually killed in shelters.
THANK YOU for being here with
me today !!
We've grown from 330 acres to
450 acres. From just a small handful of
animals, to housing 1300 animals every night.
From the crazy people living on that cat farm, to loved and respected
members of the community.
WHY? Because YOU cared, and YOU made the dream
become a reality for thousands of animals !!!
THANK YOU !!!
da Hooman aka Kerry
ps. now I shall turn this edition over to your regular correspondant,
Opie the Official Spokes Cat for Rikki's Refuge
Rikki's Refuge, my home, and
the bestest no kill life care multi species sanctuary I ever lived at is 18
years old !!!
WOW WEEEEEE 18 whole years of
saving lives !!!! Me and all MY
friends !!!
What's the bestest gift of
all you can give us aminals for this big BIRTHDAY BASH ?
One quick sign up that keeps
on giving all year round .... and makes sure we'll be safe and sound every
single day !!
Would you feed us a meal or
two once a month, buy someone's meds once a month, make the commitment for one
of us to get flea and tick prevention each month !!!
Sponsor a kitty for only $47
a month ....
Sponsor a doggy for $63 a
month .... skip one cup of coffee once an month and give your change to the
animals .... when we all work together we are able to make miracles happen ....
sign up to join the miracle of Rikki's Refuge .... http://www.rikkisrefuge.org/Donate
Monthly Recurring Donations
mean the world to the animals
And you can contribute $1 or
$100 a month with one easy sign up
RIGHT HERE !!!
For without YOU none of us
would still be allowed to live on this beautiful earth!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CARING
ABOUT US !!
Visit our Thrift Shop
today... Re-Tail 3503 Lafayette Blvd, Fredericksburg VA ...
and say HAPPY BIRTHDAY RIKKI'S REFUGE and get 18% off your purchase
!!!!! And think about bringing in and
donating your gently used household items, clothing and furniture !!!
HEY
YOU !!! YES, you there .... Patrick here ..... come on out on a TOUR and
bring some watermelon ....... grow a garden? End up with any extras?
Please bring 'em down for us !!!
I LOVE to eat ANYTHING !!!! I
think that's why they call me a pig !!!
Meet
Bub and Goose the unlikely couple.
And
don't forget to bring apples !!
AUGUST 17th is
BLACK CAT APPRECIATION DAY
WHY
do you have so many BLACK CATS ? That's
a question often asked on tours.
Did
you know that black and mostly black cats, such as torties, and black and
whites with just a little white, are the least likely to make it out of a
shelter alive?
And
that's why you'll find many of them happily living at Rikki's Refuge.
We
don't believe in superstition and KNOW they are not bad luck. We KNOW they are just as wonderful as cats
of any color.
Black
Cat Appreciation Day was started as an annual appreciation and a education day
to save the lives of Black Cats everywhere !!!
Please
join the Juniors Girl Scout Troop 3721 on August 17th at Rikki’s Refuge Re-Tail
Thrift Store between 10am and 2pm for crafts, games, and fun bringing awareness
to the low adoption rates of black cats. The Juniors will be earning their
Bronze award through community action, education and awareness.
Help
these girls spread the word and help them help black cats get adopted. Meet Mia a lovely black tortie in Re-Tail's
adoption room.
Check
out all the fabulous items for sale at Re-Tail, 3305 Lafayette Blvd,
Fredericksburg.
Bring
gently used household items, clothing and furniture to donate. Every item donated is turned into cash to
buy food and supplies for the animals of Rikki's Refuge.
AND
we'll have specials in the store all day long for YOU !!!!!
AUGUST
17 ... Rikki's Refuge's Thrift Store
.... RE-TAIL ... is the place to be ...
put it on YOUR calendar !!!
AUGUST 19 - 28
WIN PRIZES
THRIFT SHOP HOP
At
Rikki's Refuge we think ALL charities are important. Charities are organizations that help where help is needed and
there is no government funding. It's
private people who gather together to give their time, their money, their
supplies, to make life better for others.
Many
charities have thrift shops that they rely on to bring in donations that can be
sold to raise money for their causes.
That's what Re-Tail is ... it's Rikki's Refuge's Thrift Shop .... you can make tax deductible donations of
items .... we sell them ... and the money goes to help the animals at Rikki's
Refuge.
Rikki's
wants to help other charities in the area too .... and so we came up with the
idea of the THRIFT SHOP HOP to bring awareness to 11 very special stores with
very special missions in the Fredericksburg, Virginia area.
If
you pick up a card and map at one of the 11 participating stores between August
19th and 28th and then visit all those stores and get your card stamped
.... you could win lots of cool prizes
!!!
Just
visit all 11 stores during the Shop Hop, Aug 19-28, and you'll be added to the
drawing for lots of great prizes! Shop while you support great causes! Check
out the map for locations of all the charities, and how you can help them AND
get even bigger discounts!!!
Have
you never shop-hopped before? Or, has it been a while? Now is the time to try
it! You will find new with tag items, gently used items, vintage items, and
more!!
Each
Thrift Shop will be benefiting a special charity during this event.
Stores
will have discounted items and special sales throughout the event.
Ugggggg ..... mom says I have
to tell you bout this .... shivers .... this auction is to help with the
expense of buying flea/tick stuff for all of us .... yeahhh .... I know ... SHE
complains about how much it costs to go round every month and put icky stinky
gunk on all of us ..... I say .. so don't bother ... just buy Fancy Feast wif
your money ... but no .. SHE say ...
I can't let you have bugs
biting you my precious little Opie .... I says ... well if I be so precious ...
you feed me Fancy Feast and not put icky stinky no bug goo on me ..... but SHE
always wins .... it's those opposable thumbs I tell you ... soon as I get a
transplant ... yeahhh .....
anyway ... so PLEASE COME TO
OUR AUCTION ... and even add something you'd offer up for sale if you'd like to
see me get icky stinky gooey anti bug goop ..... Thank you for coming and for
SHARING this auction !!! I do Love you .... even if you help them make money to
buy icky stinky bug be gone gunk ...
Do YOU have any idea what it
costs to keep the bugs off 1300 animals?
With 650 domestic critters costing about $10 per month in flea/tick
product and another 650 farm animals averaging about $2 per month .... the
monthly cost of just flea/tick product is staggering !!!!
Any item you can donate and
list in the auction will keep SOMEBODY from scratching for a WHOLE MONTH ....
and might keep the itches away from several critters !!!
If you'd rather help with a
donation, just mark it "Bug Be Gone" and I promise I'll give it to
mom to buy the icky stinky bug goo .....
http://www.rikkisrefuge.org/Donate
Or mail to
Keep the Bugs Off MY Friend,
OPIE
Rikki's Refuge
PO Box 1357
Orange VA 22960
I love you,
Opie
Don’t forget to SAVE A LIFE TODAY !
Rikki’s Refuge
PO Box 1357
Orange VA 22960
And please come see me soon !!
