GOOD MORNING GOOD NEWS
Bob Hilliard
GGP, Great-Grandpa to Opie and the animals at Rikki’s
Refuge!
1926 - 2017
Those of us who knew Bob Hilliard (GGP or
Great-GrandPa to Opie and all of the animals of Rikki’s Refuge and Daddy to Kerry),
who loved him, who appreciated the work he did for our animals, for our planet,
who were thankful for his help to Rikki’s Refuge, who appreciated his building
skills for the refuge, missed him so much this summer, when he's often spend a
month or more working on projects to better the Refuge.
GGP loved designing, maintaining and upgrading the
infrastructure and the buildings of Rikki’s Refuge. Many projects he could not work on hands on, he was eager to
fund, always wanting to see life improve for all the animals of his beloved
Rikki's Refuge.
This is the first year we celebrate his birthday
without him here on earth with us.
In his memory we ask that you Donate towards your favorite project of his or that you sign up to provide the labor
for the maintenance and construction he so loved doing on his frequent visits
to Rikki’s Refuge over the years.
It's been a tough summer. Donors and volunteers go on vacation. Our sponsors look forward to special fun and activities and travel. And sometimes they forget about all the animals back home at Rikki's Refuge. They have other expenses, things to do, and writing a check for the animals of Rikki's Refuge just slips their minds.
Can you just imagine the disaster if Rikki's Refuge decided to take a day off !
It's been a tough summer. Donors and volunteers go on vacation. Our sponsors look forward to special fun and activities and travel. And sometimes they forget about all the animals back home at Rikki's Refuge. They have other expenses, things to do, and writing a check for the animals of Rikki's Refuge just slips their minds.
Can you just imagine the disaster if Rikki's Refuge decided to take a day off !
Let's go to the beach today ...... and skip feeding
everybody ! Oh no........
Or off to the mountains for a hike and we'll just
worry about scooping that poop tomorrow !
Oh yikes, I can't find anybody, they're all buried in poop.
Or just take a nice relaxing day in our backyard
hammocks instead of passing out meds and visiting docs. Oh no .....
sneeze sneeze ouch ouch ....
Rikki's Refuge needs the funds to feed and care for everybody
every day, and the labor to pass out that food, and clean up what the critters
leave behind, and hand out the medicine, and see the doc. Every day costs just as much as every other
day. And so by the end of summer our
pantries are bare and all our reserves have been drained, and we're toughing it
out day by day.
GGP was a big help to Rikki's Refuge when the going got tough. No matter what, he was there for the animals he so dearly loved. We know he's watching over us now .... but he can't be there helping us catch up on the work, or fill the pantry and pay the bills.
So we're hoping and praying we can count on YOU today !!!
GGP was a big help to Rikki's Refuge when the going got tough. No matter what, he was there for the animals he so dearly loved. We know he's watching over us now .... but he can't be there helping us catch up on the work, or fill the pantry and pay the bills.
So we're hoping and praying we can count on YOU today !!!
The driveways are in need of $3,780 of gravel to keep
it a smooth ride for the animals going in and out to see their doctors ~ a
bumpy road is uncomfortable right after surgery. Donate one truck load for $378.
The medical treatment room is in need of a brand new
interior, walls, ceiling, and floor.
Easy to keep sterile materials will run a bit over $4,000. That's a lot, but you can help out just a little.
The plastic mesh roofs on the cat runs have lasted
well beyond their expected lifespan.
They got us thru our early, oh so lean, years. Now we must replace roofs and this time, we’re using metal mesh
that will hold up longer and better with snow loads and other issues that we
never thought about when putting up the plastic mesh in the hot summer 16 years
ago. The cost of just the roofing
material for all cat runs, feral quarantine runs, and day rooms is $8,768. We will need fasteners and other hardware as
well. The labor is immense. Yet when we all chip in ... it goes so fast !
The roof on the 9th Life Center, which GGP helped to
put on 17 years ago, is in need of paint.
$300 should cover the cost of the roofing paint we need.
We are in the process of setting up a second
quarantine room and haven't fully estimated the price to completion. I know we'll be looking at between
$2,500-$3,000. Quarantine of incoming
animals is so important to everyone’s health.
We’ve helped animals from almost every state, and from many countries
around the world. An animal coming from
even blocks away could be carrying a devastating contagious illness, that could
easily spread throughout our current residents if we allowed instant
mixing. Many diseases show no symptoms
what so ever for a week or more, but can be contagious during that time. How often do you hear of shelters having
dozens, or hundreds of animals all sick?
It started with one sick soul they tried to help. When you don’t have good quarantine with totally
separate air flow, it’s so easy for that to happen. It happened to us a couple times in the early days before we had
better facilities. One time the
medication to care for all our residents who got sick was over $8,000 !! It can be financially devastating as well as
deadly to the residents. No amount of
money is too much to prevent the spread of such things.
Doggy Downs clubhouses have needed roofing repairs
for a very long time. Three clubhouses,
and each needing $2,850 to repair leaks and problems. Somebody didn't listen to GGP's design of these buildings and
changed it to save a little bit of material, and they've been a disaster we've
been adding bandages to ever since.
These are the necessary upgrades GGP would have
focused on this year if he was still here to help at Rikki's Refuge.
Won't you help out and fill in his place? A donation today of $25 will help us on the
way to a better refuge doing a better job for the many amazing residents that
call Rikki’s Refuge home !!!
YOU can help TODAY in many ways !
Your on-line help is only seconds away www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate
or you can send a check or money order to
Rikki's Refuge
PO Box 1357
Orange VA 22960
or use www.paypal.com with our address
mail@RikkisRefuge.org
Come on a TOUR
, meet your friends and bring lunch!
Sign up for PUMPKIN PICKIN'
, help us collect pumpkins after
Halloween to feed the cows, goats, sheep, horses, chickens,
turkeys.....
SHOP Re-Tail, Rikki’s
Refuge’s Resale/Thrift Shop
3503 Lafayette Blvd,
Fredericksburg, Virginia 22408
540-891-5300 Open M-Sat 10-5:30, Sun 12-5
We NEED your tax deductible
donations of clothes, household items, furniture and more.
Come join us at Lake Anna
State Park on a scenic road/trail course for the Annual Rikki's Refuge 5K
Walk/Run for the Animals. Saturday, November 4. Packet pick-up and race day
registration from 7 - 8am at Visitors Center. Parking fee waived for RACE
PARTICIPANTS. Race begins promptly at 9 am, rain or shine. Top male &
female finishers and top 3 in each age group awards. Team award for the team
with the most runners/walkers. Prize drawings after race. T-shirts to all
pre-registered runners, t-shirt not guaranteed on race day. Spectators and dogs
welcome.
ALL REGISTRATIONS THROUGH
WWW.ACTIVE.COM (search for Rikki's Refuge)
Is coming soon. A time when we celebrate LIFE and we have
our friends over for dinner, including the turkeys and the pigs and the geese
.... The date is yet to be set
... it's usually the Saturday before
Thanksgiving. Sign up to come on a tour
followed by a vegetarian meal with us. It's
a wonderful day filled with the joy of life .... Feed your friends .....
then feed yourself ..... and
nobody gets hurt !!!!
Leonard just wants to be
loved.
Stella and Stu want YOU to
join them for a gentle and kind ThanksLiving !
TODAY, October 16th, is
National Feral Cat Day! There is an estimated 50 million feral cats living in
America. This day is all about raising awareness about feral cats, promoting
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) and recognizing the millions of compassionate
Americans who care for them.
At Rikki's Refuge, we believe
that feral cats are just as deserving of love and life and happiness as anyone
else. Of our almost 1300 animals here at the refuge, about half of them are
cats and more than half of those are or once were feral cats.
Rikki's Refuge believes first and foremost in TNR, with the emphasis on RETURN. Ferals have families and homes, and that's where they belong. Yet, when it's not possible, when a feral will be killed, when their homes have been destroyed, when they are frightened and in a shelter, then we believe in saving them and introducing them to our Feral Family!
Rikki's Refuge believes first and foremost in TNR, with the emphasis on RETURN. Ferals have families and homes, and that's where they belong. Yet, when it's not possible, when a feral will be killed, when their homes have been destroyed, when they are frightened and in a shelter, then we believe in saving them and introducing them to our Feral Family!
We could not do what we do
without your SUPPORT of our mission!
Will you please consider
donating for the care of a feral cat today???
We can feed one cat for one
month for $27. If your budget allows,
would you consider being a monthly supporter of Rikki's Feral Cats .... only $27 a month .... and we'll open all the
cans and wash the plates for you !!
THANK YOU!!!
Did you know that if you are
a federal employee, you can give to Rikki's Refuge (Life Unlimited of Virginia,
Inc.) through the Combined Federal Campaign? Use our CFC # to give to Rikki's
Refuge! We are so grateful that you support our mission! Another easy way to
make a BIG difference!!
RIKKI'S REFUGE CFC #77674
Did you know if you're a
state employee of Virginia, that you can give to Rikki's Refuge (Life Unlimited
of Virginia) through the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign? We are so grateful
for our supporters who believe in our mission! THANK YOU!!
RIKKI'S REFUGE CVC #003163
Help us help them !!!
Through your gifts of
generosity and love, more than 1300 animals are able to call Rikki’s Refuge
home. You are important to the lives of
the animals at Rikki’s Refuge - from the biggest cow, to the many cats, to the
smallest bird. Your kind and generous
donations mean the world to us !!
RIKKI’S REFUGE
PO BOX 1357
ORANGE VA 22960
Want to donate ONLINE click www.RikkisRefuge.ORG/DONATE
THANK YOU FOR LOVING ALL OF US AND
TAKING THE TIME TO SAVE A LIFE TODAY
CUZ EVERY ONE OF US MATTER S
DON'T YOU THINK ?
Love,
Opie
Don’t forget to SAVE A LIFE TODAY !
Rikki’s Refuge
PO Box 1357
Orange VA 22960
And please come see me soon !!
In the mean time, Keep up with us on Facebook and
you'll get the minute to minute details about what's going on at Rikki's Refuge
.... you'll be the first to see the new residents .... and the first to know
about up coming events !!!
Rikki's Refuge
Opie and Vincent's Page
Duke's Page
Re-Tail Thrift Store in Fredericksburg
The Duke Thomas Peabody Antique and Collectables
Shoppe in Culpeper
Opie's and Mom's Purrsonal Profile
Opie's Edibles for Fun Animal Friendly Recipes and
Cooking Tips: https://www.facebook.com/OpiesEdibles
Vincent D. Cat's Gathering Place, a place to hang
out, chat, and have fun
Kitty Litter-Ature
Rikki's Crazy Cat Person Club
For the Love of Black Cats
Our Website
which needs help getting up to date .... if you
"do" WordPress and would like to help, let us know Volunteers@RikkisRefuge.org
Rikki's Refuge
is owned and operated by Life Unlimited of Virginia, Inc., an IRS 501(c)(3)
not-for-profit Virginia Corporation. Federal Tax-ID 54-1911042. Your donations
provide direct support. A financial statement is available upon written request
from the Virginia State Office of Consumer Affairs.
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