April
5, 2018 - Opie's Diary of Daily Doings
at Rikki's Refuge
Thursday
started with a cloudy morning and the moon sill up
photo compliments of Doug Deal
LOOK
at this ... just LOOK at it ..... LOOK at Caturday and Sunday's weather
forecast !!! SNOW !!! SLEET ...
WINTER GUNK !!!
We've
got to ferret out that evil weather hooman and ..... turn him over to Beauty to
deal with ....... this is SPRING .... it's against the law to have winter
weather .... AGAINST THE LAW I SAY ....... I'm hibernating till Tuesday ..... I
can eat while I hibernate, can't I?
Spring
is here ..... and they threaten snow?
photo compliments of Doug Deal
Celebration
of Life for our friend and long time volunteer Lloyd Dolan
The
Dolan family invites friends of Lloyd Dolan to join us as we remember and
celebrate Lloyd’s life, which was cut too short on March 16, 2018.
Lloyd’s ashes will be laid to rest on Saturday, April 14th, at 2 PM at Rikki’s
Refuge Animal Sanctuary,
(Life
Center, 21410 Constitution Hwy, Rapidan VA 22733, corner of Route 20 and
Quarterhorse Ln). The memorial service
is outside at the Rainbow Bridge Cemetery at the refuge (check weather and
dress accordingly).
As
many may know, Lloyd was a dedicated animal lover and volunteered nearly 20
years at Rikki's Refuge, which is a 450 acre sanctuary, home to over 1,200
animals of 22 different species. The
Rainbow Bridge is a place of healing to send off loved ones, and we can think
of no better place to honor and dedicate his ashes.
All of his departed cats who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge, are buried here
too. Rikki’s was Lloyd’s second
home.
Please
arrive by 1:30 pm, gates will open at 1:00.
We will gather at the Life Center, which is 1/4 mile up the gravel road
from the entrance gate. Parking is
limited, so please be mindful of where you park near the main building. At 2 pm sharp we will walk 1/4 mile down to
the Rainbow Bridge for the ceremony.
This path can sometimes be muddy and bumpy, so wear comfortable shoes
and pants - please let us know in advance if you cannot walk that distance or
need assistance. We can find a
volunteer to help you get to the Rainbow Bridge Cemetery.
In
lieu of flowers, we suggest you donate in Lloyd’s memory to Rikki’s Refuge, at www.RikkisRefuge.org\donate or by mail - PO Box 1357, Orange, VA 22960
Chef
Ron will be grilling for the Rikkites and those of you who'd like to join us,
after the ceremony at Rikki's. Lloyd
loved Chef Ron's rendition of Veggie Burgers.
If you'd like to stay for the cook out, please let us know so we have an
adequate number of burgers. Being a
Farm Sanctuary, we have a vegetarian policy.
There
will be a Wake following the service at Adventure Brewing North,
Fredericksburg, VA.
Keep
in mind that Rikki's Refuge is about a 45 minute drive from
Fredericksburg. You are welcome to
either or both.
photo compliments of Doug Deal
April
is Cats vs Dogs month ..... with the unexpected passing of our beloved spokes
dog Obie .... the dogs must elect a new Spokes Dog ..... Keep up with the
candidates .... get to know them .... toss in your questions for them .....
You
can even vote for who ever will win the Spokes Dog seat ..... but really ....
WHY .... when you have a perfectly good cat who can do the job !!!!!
Let
CATS continue to RULE .... and leave the DROOL to the Dogs !!!!!
LIKE
our pages
Boomer
worked side by side with Spokes Dog Duke for Duke's entire life. Boomer was Duke's seeing eye dog and would
guide him gently at events and humane education outings, never letting him walk
into a tree or a door. Boomer has
asked all the dogs to speak up for themselves and tell us what they have to
offer as official Spokes Dog.
Beauty,
who's never shy around someone coming down the driveway .... or walking out of
the woods .... who's always on guard
and suspicious of hoomans .... asked
our Diva of Doggy Downs to speak for her ..... and here's what Cindy tells us they talked about.
photo compliments of Cindy Wright
CINDY:
The mystery of who at Rikki’s Refuge will become our official Spokes Dog
continues. Beauty recently interviewed with me for the job.
“The
questions were hard!” said the confident white dog, along with “I am perfect
for the job”. Beauty, a Maremma breed,
lives up to her name as a beautiful dog that can run a security team, something
she has done since her teammate Kiki crossed Rainbow Bridge just over a year
ago.
Beauty
strongly believes that she can run the security team along with serving as the
Spokes Dog. After all, she has worked
security since she arrived at Rikki’s, in 2007. She will have to get high ratings at the primary vote, held
between all the dogs, and then win the final vote.
Beauty thinks she has it in the bag, and has a big chance at getting the
job. What did she say during her
interview?
**** She will bring good, high quality dog food
to Rikki’s
**** She will treat the cats as equals, a tactic
never used before
**** She has the credentials to run a number of
programs simultaneously
**** Most of all, because she is ready to kick
ass and ensure all at Rikki’s Refuge that security will be the best in the
country!
So,
how did it go? We will let you know
once the primaries are ready.....
OPIE: You know I love ya Beauty .... I better or you'll snap my head off
.... but I've respectfully got a few
questions for you.
Tell me how you're going to handle humane education in schools?
Your
PR with those unknown to you has been rather dicey in the past it seems. I mean you do a fabulous job at protecting
us from intruders, be they hooman or somebody else who might want to eat us
..... but your pin 'em to the ground
first, ask questions later ....
just
wondering how that will work when you visit schools to teach kids to be nice
and give everybody a chance?
DUKE
from above: Beauty, following in my paw prints and those of Obie will not be
easy.
How
do you feel you handle the stress of representing so many fur and feather
family members?
What
is your plan for making the hooman public aware of Rikki’s and gaining greater
support for the Refuge?
And
now, back to my regularly scheduled diary entry.
Beauty has, as of yet, refused to speak up and answer these questions. We'll keep you posted !!!!
Kevin
photo compliments of Lolly Busey
a
muscovie duck, the largest breed of duck to live with us here at Rikki's, says
he should be Spokes Ducks .... he
thinks Rikki's should go to the birds !!!!
photo compliments of Doug Deal
Here's
YOUR Opie's Puzzle of the Day
She's
kind of a cutie, huh? But probably to prissy for me. I bet she's one of those
.... no don't muss my fur ... look out ... you'll mess my hat !!!! But she sure
is purrty !!!! Thank you Bonnie for sharing such a lovely picture this morning
!!!!
Click
here to put her together
I
went to the store today and saw a sign saying Big sale on cat food......
regularly 4 for $2.00 ..... Half Price Sale Today ONLY ... 10 for $5.00 .....
really ... manager said so .... I double checked the sign .... I smiled and
said thank you .... I remembered my oath to be kind .... so I didn't say ...
Hooman ... you probably did-ed more skool than ME .... but being just a cat
here .... I don't think I see a difference here ???
Horsey
Haven
photo compliments of Doug Deal
CAST
YOUR VOTE ---- OPIE FOR RULER OF THE
REFUGE
or
if you have to .... vote for dogs
but
PLEASE ..... do your part and VOTE
during April !!!
Love,
Opie
Thank
YOU for making it all possible !
You know the highlights, but do you ever wonder what happens
every day, even ordinary days, at Rikki's Refuge? Have you thought of starting a sanctuary and wonder what it's
REALLY like? Ever wonder what those
with the animals all day every day see and think? Follow my diary as I tell you about daily happenings and show you
a dozen or so photos taken during the day!
You'll see a whole new perspective of the Refuge .... See it ... Live it .... BE a part of the
Rikki's Family .... get to know ALL the animals on a first name basis !!!! Keep up with happenings every day of the
year at RikkisRefuge.BlogSpot.com ...
every day since January 1, 2018 is archived just for YOU !!!!
