Rikki's Refuge

Thursday, May 19, 2011

RAFFLE for Wayne H Morris Original Work of Art

First Time Ever ! ! !

Raffle for an Original Customized Totally Unique

Wayne H Morris

of YOUR beloved pet

all proceeds benefit Rikki’s Refuge and are fully tax-deductible

$10 per chance to own your very own

Customized Original Totally Unique

Wayne H Morris

Drawing will be held LIVE on Facebook at 10 am on Saturday May 28^th

You do not need to be present to win. But you can be if you want to!! http://www.facebook.com/Vincent.D.Cat

Each $10 of any donations to Rikki’s Refuge thru this site, between now and 8 am ET Saturday May 28, 2011, will give you one chance in the raffle. Buy as many chances as you like! Be sure to include your email address or phone number in the comments so we can contact you when YOU WIN !

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/RikkisRefuge/lovetheanimals

The more tickets - the better your chance!

The winner will need to send a high resolution digital photo to Yourpetart@aol.com

of their pet. Please pick your best picture, and one that is very clear and sharp.

You will receive your artwork as a high resolution digital jpg, either by e-mail or on a cd, your choice. AND you will receive a printed 8x10 copy suitable for framing, by standard mail. Please allow up to six weeks for delivery as this is unique art work being created just for you.

Meet Wayne H. Morris

of Bayport, New York, man owned by two cats. He loves to study an animal and capture his or her essence which he then turns into a whimsical work of art depicting them at work or play.

You’ve seen his wonderful artwork of ME on facebook and my blog.

Here's a small sample of Wayne's Work

Take a close lookat these, you can see them blown up to full screen size here,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rikkisrefugeother/sets/72157626760899472/

just look at all the detail, especially the thoughtful detail in the backgrounds. The colors! The textures! The details! Can you look at these pictures and not smile?

Bella on Her Way Home from Her Shoppe

Boomer at Spring Baseball

Diving Buddies

Getting the Flowers Ready

Ginger out Shopping

Inky’s Spring Break from The Kitty Marines

Kiss the Cook

Lola Playing on her Big Wheel Trike

Major and His Remote Control Boat

Marianna Gal Stefan

Sasha Grabs the Brass Ring

The Gypsy Lead Member of the Group, Rock Bones

The Secret ADMIRER

The Shell Seeker

Urban Bird

Willikins Feeding the Birds

Zoe Rows Her Boat

BUY YOUR RAFFLE TICKETS HERE

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/RikkisRefuge/lovetheanimals

The more tickets - the better your chance!

Not convinced yet?

See some more of Wayne’s art work here!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wayne-H-Morris/182654708452448

http://rikkisrefuge.blogspot.com/2011/02/welcome-to-town-of-cod.html

http://www.facebook.com/WayneHMorris?sk=photos

BUY YOUR RAFFLE TICKETS HERE

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/RikkisRefuge/lovetheanimals

The more tickets - the better your chance!

Oh, and what if I told you, proceeds of this raffle is going to be used to buy canned cat food for Vincent and his friends!!!!

THANK YOU WAYNE,

FOR HELPING US BUILD RIKKI’S REFUGE ! ! !

LOVE, VINCENT and DUKE

BUY YOUR RAFFLE TICKETS HERE

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/RikkisRefuge/lovetheanimals

The more tickets - the better your chance!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Adopt-A-Pet Contest

It’s FREE and NO you don’t have to adopt to vote!!

We’re listed as Rikki’s Refuge, Orange 22960

The "America's Favorite Shelter" Contest, sponsored by Care2, ASPCA, and Adopt-a-Pet.com, is a chance for animal lovers to rally behind their favorite shelters. These shelters are often the last chance and refuge for thousands of animals. Now's the chance to celebrate the work they do and help them win crucial funding. What makes your favorite animal shelter special? Say it loud, say it proud, and help them win $15,000.

Benefits: Rikki’s Refuge $3, 000 - $15, 000 for the entire contest

$500 randomly selected each week

YOU can win too!!! If you’re one of the top 20 Recruiters
YOU win $50 gift certificate

When to vote: thru July 10^th
How to vote: http://www.care2.com/animalsheltercontest/7637/2/?refer=21503.04.1305734674.750029

In the upper right by the orange block,

                     where it says enter YOUR zip code ENTER 22960
                           it really means OUR zip code
                              remember zip code is OUR zip code, not yours!

Scan down to the Rs for Rikki’s Refuge - Click on Rikki’s Refuge

answer the questions

enter the jumbled up secret code

click on the green block that says REQUEST BALLOT

THEN: You will then get an email

From: America's Favorite Animal Shelter Contest bitbucket@australia.care2.com

Titled: Finalize your vote for Rikki's Refuge!

click on the link in the email: verify your email address

and you’ve successfully voted

NOW: Select the option to email your friends (orange block to the right) about this contest and you’ll become a recruiter and they’ll give you a link that you can share with your friends. Even if you don’t want to email friend now, clicking will give you your recruiter link which you can pass on.

YOU CAN WIN $50 as one of the top 20 recruiters!!

Or if you don’t want to be an official recruiter, Let Vincent do the recruiting for you!

Just share his link with all your friends and co-workers.

http://www.care2.com/animalsheltercontest/7637/2/?refer=21503.04.1305734674.750029

Friday, May 13, 2011

Good Morning Good News !!!! May 13, 2011

I’m Vincent D. Cat and here to make you happy! You are HEROES! You work hard every day and you deserve to smile every day! Those of you working to save us animals hear so very many very sad things. And there’s lots of very glad things too and that’s what we talk about here! All pawsitive all the time! I want my friends to be happy and smile and know there’s a lot of good - including YOU - in this world!! Be kind and pass it on! Please send me your Good New and Fun Stuff to share, personal or global. Let’s keep it fun and interactive!! After all, if we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane! Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org

I MISSED YOU MY FRIENDS !!!!

Remember me??? Vincent?? Your favorite kitty??? I sure hope you remember me!! I remember you!! I been real worried that you might a forgotted me after this long. I’ve missed you so very very much!! Oh my it’s been just horrid. I’ve been locked out the office. These hoomans gotta get their thinking straight. What could possibly be more important than a kitty talking to his best friends!!!!

I do love you so and I’ve really been missing you!!!!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

to all you who rescue us and are our mommeys!!! We love you. Even if I’m late - I love you even more !!! Thank you Mother Rescuers !!!!! Mommey’s are GOOD!!!

TODAY IS BLACK CAT DAY!!!

Friday the 13^th!! Yeahhh for Black Cats!!! Black Cats are good. They are very lucky too. Did you know if you share your home with a black cat good luck and good things will come to you? I hear that once upon a time bad people tried to convince everyone that black cats were bad luck just so they could keep all the black cats to themselves! Isn’t that crazy?

Do you have a Black Cat? Tell me a story about how YOUR black cat has been lucky. Let’s share our stories. If you send me enough maybe I can even make a little book!!!

If you don’t have a Black Cat - rush out to a shelter today and adopt one. I promise, 2011 will be the bestest ever if you do!! Just tell ‘em Vincent sent you!!!!

Oh Poof ... looks like it’s going to be a wet weekend.

RABBIT ROTUNDA II ROOFING WILL BE DELAYED

But it will take off with a vengeance next week!!! David is planning on working on the roof starting noon on Friday the 20^th and working till dark!!! Back again Saturday May 21^st at 8:30 am and going till 5:30 pm. Again Sunday from 8:30 am till 5:30 pm!!! And if YOU will come out and help - maybe, just maybe we’ll be done !!!!!

There’s work here for everybody! High work and low work. If you like heights you can help on the tippy top of the roof. Bring high step ladders. Those kind that fold into 1/4ths are really good!!!

If you’d rather work on the ground - lots for you to do too!!!

If you’re an artist, here’s your chance to have a big mural for all to see!!! Submit your designs to me - I get to pick and approve!!!! Gotta be happy, bright and fun.

Please help David organize the days by CALLING him - he doesn’t get a chance to use email much so PHONE please. David 202-445-7821 Monday thru Friday any time between 6 am and 6 pm.

PLEASE SIGN UP !!!!!

YOU ARE VOTING AREN’T YOU?

We can’t seem to catch up. I guess it’s all my fault cuz I haven’t written to you much lately. Please help me out and vote every day. Ask your friends to vote. When we win money it really helps us take care of the animals!!! HELP - VOTE !!!!!

There’s lots of ways you can vote

as long as you remember to enter

Rikkis Refuge, Orange, VA, USA

click on any of these and take it from there !!!!

http://tinyurl.com/VoteRikkis

http://animalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com

PLEASE VOTE EVERYDAY - I NEED YOUR VOTES TO GET AHEAD

DON’T LET VINCENT BE A LOOSER !!!

WINE FESTIVAL, MAY 21, FRONT ROYAL

Laurie lkarnay@yahoo.com needs YOUR help, Saturday, May 21 meet me at 8:00 am at the Front Royal Wine/Crafts Festival for set-up. No more than 30 minutes of your time is needed if you don't want to stay. Please help Laurie!!!

Come visit out booth too!!!! Please sign up with Laurie, our Director of Festivals and Events to help out at these kind of fun events!! Help hooman our booth and get free admission to events all over the state. Laurie needs your help every where every weekend - pick one weekend a year and help out. Laurie lkarnay@yahoo.com

The 25th Annual Virginia Wine and Craft Festival will be held
Saturday, May 21, 2011 in historic downtown Front Royal, Virginia.
The festival hours are 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

http://www.wineandcraftfestival.com/index/index.php

SQUAWKING IN THE BARNYARD

http://rikkisrefugeunderground.com/

I need your help. I keep hearing about something going on in the barnyard. A little birdie told me to check this web site. But I can’t get on it. Every time I try to log on it says - NO CATS ALLOWED ..... Can one of you hoomans check it out and report back to me???

THIS LOOKS LIKE A GOOD ONE

Sunday May 22, at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Fairfax, Virginia. 9 am - 5:15 pm

www.petfinder.com/adoptionoptions/ put on by Petfinder and Petco - sounds like a good one. Can YOU go and represent Rikki’s?

BARN HOMES NEEDED

All across the country shelters are in need of barn homes for kitties. If you wouldn’t mind having a kitty, or two or a few, living in your barn AND if you have a safe environment for outdoor kitties, you can easily help us to save lives.

Some barn kitties are feral and will not want contact with you, they’ll be happy to live in your barn or outbuilding and in exchange for a home, they’ll provide rodent control.

Others are a bit friendly, they’d like a nice pat every now and then, but they much prefer their own kind. They, too, will work for a home.

Yet others are very friendly but just hate being inside. They probably were never indoor kitties and for some reason just don’t want to learn about being indoors. They’ll usually work for a living too!!! And they’re lovely lawn ornaments!! They bring joy and good luck to your home.

If you can provide an outdoor home or barn home to anybody please let me know. Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org

I’m working in three areas right now where I really desperately need help. Near Richmond, Waynesboro and Orange, Virginia, USA. The caregivers of these kitties are all willing to travel to find a good outdoor home. And best of all your new kitty comes all FIXED UP, yes that’s right, speutered and up to date on shots. The caregivers will help you with acclimation and fill you in on the relatively minimal care you need to provide.

Please, can you take just one? Anywhere in the world! If it’s not an area I’m working with someone in, I’ll connect you to a care giver in your area!! Thanks so much. It’s so easy to save just one more life!!! Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org

Vincepurrational Visions

When you go in search of honey you must expect to be stung by bees

Tails of Trivia

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.

If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee

Hippo milk is pink.

Anteaters prefer termites to ants.

To burn off one plain M&M candy, you need to walk the full length of a football field.

There is more real lemon juice in Lemon Pledge furniture polish than in Country Time Lemonade.

The average chocolate bar has 8 insects' legs in it.

The 7-Eleven Extreme Gulp is 50% bigger than the volume of the human stomach!

7-11 sells 10,000 pots of coffee an hour, every hour, every day.

Each year 96 billion pounds of food is wasted in the U.S. -- Gee now that’s about sinful isn’t it?? You can help lesson that impact. Ask your local grocery store or farmers market if they’ll donate left over produce, bread and so on to Rikki’s Refuge. If you’ll make the commitment to help deliver it to the animals, you can save the waste and help the animals!!!

Days I Missed

April 27 was National Hairball Awareness Day

April 30 was Hairstylists Appreciation Day - Thank you Theresa!!!!

May 5, 1961 First American astronaut in space, Alan Shepard Jr

May 9, 1914 Mother's Day first proclaimed

Upcoming Events

SATURDAYS DONATION DROP OFF, noon - 2 pm, got something to drop off quick? The gates will be unlocked. No tour at this time, just drop off. Donation Drop Off will be available every Saturday from noon - 2 pm in 2011

SUNDAYS TOUR THE REFUGE - NOON, take a walk around and see the animal neighborhoods. Every week on Sunday you can join a tour where you can walk around from animal neighborhood to neighborhood, from Piggy Paradise to Horsey Haven and see the animals. One tour only, starts at noon. Please be prompt.

SATURDAYS ON OR BEFORE THE FULL MOON FULL MOON WALK, Bon Fire, vegan bbq, pot luck

5/14 (cancelled in case of rain), 6/11 (Special Vegan Night)

2^nd SATURDAY OF THE MONTH SINGLES DAY - 10 am - 4 pm

Something for everybody. Come and do a day of service at the refuge and meet like minded souls. The leader who puts together the biggest work party wins. 5/14 (probably cancelled for the rain)

It’s Friday and it’s Free Food Friday num num num

send an email to Giveaway@freekibble.com with the subject "Shelter Giveaway" on Fridays to enter PetCo’s drawing for a $50 PetCo Gift Card every weekend. A winner will be chosen at random every Saturday. It may as well be YOU! http://www.freekibblekat.com/giveaway.asp

Because I Love YOU

Hope to see you this weekend!!!

Love,

Vincent

PS You tell me what you want! Email me at Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org with instructions to change your subscription: additions, deletions or modifications! Subscriptions: Vincent’s VIPs - up to the second alerts about issues at Rikki’s Refuge for those who care and want to be intimately involved. Scheduled as needed. Good Morning Good News - a little something to get you going in the mornings, for those of you who want to keep smiling with us! Scheduled daily. Hairballs - so you know what’s coming up at Rikki’s! Scheduled weekly.

Rikki's Refuge, supported solely by private donations, houses over 1200 animals of 22 species. On line at http://bit.ly/Give-a-gift-to-Rikkis Checks, money orders, cash, items at Rikki's Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960

Rikki's Refuge is owned and operated by Life Unlimited of Virginia, Inc., an IRS 501(c)(3) not-for-profit Virginia Corporation, tax-id 54-1911042. Combined Federal Campaigns #77674, Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign #3163, PetsMart Charities #1377. A financial statement is available upon written request from the State Office of Consumer Affairs.

Learn more www.RikkisRefuge.org and help spread the good word, tell everyone you know about Rikki’s Refuge

Friday, April 29, 2011

Good Morning Good News !!!! April 29, 2011

I’m India D. Cow and here to make you happy! You are HEROES! You work hard every day and you deserve to smile every day! Those of you working to save us animals hear so very many very sad things. And there’s lots of very glad things too and that’s what we talk about here! All pawsitive all the time! I want my friends to be happy and smile and know there’s a lot of good - including YOU - in this world!! Be kind and pass it on! Please send me your Good New and Fun Stuff to share, personal or global. Let’s keep it fun and interactive!! After all, if we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane! mail@RikkisRefuge.org

Hi there, India here. That obnoxious Vincent

and his trusting little cohort Duke have been locked out of the office.

WE are sick to death of hearing about cats and dogs. Yahhh yahhh cats do this, dogs do that. Everybody wants to help the cats and the dogs and NOBODY, but NOBODY seems to pay attention to us Farm Animals.

YOU know Rikki’s supports TWENTY TWO species of animals. But did YOU know that CATS and DOGS are only TWO of those species? Yeah, just two, so MOOOO to that. 20/22nds of us are Farm Animals. And WE should rule. We DEMAND more say at Rikki’s Refuge.

You want to know why? Well here’s just a few reasons.

We represent more species.

We are bigger.

Well most of us.

We are beautifuler.

We aren’t picky about our food.

We don’t have an attitude.

We stick together.

We don’t humiliate one another.

We respect you hoomans.

We listen and look out for one another.

We wait patiently for our 9^th Life Center rights.

We’d never mock you.

We’re lining up for our due rights!

If you don’t see this my way

If you are a spy for Vincent

If you love cats and dogs more

STOP

READ NO FURTHER

This is ONLY for

FRIENDS OF THE FARM ANIMALS

Hey, you? Are you still supposed to be reading this? I’m serious, if you’re not on board with us, if you don’t agree there’s just too much sensationalism about cats and dogs, if you don’t think we deserve equal time, turn off your computer RIGHT NOW.

Hello!! To those of you still with me, THANK YOU. And I’d like to invite you to join us in Rikki’s Refuge Underground!!

http://rikkisrefugeunderground.com/

Now you have to PROMISE not to leak a word to Vincent, or even to poor trusting Duke who will be instantly coerced into telling that sneaky Vincent.

This is going to be OUR secret, ok?

WINNING THE SHELTER CHALLENGE FOR

RIKKI’S REFUGE

IS A WIN FOR FARM ANIMALS !!!!

Please vote every day thru Sunday June 19th

http://tinyurl.com/VoteRikkis

Rikkis Refuge, Orange, VA, USA

The Animal Rescue Site - Shelter Challenge

quick, simple, free

Your daily vote can win $1,000 - $5,000 for Rikki’s Refuge’s Animals!

Help us beat out the single species and the dual species rescues!!

We rescue 22 different species!!

There’s lots of ways you can vote

as long as you remember to enter

Rikkis Refuge, Orange, VA, USA

click on any of these and take it from there !!!!

http://tinyurl.com/VoteRikkis

http://animalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com

Farmspirational Visions

Yesterday is like a dung heap,

you can complain about the smell,

or you can use it to fertilize tomorrow's garden.

And that’s just one more thing we are far more efficient at than the cats and dogs! We make bigger and better dung heaps! I don’t see any of you seeking out cat or dog poo to put in your gardens, now do I? Want some good fertilizing dung? Just ask, we farm animals are ready right now to supply you with all you need for your garden! Today and always!

Let’s stop complaining about the cats and dogs of Rikki’s Refuge - let’s overthrow!!!! Cows to rule the planet!!!! Shut up Petunia, I’m still bigger than YOU!

Tails of Trivia

Sheep can recognize other sheep from pictures!

There are more chickens in the world than people.

A Holstein's spots are like fingerprints -- no two cows have the same pattern of spots.

Goat's eyes have rectangular pupils.

A 1,200-pound horse eats about seven times it's own weight each year.

The tongue of a pig has six thousand more taste buds than a human's.

There are more cows in the United States than Hoomans. New Zealand has more sheep than hoomans.

Boanthropy is a rare mental disorder that causes a person to think he is an ox. One of the first recorded cases is in the book of Daniel (4:33), which tells about Nebuchadnezzar, a Babylonian king who would eat grass.

Scientists believe that the closest living relative to the Tyrannosaurs Rex is the chicken.

Equinophobia is the fear of horses; alektorophobia is the fear of chickens; and taurophobia is the fear of bulls. There is no official term for the fear of cows or pigs.

On this Day

April 29^th is National Arbor Day, a day we farm animals really love. Resting under the shade of a tree is one of our favorite activities. I sure wish the goats could refrain from eating the trees you hoomans try to plant for us!

I’d like to remind you that April is Appreciate Diversity Month, NOT appreciate Cats and Dogs month. And that April is also Soy Foods Month, something we farm animals think is a really good idea. The cats and dogs don’t give a hoot, be we farm animals want you hoomans to be healthy and eat soy, not us!

And last but not least I think it only right that I inform you that April 30 is Love Your Lawn Day. Yes folks, it is. And that’s official. It’s NOT love your cat day. It’s NOT love you dog day. And it’s certainly NOT Vincent’s Birthday.

Do not trust a word you hear from that rascally varmint

April 30^th is Love Your Lawn Day

give Vincent some fertilizer for his so called birthday!!!

DO NOT

USE THIS LAST CHANCE

TO VOTE FOR

VINCENT or DUKE

IN APRIL’S CATS vs DOGS

INSTEAD .... WRITE IN INDIA THE COW !!!!

No matter how much Vincent cajoles or Duke begs

absolutely do not click on their photos to vote for them

Vincent is in the lead and afraid he’s going to lose out, lots of last minute votes have been coming in for Duke. Vincent could be a real looser this year!!! I’m hoping you’re going to let this happen! Please DO NOT click on Vincent to help him win.

Click on ME and write in FARM ANIMALS RULE !!!!

Let’s see some serious changes at Rikki’s Refuge.

Love,

India and the Herd

PS You tell me what you want! Email me at Mail@RikkisRefuge.org with instructions to change your subscription: additions, deletions or modifications! Subscriptions: India’s VIPs - up to the second alerts about issues at Rikki’s Refuge for those who care and want to be intimately involved. Scheduled as needed. Good Morning Good News - a little something to get you going in the mornings, for those of you who want to keep smiling with us! Scheduled daily. Hairballs - so you know what’s coming up at Rikki’s! Scheduled weekly.

Learn more www.RikkisRefuge.org and help spread the good word, tell everyone you know about Rikki’s Refuge