Rikki's Refuge

Friday, June 24, 2011

Good Morning Good News !!!! June 24, 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

Today is Dedicated to Bissell

They are such wonderful people and a really cool company. Jill Weykamp flew all the way from Michigan to preside over the photoshoot. She’s a really really nice lady. She gives nice hugs too. My friend Rainbow Diamond won last year and she went to Texas to help with her pictures. She said Rainbow was as much fun in person, or dogson, as he is on Facebook!!

You can send an email to Jill and thank her for Bissell being so nice to me. Jill.Weykamp@bissell.com Read the story about Bissell and learn about them and then tell Jill what you think! I think they’re pretty cool!!

We headed over to Culpeper this morning, not far from where my doctor is. Mom wouldn’t let me drive cuz I was so excited she was worried I’d go to fast and get a ticket.

All the pictures here of my photo shoot were taken by mom or Jill. These aren’t the professional pictures. Bissell has the photoshoot photos and we’ll get some but can’t use them anywhere. I can’t wait to see the boxes. MY boxes with MY face should be coming out about October!!! I can’t wait. I’ll keep you up to date on all of it.

We met at Studio C Photography in Culpeper where the owner Tim Carlson was waiting for me. He’s a really good photographer. He has so much patience. And he got on the floor and really got to know me. He has kitties too. He can even talk like a cat! He’s got so many cool tricks to work with animals who want their photos taken.

Tim takes photos of hoomans too. Weddings and graduation pictures and family photos and all kinds of wonderful things. Anything you want to remember, Tim can capture the pictures for you!

You can visit Tim Carlson at

Studio C Photography

142 N. Main St

Culpeper VA 22701

540-717-5888

www.carlsonimages.com

and you can send him an e-mail and says Thanks for Loving the Animals at tim@carlsonimages.com

Alyx Duckett from the Free Lance Star paper came to see me too. She’s writing a story that should be in tomorrow’s paper.

Alyx Duckett is a junior at VCU studying print journalism. She’s from Stafford county where she graduated from Stafford High school. Now she’s writing for the Free Lance Star!!! I can’t wait to see her story!!! She wants to come on a tour to see Rikki’s and maybe do another story. Email her and tell her what you think of Rikki’s Refuge and what you’d like to see a story about. ADuckett@Freelancestar.com

Look at this!!! $5,000 from Bissell. Is that like wonderful or what? There seems to be a slight error on the check. I don’t think they made it out right, but I’ll fix it up to read Pay to the Order of Vincent D. Cat’s Fancy Feast Fund.

Nobody’s taking MY money away!!!

All About Bissell

from their web site http://www.bissell.com/Our-History/

A History of Good Business Since 1876

Anna and Melville's Crockery Shop

BISSELL's goal is to help you improve the ways you take care of your home, right down to the microscopic irritants. Since 1876, we've spent years developing cleaning tools designed to keep your living environment up to the highest standards.

In the mid-1800s, Anna and Melville Bissell owned a small crockery shop in Grand Rapids, Michigan. While cleaning up after the day's work, Anna often became frustrated with the sawdust that was embedded in the carpet. The tiny, stubborn particles clung to the carpet, and trying to sweep them up was becoming a time-consuming nuisance.

Anna and Melville Bissell

Anna presented the problem to Melville, her mechanically inclined husband. Melville designed and constructed a carpet sweeper machine that he hoped would solve the problem once and for all.

His ingenious carpet sweeper design was a success, and word of Melville Bissell's carpet sweeper spread quickly. People soon began asking where they could purchase a carpet sweeper for themselves.

The BISSELL Carpet Sweeper was patented in 1876, and in 1883 the first BISSELL manufacturing plant was built in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Following Melville Bissell's untimely death in 1889, Anna Bissell stepped in and confidently took control of the company, becoming America's first female corporate CEO. Yeahhhh and way to go Anna!!!!!

Under Anna's aggressive and innovative management, BISSELL soon began to look in new directions in product development for their budding carpet sweeper line and to expand their carpet sweeper business to include all the continents of the world.

As lifestyles changed, the company expanded beyond the carpet sweeper and introduced additional products that helped people clean better while saving time. In the 1950s, BISSELL invented a new multi-purpose formula and shampooer that reduced the time involved in and the drudgery of carpet cleaning. To meet the growth of smaller living spaces, BISSELL introduced practical, lightweight cleaners that people could use quickly and store easily. And BISSELL made deep cleaning (once the exclusive domain of commercial providers) available to everyone with its introduction to the consumer market of the current carpet deep cleaners that feature a built-in heater to optimize performance. Additionally, BISSELL recently acquired the Woolite® Carpet and Upholstery business, which includes its renowned line of carpet cleaning products. Even though the dust is now somewhat settled, BISSELL remains focused on the future.

So as you can see, at BISSELL when we say clean...WE MEAN CLEAN!

Learn more about their wide line of products: http://www.bissell.com/products

YARD SALE - LOW FLEA MARKET SATURDAY

Meet Vincent D. Cat

Please stop in and visit our site - lots and lots of new things this week!!!! The Flea Market is set up near Lake of the Woods on Route 3. If you’re coming from Fredericksburg, it’s on the left after the glass office building and the Ace Hardware and before Lake of the Woods light. Saturdays 8 am - 3 pm.

Vincent D. Cat will be visiting from 10 am till noon - stop by and meet World Famous Vincent! Bring Fancy Feast, get hugs and purrs!!

Kathy and Kim are running these sales to help support Rikki’s Refuge - 100% of proceeds is for food and medicine for the animals of Rikki’s Refuge. Please stop in and see what goodies we have this week.

Clean out your closets, your garage, your attic ......

Contact Kathy KDoucette@wri.org or Kim kidoujs@gmail.com or by phone 703-350-3957 if you have items they can sell to benefit Rikki’s Refuge. Their home is off Rt 3 not far from the new shopping center with Giant, Petco and Home Depot. They have a great garage for storing things.

VOLUNTEER to help with the sales on Saturdays.

Some things they’d like to get:

baked goods (no icing or other melt in the sun items)

potted plants

home accent pieces

furniture that is easily carried

chairs would be good, small tables or plant stands

decorative mirrors

anything you can put on the wall

kitchen items

camping items

anything for outdoor entertaining and living

Will you work for food?

My friend Indigo Wheeled Terrier is asking for help putting up fencing at his house. He’s a handicapped pit bull who’d been badly abused. He now runs with the aid of his wheelchair. Here’s his note!

We will be starting around 10 am Sat June 25th. The objectives of the day will be hauling away all the junk we have pulled out of the woods so far and putting up fencing. Mom suggests long pants, boots, gloves, sunscreen and bug spray. Mom will be serving vegan and other foods and there will be plenty of water and soda etc on hand. Anyone with trucks or tools that could be helpful are especially appreciated. Our Address is 36 Mack Lane, Stafford Va 22556, since our house is on a gravel not well marked road, we will be putting up additional signage leading to the house for the day. Moms Cell number is 301-814-3694, if anyone gets losted or has qwestshuns.

ANIMAL ART SHOW FREDERICKSBURG

July 1, Friday at Dog Krazy

Dog Krazy

You are cordially invited to MY art show, featuring paintings made by ME and the other animals of Rikki's Refuge! There will be paintings by 15 of us artists of 10 different species.

This art show will be held on Friday, July 1st, during the First Friday event in Fredericksburg.

It will happen at Dog Krazy http://www.dogkrazyva.com/ 1011 Caroline Street in down town Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA. Light refreshments will be served.

Not only will their be paintings for sale, but we will have Christmas ornaments painted by the animals, photos, and the Too Hot for Spot window cling car thermometers! All will benefit Rikki's Refuge.

Also on that day, Nancy, the owner of Dog Krazy,

will be donating 20% of her sales for the entire day to Rikki's!

So, come and shop, shop, shop!

Dog Krazy opens at 10:00 a.m.

The art show will officially be from 6:00p.m. until 9:00 p.m.

So, bring your friends, and come and browse all of the First Friday venues! And, help support the "Starving Artists" (not really starving, but Vincent can be soooo dramatic!) of Rikki's Refuge!

ANIMAL ART SHOW ORANGE

July 14 to August 7

The Orange Arts Center

www.artscenterorange.org

129 E Main St, Orange Virginia, USA

The animals of Rikki's Refuge recently spent a day painting! 15 artists of 10 different species put their talents to work. And now, we have been invited by The Arts Center in Orange to display, and sell, some of our works!

From July 14 to August 7, the Arts Center will have a display titled Equus III: The Modern Horse. This exhibit will be "A multimedia exhibit of non-traditional equestrian art juried by Mary Shira including a range of work by Virginia artists from impressionist, to modern rocking horses, to architectural renderings, to an oil portrait of a horse’s ass by emerging and established artists".

When they planned this event, little did they know that they would add horses, dogs, cats, emus, chickens, guinea pigs, and other animals to the list of artists!

Proceeds from the sale of the Rikki's Refuge paintings will go directly to supporting the over 1200 animals at the sanctuary.

More from Rabbit Rotunda II!!!!

Rabbits Move In

The TEEN CARE Program

Yikes, I can’t believe I have to make a correction. To something I said. And I thought I was a purrrfect kitty cat. I told you the Teen CAE Program really starts at 9 am - every Wednesday, 9 am - 3 pm. Sorry for the time confusion!!!! For more information or to come this Wednesday, call 540-854-0870 x3

This weekend at the Refuge.

Saturday, Donation Drop off noon - 2 pm. Gates open so you can deliver Fancy Feast. We do accept other goodies too. We really need paper towels. Really really bad. Mom says more than we need more Fancy Feast, but I think she’s wrong. She says I should ask you to bring bleach, canned dog food, canned cat food, bird seed and good smelling stuff to add to the mop water. I think Fancy Feast will do just fine!

Sunday, TOUR at noon - you know the drill. Gates open at 11:30 am, tour starts at noon, visit all the animal neighborhoods, dress for the weather, it’s outside, we have hooves, I don’t but lots of the animals do, so wear good shoes, long pants protect you from rubs and scratches. Tours last about two hours and there is only one so be sure to be here by noon! Admission is two cans of cat or dog food per person!!

No Matter How You Look At It

I Love YOU,

Vincent

Help me keep this wonderful Refuge running!

http://www.rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php

PPS 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

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Good Morning Good News !!!! June 22, 2011

Today is Dedicated to Teen Volunteers

Want to know about our fun summer plans at Rikki’s Refuge? This will be the second year for our exciting summer program for teens, ages 13 - 18 years old. And I get to go this year too, cuz I had my 13th birthday on April 30, so I’m officially a TEEN now, too!

At last summer’s program, some very special teens worked hard and showed tremendous Leadership Skills. They’ll be back this year helping to run the program. Congratulations to Kristina Anderson of Fredericksburg who’s been volunteering since the summer of 2007, Grace Fisher of Orange, Erin Paxton of Orange, Morgan Colonna of Spotsylvania, and Paige Receveur of Fredericksburg.

Teens CARE Program meets every Wednesday from 9 am - 3 pm, starting June 22th and running thru August 24th. On August 27th we have a great big celebration party for all the good work we did all summer long! Teens can sign up for the whole summer or for just a few days. Contact Katarina Galvin, our Youth Director, at katarinagalvin@yahoo.com or 540-854-0870 x3.

If you’re not a teen anymore, but you ARE young at heart, you’re welcome to come too! And if you’re not a teen YET, but you do love animals, ask your parent or guardian to come and work with you.

CARE is an acronym that tells you

what the program is all about.

CARING FOR THE ANIMALS

We teach kindness and compassion, because we firmly believe those with compassion for their fellow humans and animals help make a better planet.

They learn first hand the importance of neutering and spaying, so unwanted litters don’t end up in the shelter. There are so many inexpensive clinics now as well as financial assistance for those truly in need, so nobody needs to keep having puppies and kittens, call your local shelter or rescue group or call Rikki’s for a referral, 540-854-0870.

Teens get to work, hands on, with 22 species of animals. Cats and dogs and horses and cows and rabbits and more. They learn proper feeding and caring, grooming and cleaning. We’ll have a professional dog trainer spend a day teaching the tricks of the trade. Teens will hone their skills teaching dogs to walk politely on a leash, sit, stay and other useful commands that make them more adoptable.

Heee Heee Heee can’t teach us cats things like that!

ACTION TAKEN TO BETTER RIKKI’S REFUGE

We’ve come a long way in 13 years at Rikki’s Refuge. And there’s a long way yet to go as we continue to improve our animal neighborhoods, Feline Fields, Doggy Downs, etc. New construction allows us to care for more animals and animals of different species.

Teens help with repairs and new buildings and do a wonderful job of making things more beautiful. Several returning Teens are very artistic. They’ll be painting murals. Everyone can help.

Every year more and more folks come for tours to meet the animals. Summers are especially busy. The YMCA of Fredericksburg has signed up for four days of tours and volunteering. Teens who show maturity will train to be educational tour guides. You need to know something about all the different kinds of animals so you can ask questions!

Teens will learn to care for a vegetable garden during the summer. As summer comes to an end, they’ll have the fun of picking the veggies and feeding them to the animals!

We stress preservation and protection of our environment. Teens will be help make a six mile long path around the perimeter of our 367 acres. They’ll clear brush and set up nature observation sites and picnic areas.

RAISING FUNDS FOR RIKKI’S REFUGE

We count only on donations at Rikki’s Refuge and it takes a lot of work to raise enough money to feed and care for 1250 animals every day!! Teens will learn how much and how we do it. They’ll learn to write promotional material, make posters, talk to donors. Teens learn to budget and to get special bulk deals. And most fun of all, they’ll get to attend events like the Vegetarian Festivals.

EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE

WHEN YOU VOLUNTEER AT RIKKI’S REFUGE

Bringing joy and happiness to the rest of the world is a very important goal at Rikki’s Refuge. Some returning teens have asked to visit retirement homes with the animals this summer. This and many other new projects will happen this summer.

Our Youth Director, Katarina Galvin, said the most impressive experience was learning the necessity of facing and doing important tasks you don’t really like and doing them from a standpoint of love, such as what must be done for the animals. She loved watching the kids embrace responsibility and compassion. For many teens at the awkward age of transition, the CARE program raised confidence levels dramatically, just in time to enter high school.

Toni White, mother of teen Grace Fisher who’ll be back for her second year, says, “The overall culture of Rikki’s Refuge fosters a higher moral character than general society. Sadly, most principles that Rikki’s exemplifies, like compassion, integrity, hard work and self-sacrifice are fast-fading from day to day life. Thank goodness they can still be found in a few rare places....and definitely at Rikki’s!”

And it doesn’t end at the end of summer. Last summer’s teens helped sponsor Rikki’s Refuge Fall Furr Festival, Haunted Forest and they made Rikki’s Refuge float for the Orange Christmas Parade!

Did I tell you? Teens CARE Program is FREE!!!! It’s a public service offered by Rikki’s Refuge.

More from Rabbit Rotunda II!!!!

Doves and Pigeons move in

Wedding Dove moves in

The TEEN CARE Program kicks off today

by helping to put new nesting boxes and roosting ledges in Rabbit Rotunda II. 30 new pigeons will be arriving Sunday and the Teens will be preparing their houses. Then it’s time to

Add more color to Feline Fields

as the cat houses will be painted the bright sparkling colors of the rainbow!!! After that .... murals?????

‘ey Duke ... Can you learn to dance for your dinner?

Did you know Duke Thomas Peabody has his own web page now! Please join us for all the fun on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/vincent.cat

of course the number one place to be, but the number of friends are limited

http://www.facebook.com/Vincent.D.Cat

and here I can have unlimited friend, just sign on and “like” me

http://www.facebook.com/Duke.T.Peabody

Duke’s new page and he’s only got 129 friends, so grab a friend slot before they’re all taken

http://www.facebook.com/DukeThomasPeabody

“like” Duke here too for exciting news about Doggy Downs

http://www.facebook.com/Vincent.Duke.RikkisRefuge

is a great place to keep up with the competition between the cats and the dogs, Vincent and Duke are always bantering with each other here!!

http://www.facebook.com/RikkisRefuge

This is where the serious stuff is. If you don’t want to listen to talking cats and dogs, this is the place to be!

Join us everywhere for all the fun!!!!

Thanks Dad!

For sending me a picture of the oil painting mom’s friend Kathy did for her one Christmas. This was all of her kitties back then. WOW that was a long long long time ago. You can read more about this in yesterday’s Good Morning Goon News.

See Skinny Teddy the Cactus Pooper on the left!! Jake there in the middle. And Kash lower right, the first totally psychotic kitty mom ever had!!! The absolute love of my dad’s life.

Love,

Vincent

Help me keep this wonderful Refuge running!

http://www.rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php

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

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Good Morning Good News !!!! June 21, 2011

Today is Dedicated to my mom’s friend

Kathy Russell and her family.

I’m going to let mom tell the story.

A very dear friend of mine lost her mother yesterday. Moms are hard to lose. We only get one. I guess it happens to all of us sooner or later. And it's still tough. Real tough. Lots of love and prayers to my friend Kathy today. Please include her family in your prayers.

Meeting my dear friend Kathy, 30+ years ago, involved one of the most humiliating experiences of my live. Fortunately, what could have been a ruination to a new friendship probably helped cement the deal.

Teddy the Cactus Pooper (I'm using polite terms since this is family reading) lived with me at the time. He’d come to spend his last few months, which turned into years, after being returned to the group I worked with because he developed thyroid cancer. A skinny old man who now needed surgery, the folks who’d adopted him years before no longer wanted him, the organization didn’t have the money to cover the surgery and he wasn’t supposed to live long after it anyway, so was his life worth saving? His destiny was sealed - his life doomed.

I saw life in his eyes and I knew he wanted another chance. And so Teddy came to live with Fred and me. He had surgery, did very well, and despite a few oddities - probably not caused by the surgery - he lived several very happy years.

Teddy had a thing about cactuses. He loved to poop on them. At the time, I was young, and relatively new into rescue, and I still had plants all over my house, great big potted plants, hanging plants, you name it, my house was full of plants. As the population of cats increased, the population of healthy living plants decreased. Cats would dig in the big potted plants, chew off the leaves, swing from the macramé hangers.

Remember the days when anybody who was anybody made macramé plant hangers in their spare time? Remember the days when anybody had spare time? Though my life as cat (and other animal) rescuer is much more hectic than my life as basket weaver was, I have to say I’m much happier and much more fulfilled knowing I’m saving lives every day. Though there are some days I'd like to revert to basket weaving.

This frail old gray and white kitty, Teddy, would climb up into 4 inch pots in macramé hangers and dangle over them to poop on the cactus spines. I’m sure I had the only house in America, maybe the world, gee probably the universe, with cactuses in little pots hanging all over my house, with cat poo on top!!!! I never did figure out how he could do this over and over without getting spines in his butt.

If only little video cameras and YouTube had been around back then!

Teddy was also a vegetarian. He hated cat food. He loved things like cheese and tomato sauce and corn. Teddy loved Pizza. When my son was a young teenager he’d be so embarrassed to bring his friends home. We’d call out for a pizza for the boys and Teddy got first dibbs to eat all the cheese and lick off all the pizza sauce he wanted first. My son got a reputation around school, “see if you can get an invite to Jimmy's house, you gotta meet his crazy parents.”

Remember that time in your life when there is nothing more embarrassing than having anybody know who your parents are? Even if they are quite normal. Poor Jimmy, what he had to grow up with!

Teddy spent 98.7% of his life in front of the refrigerator screaming at the top of his lungs. We kept an assortment of sliced cheese for him to eat. Very seriously, he would not eat meat. No cat food, no tuna, not even Fancy Feast.

You’re probably thinking that the first day Kathy came over we called out for pizza. But no, I didn’t even know her that well. She was bringing a kitty over that she’d rescued and I was going to foster it for the group I (soon it would become we) worked with. Kathy and I were sitting in the family room chatting, we were about the same age, had many of the same likes and dislikes and had a lot in common. We were hitting it off real nice.

When, in strolls Teddy, who assesses the situation, says MEROOOWWW, looks Kathy in the eye, says Merooowww, lifts his tail and pees right into her open purse sitting on the floor next to her. I mean hosed, he totally unloaded. He never sniffed it once first. How he even knew he was in place for the hit I’ll never know. It seemed he totally ignored the purse. Caught her full attention. And then wham or psssssss I should say.

I about died, how could Teddy have done this! Teddy wasn’t a sprayer. Only on rare occasions would he do such a thing. Maybe Teddy was claiming Kathy as his fast and forever friend. She sure became mine.

As I was stumbling with apologizes and so upset, Kathy began to laugh. She went to the sink and dumped out her purse and rinsed off what she could. It always gave us something to laugh about when folks would say, so where’d you meet????

You know those few and far between friends you have in your life, the really special ones, the ones that you may be out of touch with for a few years and then when you talk again, it’s like you were just sitting around chatting last week? That’s the kind of friend Kathy is.

I remember one Christmas, one great big huge Christmas at my house. Back then we did a big thing for Christmas. Jimmy was little and still enchanted by Christmas and by wrapping and opening presents. All the family came to our house - despite the growing number of cats who kept climbing Christmas trees and knocking them over. We’d have several Christmas trees (from the days Fred and I loved auctions, definitely not enough cats to keep us busy in those days) and each tree would have a theme, like, for example, something like Cats. Did you guess? Then all presents under that tree would have to be cat related. Sometimes even cats! There’d be a house tree and all presents relating to house stuff, fix ‘em up things and so on. And the Sailing and Scuba Diving tree, and so on.

Gosh I must regress. This animal thing is a serious inherited disease that runs in my family. For my son's graduation from 8th grade we bought him a little sailboat all his own. He could tow it behind my dad's boat in the summer and then go off and explore deserted islands all by himself. We also adopted a foster cat, Jake, a big fat bobtail boy who nobody else wanted. He'd been a foster for months and it was going no where. Jimmy was begging us to adopt him. And so for graduation we made him close his eyes and took him out to see his new sail boat with a big red ribbon tied around it. Jake was sitting in the cockpit with a big red bow around his neck.

When Jimmy opened his eyes he screamed in delight and ran to Jake and said "oh you're mine you're mine I love you!" After a bit Fred said, "Jimmy, did you see what Jake was sitting on?" OH !!!! Then he noticed his sailboat!!!

One year before Christmas Kathy’s behavior got very odd. She’d come over to visit and love hanging out half way under the couch getting to know my real skittish kitties Elizabeth and Pumpkin. She’d always loved my kitties but this was getting a bit nutty. Trust me, just a bit nutty. She was like family and came and went as she please and several times I came home to find half of her sticking out from under the couch. Oh well ... we all have our eccentricities don’t we?

On Christmas day that year, Kathy apologized for not having much money and for “only” being able to give me a painting of my cats. All thirteen of my cats on a canvas looking just like themselves. From mean slapping Kasha to skinny Teddy. Of all the gifts I got that Christmas and maybe any Christmas ever, that was the most touching and most meaningful ever. Kathy is a fabulous artist and really captured everybody’s purrsonality purrfectly. And that’s why she’d spent so much time getting to know Elizabeth and Pumpkin under the couch!

Well Fred, I bet you’re glad I’ve got to get back to work and turn this back over to Vincent before I tell the Christmas story about the 89 gifts. If you have a chance take a picture of Kathy’s painting of our kitties and zap it to me. I’ll put it in here tomorrow.

Kathy took this photo of Mom and her brother patting Josephine, shortly before Josephine swallowed mom’s arm, camera and flashlight. All were recovered with no injury to Josephine. While the spectators were laughing so hard their masks filled with water, mom vanished. Their next thought was, “Oh my did Josephine go back for seconds?” and they got worried and started searching. It was a long time before anybody came to the surface, assuming mom was gone forever, to find her sitting in the dinghy. She’d shot out of the water so fast nobody saw her go. Diving in salt water was very painful for the next several days till the wounds that were like kitten claws raked up and down her arm, had healed over. Mom has since learned to leave wild animals alone! That was what she called her Summer of Wild Animals when she just had to pat a puma, a morray eel and then Josephine. I’m glad Josephine stopped her from going on the Pat the Wolf Sled Adventure. Maybe it’s a good thing mommey has no more money (we used it all up) to go on her so called “exciting adventures”!!!

YARD SALE at LOW FLEA MARKET SATURDAY

Ok we’re on for the show!!!! We’ll be there, just east of Lake of the Woods on Route 3, 8 am till 3 pm. And I’ll be there for kisses and hugs from 10 am - 12 pm. Please help us!!! Got things to donate? Come and buy! Come and kiss me!!!! Mom will be on hand with her camera. A $20 donation will get your picture with me, an 8 x 10 full color copy mailed to you!!!!

More from Rabbit Rotunda II!!!!

Mickey and Maverick move in

And go Swimming

Yesterday you saw how Miss Pitty Pat was a bit flustered in her new home. Well now she’s loving those deep pools and is swimming and swimming!!!!

Love,

Vincent

Help me keep this wonderful Refuge running!

http://www.rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php

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

Monday, June 20, 2011

Good Morning Good News !!!! June 20, 2011

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

Today’s Edition is Dedicated to my Daddy

and to yours!.

I’m really sorry it’s all late. I was just about to send it to you yesterday morning when I got called out of the office .... Well being a good kitty (am so mom!!!) I went and helped out, and then it was time to hug and snuggle and purr for my visitors, and then there was something else to do and then ... well when I sat back down it was almost 11 o’clock at night!!! Oh speaking of clocks don’t let me forget to tell you about Wayne’s new clock.

But first, my DAD !!!!!!
He’s a real King!!!

My Dad has to wear many hats to take care of us all.

And shoes too .....

All the local poachers are terrified of running into Bigfoot in the woods,

they’ve seen his feet print, so they know he’s out there just waiting to get them.

I know my Dad’s a plantavoir ....

... but the rumor in the poaching community is

you better watch out for that giant man eating rabbit!

My Dad is very talented - he’s a pig belly rub expert.

My Dad is a wild Mountain Man who leads Nature Hikes

My Dad is a fearless Sailor

I think that’s real scary, all that water really terrifies me,

but he’s brave enough to go scuba diving. Ick!!!

My Dad is so talented he’s even in the movies!

Thank you for being MY dad, Fred!!!!

YARD SALE at LOW FLEA MARKET SATURDAY

It didn’t go so good Saturday. Not much traffic. Only $30 all day for all that hard work from Kathy and Kim. What we really need is a GOOD location where we can set up and even store things on site. Do you have a house or a business with good visibility? Decent parking? Maybe even an extra shed we could use?? Preferable not too far from Fredericksburg, VA, USA.

More from Rabbit Rotunda II!!!!

Miss Pitty Pat moves in

Time for Noms!

With the help of Batman and Daisy, his cats, Wayne H Morris has invented the mostest wonderful thing! A special clock for all you cat owners so you know when it’s time to feed your kitties. This wonderful device can also be used to know when to feed your doggies, wabbits, guinea pigs and more. As a matter of fact it works for every species!!!

For more info and to own one of these wonderful clocks,
click on your favorite time to feed YOUR kitties.

Please Pray for Safe Road Trip

We’ve got an exciting trip to make today!! Me and mom and Jan and Deloris are traveling a couple hours to check out something new and exciting. Jan, our Education Director, and Deloris are coming, so they can help mom and me with the plans.

A wonderful church has two trailers they have set up, side by side, with decking in between, which they’ve been using for meeting / classroom space. They’ve raised enough money to build a permanent building. Now they’re donating the trailers to Rikki’s Refuge! They’re only a few years old, so we’re hoping we’ll be allowed to use them for meeting . educational / small seminar space. This would be so good for programs like our Teen Care program and other educational events.

We have to travel a couple hours away and check out the two class room trailers to get an idea of how to best use them at Rikki’s. They're 12' wide and 53' long and there a 12 foot wide deck between them. If all works well they'll be coming to Rikki's and then we'll have some more space. YIPPEE --- Paws crossed.

Depending on what the county will let us do for permitting the trailers -- we should be able to have some educational / small seminar space - this will be so good for all the programs we teach for kids and all that. And hopefully some 9th Life Space, we need so much more for the handicapped animals who need a place to go. It's been sad since we've been so full and not able to help more. Keep your paws crossed.

I’m gonna need a Chair Hooman in charge of this project. Somebody to help interface with the county on permits, round up the right kind of professional’s to provide the drawings etc to the county, work with the electric company to install new lines, and all that kind of important stuff. Could YOU be my hooman?

This will be the time that we’ll upgrade the electricity to the whole refuge too. This will help with a lot, lot, lot of things. And it’s going to take some planning. Let me know if you’d like to be involved! PLEASE ....

And most of all, please pray for a safe trip today for Jan and Deloris and Mom and me in this rainy weather!!!

Have you tried this?

Allerpet http://www.demite.com/allerpet/products/single-solutiontm/

I’d like to hear from friends who have. Does it really work? What is your experience? This could be something great for pets that people want to get rid of cuz of allergies. I’d love to recommend it if it works.

Wonder if I can spray the plants so they don’t make me sneeze!

Sat., June 18th at the Richmond Vegetarian Festival

Thank you Laurie, Events & Festivals Director, Gussie, Mariza and Autumn-Skye for attending the Richmond Vegetarian Festival for Rikki’s and taking Doggy Beau along.

These are fun events. If you’d like to help Rikki’s by attending events all over the state of Virginia, please contact Laurie lkarnay@yahoo.com Did you know you can table at events anywhere in the world? Yes you can!!! Rikki’s Refuge is an international organization. Just contact us and we’ll tell you what to do to help the animals of Rikki’s Refuge and the world over!

Heeee Heeeee Heeeee

Heee Heee Heeee mommy is sitting at the desk next to me working on her 'puter (I finally got my own), she talks to her 'puter with the microphone and she blowed her nose, and the computer said, "Please say that again".

Well gotta go now, Happy Late Fathers Day to all of you Dads out there, especially you Kitty Dads!!!!

Love,

Vincent

Help me keep this wonderful Refuge running!

http://www.rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php

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