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
Merry
Christmas Troops, we SUPPORT YOU !!!
Merry
Merry Christmas Eve !!
In the spirit of Christmas YOU met our $10,000 Double Your
Donation Challenge .... it was down to
the last minute ..... we thought it
might be the first time ever that we did not meet our challenge .... but ...
YOU did it !!! As our donor arrived and
pulled out his check book .... we
pulled up the figures ... and held our breath ...... cuz only moments ago we’d been a couple hundred short .... and there it was ... big and bold $10,000
!!!!!.
And Yaaaahooooooo!!!!!!
This means all the big bad evil debt that has been plaguing us this year
is GONE !!!!! Just in time to celebrate
for Christmas !!!!!
This about
sums up Christmas for us!!!!
Rikki's 13 Christmas
Miracles
made possible by
YOUR
SUPPORT !!!!
Opie
Born in a litter of nine, the only survivor. Opie was born with no hind feet. Several others in the litter were missing
limbs, too. This wasn’t mom’s first
litter on the streets. But thanks to
your miracle, it’s Nellie’s last!! She
and her surviving kitten, Opie, have joined the Rikki’s Team.
Nellie
Just out of quarantine they’re learning their way around and
getting to know the others on the Humane Team where they’ll be working. Nellie is gentle and sweet and we’ve
promised her that after all she’s been thru, she’ll never be separated from her
surviving son. She’ll be working as a
Therapy Cat bringing joy to others, as you’ve brought joy to her.
Opie is getting around very well on his hind leg
stumps. He’s building up calluses so
it’s not painful to walk ... and run ... and play !!!!
Opie will be working with Vincent and Timmy, going to
schools and events to teach Humane Education.
The Three
Musketeers of Humane Education
Kennedy
has joined us for Christmas. With only two days practice behind him, he’s still stepping
gingerly, expecting that chain to snap him back at any time. Elderly and declared "no good for hunting no more",
he wasn’t expecting to be alive by Christmas.
He’s the kind of guy who’s grateful just for a kind look. Who knows what his life was life before. But we sure know what his life is like now,
thanks to YOUR Christmas Miracle, Kennedy will celebrate his first Christmas
tomorrow!! And that won’t mean running
thru the woods, risking being shot, if he can’t find a deer for his owner to
shoot.
Sugar
Precious little Sugar was born with neurological
problems. She may be hard of hearing
and hard of sight too. But her snuggle
sensor and purr box sure do work!!!
Loving being held and loved for the first time in her life, Sugar is so
happy to be a recipient of a Christmas Miracle, saved by YOU !!!! We’re still evaluating her needs while
she’s in her quarantine time. Kids like
Sugar love volunteers who want to come and hold and love without judgement.
Monrovia
“For real? No more
Puppies!!” Your Christmas Miracle to
Monrovia frees her from the physical strain of giving birth to 20 ... 30 ... 40
puppies every year. Never again will
Monrovia be judged by how many and how often she can reproduce. Monrovia can spend her senior years free and
lighthearted being loved and having fun.
We appreciate her for being who she is, not for how many puppies she can
drop that can be sold for $20 each.
Lightning
Lightning had been hanging around a subsidized housing
complex for a long time. Left behind by
someone who’d once loved him. A new
resident took him under her wing when she moved in. She loved Lightning and Lightning loved her. With little means of support she couldn’t
move to pet friendly housing when Lightning got caught in her house. She put him back outside and fed him and
visited with him. Fearing eviction and
no where to go if she took him in. One
day Lightning showed up with an injured foot.
She took him in to care for him, fearing that his limp would now make it
more likely he’d get run over in the busy area. Thankfully on the day when management found THAT cat in her
apartment again and was calling the pound to do away with the offending
creature, she talked to one of our employees.
Lightning is now safely at Rikki’s Refuge. Tough he’s not real impressed with having
his injured foot soaked twice a day, it’s going to heal up and be just
fine. And the best news of all, is
Lightning’s lady will be able to come visit him when ever she can!!! Your Christmas Miracle here touched both
human and animal!!!
Mercury
“Food? More
food?” Mercury can’t get over the fact
that there’s always enough to eat! She
keeps checking out that food bowl and more keeps appearing. She’s so hungry, she’ll eat anything, and
any quantity. She’s on many small meals
now until she gets used to her Christmas Miracle, never again will she have to
go hungry !!!!
Peanut
Butter
You made it possible for Peanut Butter to come to Rikki’s a
little over a week ago. He’d been hit
by a car, and his owners, unable to afford vet care, let him inside to lie on a
blanket in the kitchen and see if he lived or died. Three days later a neighbor was very upset about this. She knew if she called the local
authorities, Peanut Butter would be taken and killed.
Poor Peanut Butter has a bad break to his left hind leg
which required surgery, several breaks in his tail and a lot of abrasions on
his legs. He’s now had surgery and is
feeling much better. He’s able to get
up to use the litter box. And he purrs
non stop.
This lovely boy thanks you for his Christmas Miracle.
Thelma
just wants belly rubs for Christmas! She’s so happy to be running and
playing!!!! “She never would settle
down” and now that she’s sick, her folks just “figured it was time to move on,
get rid of this one and get one that might work out better.” Thelma has heartworms. A totally preventable disease, if you just
pay attention and give her one little pill a month. Very few hunting dogs ever get medical care. Many are lucky to get food.
Thelma will start her heartworm treatment soon and thanks to
your Christmas Miracle, Thelma will be looking for a real home of her own
soon. She’s young and healthy, except
for the heartworms.
Prudence
Prudence was just one more barn cat. One more than they could stand “running
round makin more babies”. Your
Christmas Miracle has saved her life and will allow her to live in peace as the
feral kitty she was born to be. Just no
more babies!!!!! Nobody but nobody is
allowed to reproduce at Rikki’s !!!!
Virginia
Virginia has only been at Rikki’s Refuge a couple of days,
and she’s just learning that being with a human doesn’t mean harsh words, kicks
and slaps. Shy and very gentle, this old
gal thanks you for her Christmas Miracle of a home where she’s cared for and
loved.
Sylvester
Was a recent arrival at a managed feral colony. Old and blind in one eye, the caretaker told
the speuter clinic to just off him. The
doc there didn’t think that was fair.
Thankfully your Christmas Miracle to Rikki’s, made it possible for
Sylvester to come and join our feral kitties, where he’ll make new friends,
have all he wants to eat, and a cozy place to sleep. We appreciate our seniors and think they deserve a lovely
retirement!
Glenda
Getting old and tired from producing puppies as fast as her
aging body could, she just couldn’t keep up and do her fair share this hunting
season. Deemed “worthless”, it was only
thru your Christmas Miracle, that Glenda was fortunate enough to make it to
Rikki’s Refuge. Without Rikki’s, her
fate would not have be a happy one and she wouldn’t be sleeping tonight with
dreams of sugar plums dancing in her head!
These 13 animals were able to join Rikki’s Refuge in the
last few days ONLY because of your Christmas Miracle gifts to Rikki’s
Refuge. I hope you have a very Happy
and Merry Christmas knowing that you directly supported and saved these
animals, who without you, would not be here to celebrate Christmas this year!!!
The amount of work we can do, the number of lives we can
save, is unlimited as long as your kind and generous support is unlimited
!!!!
THANK YOU
DONORS and
VOLUNTEERS
!!!!!
YOU SAVE
LIVES !!!
Wrapping
Team Ron in Charlottesville and Team Fred in Falls Church
wrapped till they dropped !!!! Over 20
volunteers joined in the fun and wrapped gifts at Barnes and Noble for
donations. Together they raised over
$1,000 to save lives!!!
Jayne
Jayne wanted to help the animals this holiday season. Due to illness and under employment, her
family has been struggling. She knows
what it’s like to go without a meal.
And she couldn’t bear the thought of the animals being hungry on
Christmas. Just knowing there had to be
a way to help, she put on her thinking cap and came up with a great idea!! She’d have an on-line Christmas Party and
SHAVE her head !!! For a few weeks
before Christmas she sought out sponsors for her head shave!!! Wednesday was the party and she fulfilled
her part of the bargain. In exchange
her sponsors put up over $600 - which she split between Rikki’s Refuge and her
favorite local dog rescue in Birmingham, England !!!!!
If you can give $100,000 that’s fabulous!!!! If you can only give $1 that’s great too,
cuz that makes you a part of the solution!
Together we can make miracles happen every day in the animal world. Think of all the ways you can do fundraisers
to help the animals! On line auctions,
ebay sales, bake cookies to sell, run a sponsored race, the list goes on and
on. How creative can you get? I want to feature your creative solutions to
saving animals here!
Christmas Quilt
drawing 2 pm CHRISTMAS DAY
last chance for tickets
This beautiful quilt was made by Miss Marika to raise funds
to keep the 1,289 animals of Rikki’s Refuge warm all winter long! Lovingly made, with a beautiful Christmasy /
Holiday theme on the front and cozy comfy flannel on the back. Approximately 40” by 60” a purrfect throw
for winter time.
Raffle tickets are $3 each, 2 for $5 or 5 for $10 (best bargain).
Get your tickets here: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/Vincent/WinterWarmth
be sure to leave contact information in the comment field so
we can reach you if you’re the lucky winner!!
Not to worry, this donation site is the right place for
quilt raffles, all donations here are for purchasing tickets only!!!
Winner will also be posted right here - in this blog after
the drawing!!!
Drawing Christmas Day at 2 pm.
We hope you’ll join us for our Enchanted Christmas Day Tour
at noon on Christmas Day, December 25th. But you DO NOT need to be present to win!!
Christmas
Day at Rikki’s Refuge
December 25th Sunday - Enchanted Christmas Tour at NOON,
gates open at 11:30 am, tour lasts about 2 hours and it’s all outside, so be
warm. During the tour you’ll get to
help decorate our trees with nums and watch us pick our favorite off the
trees. Admission cat and dog food - as
much as you can possibly haul in.
Canned please, we’re well stocked on dry. We need bird seed, oranges, and fresh produce too.
Here’s our Christmas Day special for you!!!
NO you can't sit on St. Vince's lap and tell him your wishes
for Christmas, but he can sit on your lap and you can get your photo taken for
a $50 donation and you'll get one 8x10 glossy sent to you!!!!
New Years
Tour and Nature Hike
January 1st Sunday - Opening the New Year at your favorite
place will bring you good luck all year!!!
11 am Tour of the Refuge - note 11 am - not our usual noon - 11 am so we
can squeeze in Nature Hike before it gets dark and cold. Gates open at 10:30 am. Tour at 11 am, yup, it’s all outside so
dress warm warm warm. Then at 1 pm you’ll
head for the hills!!!! Pristine Nature
Hike thru the 367 acres of Rikki’s Refuge.
Good boots, waterproof and all dressed up for the weather. Wear orange and red and bright colors so any
evil poaching trespassing you know what’s don’t think you’re a deer!!!
I sure hope to see you this holiday season! If you can’t make it, know that I’d be at
your door step to wish you a wonderful Christmas if only mom would let me have
a corporate jet -- but she says all the money has to go to taking care of
animals, always!!!
And now
... as we hold our breath ...
... does
Santa say Vincent’s been
or
?
.... until
tomorrow ....
Wishing
you a love filled, peaceful and
very very
Merry Christmas!!
I Love
YOU,
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
