Happy Holidays !!
Merry Christmas !! Happy
Solstice !!
Here we are, almost at the end of another year. I want to THANK YOU for all you’ve done to make this planet a gentler, kinder more wonderful place again this year. YOU have made the world just a little bit nicer for the animals of our planet with your hard work and generous support.
Here we are, almost at the end of another year. I want to THANK YOU for all you’ve done to make this planet a gentler, kinder more wonderful place again this year. YOU have made the world just a little bit nicer for the animals of our planet with your hard work and generous support.
I bet YOU have no idea how often I think of YOU and thank
YOU .... with every life I see saved I
know YOU and your support is behind it, with every story I read of kindness to
someone somewhere I know your hard work is behind it, with every litterbox I
scoop I know that kitty would not be alive without your kindness, feeding that
bale of hay reminds me of where that cow or goat would be if it wasn’t for
you.
I certainly don’t make the time you deserve to let you know
how much I appreciate your support of Rikki’s Refuge. I hope when ever you visit, or you see pictures of these
wonderful happy critters of all sorts, your heart feels good and just a little
bit warmer, knowing it is YOU and your support that has saved another
life.
Every single day that you make the time to volunteer or you
earn the money to support Rikki’s, you make this dream possible. Our animals are the most important thing in
the world to us and it warms my heart to know they are to YOU too !
Every time you reach out a hand to someone, help someone, pick up a stray, feed someone who’s hungry, fill a feeder for the birds or leave water out for someone, you making the world a better place. Thank you.
Every time you reach out a hand to someone, help someone, pick up a stray, feed someone who’s hungry, fill a feeder for the birds or leave water out for someone, you making the world a better place. Thank you.
I've been trying
all year to get my ducks in a row ...... there's just always something else
falling into the equation and messing up my work load ..... and now ... just
when I think I'm getting close to having my ducks in a row ....... I find out
they're geese ......
We also reach out across the world helping to share your
love and caring. Because YOU CARE we
are able to help someone in danger of losing their beloved companion with that
little bit of something that means their animal can stay home with them. Be it medical care, food, help while they’re
sick, a dog house. What it is doesn’t
matter ...... what was done
matters. That loving bond wasn’t broken,
that animal stays home, that person keeps their beloved companion. THAT matters.
Look down the
path ... way down the path .... who do you see??? At Rikki’s Refuge everyone is welcome to dinner.
Your support makes it possible for us to bring the love of
Speuter around the world. What a gift
to give !!! To stop generations of
animals from being born on the streets, suffering and dying. So simple with a quick little surgery. So life saving. YOU have expanded our Speuter Commuter program to help grass
roots programs in needy areas of the world.
Funds you donate specifically for Speuter Commuter help people in
Guatemala, South Africa, Poland, Chile, Indonesia, and India provide care for
homeless animals with the focus on bringing Speutering to the forefront, with
the plans of someday making a Spay/Neuter Clinic available to the people. The clinic we helped get up and running in
rural mountainous Guatemala almost ten years ago is now virtually self
supporting !! YOU made this
happen. Your caring will make it happen
over and over.
But let’s talk about the animals right here at Rikki’s !!! Twelve hundred and something wonderful souls who rely on YOU for their food, their medical care, their clean beds ..... every single hour of every single day !!!!
But let’s talk about the animals right here at Rikki’s !!! Twelve hundred and something wonderful souls who rely on YOU for their food, their medical care, their clean beds ..... every single hour of every single day !!!!
It takes about $1.25 a minute to protect and provide for all those animals !!! Yes that’s like 1/10 of a penny per animal per minute !!!! WOW ..... That seems so little to not only save a life, but keep that animal happy, fed, healthy and LOVED !! Looking at the task of supporting all of the animals can be quite daunting. But like everything, when you break it down bit by bit, it’s really so simple to make the world a wonderful place for them !!!!
$12.50 provides for all the animals at Rikki’s for 10 minutes. $75 cares for ALL THE ANIMALS for an hour.
Gee that makes it seem so simple !!!
I hope you got our printed winter newsletter in the last week or so. You can read the online version here https://rikkisrefuge.blogspot.com/2019/12/christmas-flyer-2019_23.html
If you don’t get a printed copy, and would like to, make sure I have your mailing address.
Keep up with us on facebook. We’re able to share so many photos and stories there. You’ll find us in lots of places, start with
Just send me a message and I’ll link you up to the different
pages you’re most interested in, Vincent, Black Cats, Alumni, Farm Animals,
etc. You’ll find us here and there on
other social media. With more and more
people no longer interested in email, I’ve let that taper off over the
years. If YOU do still want to hear
about Rikki’s in email, please let me know.
I keep trying to find a good way to stay in touch with all of you so you
know what’s going on at Rikki’s all the time !!
Every day and many nights, these are the people taking care
of the animals at Rikki's Refuge. If their hands aren't busy working, they're
using them to love the animals. So no wonder it just came natural to pick one
up when their work was interrupted for this picture !!!
All they want for Christmas is for YOU to be most generous and kind to the animals of Rikki's Refuge. And NOW thru Christmas Eve, donations for every dollar YOU donate for food, a kind and generous donor will donate a dollar for hay (up to $4,800), so it's a purrfect time to make a donation in honor of one or all of these fabulous human beings !!!!
All they want for Christmas is for YOU to be most generous and kind to the animals of Rikki's Refuge. And NOW thru Christmas Eve, donations for every dollar YOU donate for food, a kind and generous donor will donate a dollar for hay (up to $4,800), so it's a purrfect time to make a donation in honor of one or all of these fabulous human beings !!!!
Rikki’s Refuge
multi-species no-kill life-care heaven on earth
You have an idea how much work must go on all day every day
to keep Rikki’s Refuge providing loving care for all the animals, large and
small. Yes, there is the routine, 600
pounds of poop to clean up every day, fences to repair, food to deliver, water
bowls to scrub, litter boxes to scoop, laundry to do, fields to mow, poop to clean
up, medicine to be given, hooves to be trimmed, trucks to be unloaded, poop to
clean up, a ton of trash to haul to the dump, dinner to be served, poop to
clean up, sick ones to stay up all night with ........
Doug came to Rikki’s one cold Feb day 8 years ago looking for a job. Rikki’s didn’t turn out to be a job for him .... it turned out to be a life. Doug lives Rikki’s in every sense. His love and compassion for the animals is evident in every breath he takes. It’s reflected back to him in the eyes of the animals who follow him around, who cling close, who snuggle, who light up when he’s in sight.
Doug doesn’t talk about his love for the animals, or shout out about how others should behave, he simply demonstrates what true love and caring are thru his actions, both big and small, every day. Every concern of every animal is important to him.
Doug is the Sanctuary Manager and every day makes sure that every single animal is cared for, the hoomans are doing their jobs well and their needs are met and all is well on every front of the refuge. He’s as quick to help a hooman in need as an animal, well almost !!! Doug isn’t the kind of person who asks if you need help, he’s the kind of person who sees you need help and just gives it. You won’t find a kinder more helpful and polite man anywhere.
Doug came to Rikki’s one cold Feb day 8 years ago looking for a job. Rikki’s didn’t turn out to be a job for him .... it turned out to be a life. Doug lives Rikki’s in every sense. His love and compassion for the animals is evident in every breath he takes. It’s reflected back to him in the eyes of the animals who follow him around, who cling close, who snuggle, who light up when he’s in sight.
Doug doesn’t talk about his love for the animals, or shout out about how others should behave, he simply demonstrates what true love and caring are thru his actions, both big and small, every day. Every concern of every animal is important to him.
Doug is the Sanctuary Manager and every day makes sure that every single animal is cared for, the hoomans are doing their jobs well and their needs are met and all is well on every front of the refuge. He’s as quick to help a hooman in need as an animal, well almost !!! Doug isn’t the kind of person who asks if you need help, he’s the kind of person who sees you need help and just gives it. You won’t find a kinder more helpful and polite man anywhere.
You’ve heard those quotes about people who truly care and
have compassion for animals:
“Compassion for animals is intimately associated with goodness of character ...”
“Compassion for animals is intimately associated with goodness of character ...”
“You can judge a man's true character by the way he treats
his fellow animals.”
“The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its
animals are treated.”
“The moral test of government is how that government treats
those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight
of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy
and the handicapped.”
“You Can Easily Judge the Character of a Man by How He
Treats Those Who Can Do Nothing for Him”
Doug is the poster person for quotes like this. Thank you Doug for coming to Rikki’s Refuge to see what it was all about those 8 long years ago. You have been a blessing every day since.
Doug is the poster person for quotes like this. Thank you Doug for coming to Rikki’s Refuge to see what it was all about those 8 long years ago. You have been a blessing every day since.
Lauren is Rikki’s Medical Manager. You’ll find her in the hospital dispensing medication; holding
someone who is sick and feeling miserable; crying when someone dies; out in the
field trimming hooves; catching, and being bitten, by that feral cat who’s
injured an eye and needs drops put in; drawing blood for tests; giving shots;
cleaning ears; being bitten, clawed, stomped and butted; up all night with a
sick one who needs her; reassuring new and terrified arrivals in
quarantine.
How happy we were when Lauren came to Rikki’s four years ago with a vet tech background, a huge dose of common sense, a strong work ethic, no fear of doing anything with any animal, filled with compassion and a truly deep desire to make life better for the animals. Thank you, Lauren, for giving the animals the best possible care.
How happy we were when Lauren came to Rikki’s four years ago with a vet tech background, a huge dose of common sense, a strong work ethic, no fear of doing anything with any animal, filled with compassion and a truly deep desire to make life better for the animals. Thank you, Lauren, for giving the animals the best possible care.
Tina is Lauren’s assistant in the hospital. Compassion and empathy are the words that describe Tina the best. When ever possible, Tina, has somebody in her arms, on her lap or on her shoulders. Tina is really serious about taking her work home with her !!! The ones who need bladder expression round the clock go home with Tina so she can tend to them 24/7. So do the diabetics who need to be watched, someone she’s concerned about after surgery, or someone who’s just lonely and frightened after losing their family. Thank you Tina for the love you give every animal here.
Jason not only sees to the animals at Rikki’s, as Rikki’s
Staff Manager he’s in charge of the people.
He recruits new people, explaining that working at an animal sanctuary
is WORKING and working hard, it’s not just playing with animals and having fun,
it’s hard physical labor, in every kind of weather. Oh my it’s super hot today, do we still have to clean up the
poop? But it’s -20 out there and
sleeting, we still have to be out there all day working? Snow storm is coming and I might not be able
to get in to work tomorrow, so you mean I have to stay here over night? Yes, yes and yes !!! No matter what, Jason sees that everyone is
doing their job to take care of the animals. And when they simply don’t?
Well then Jason and Doug double up and make sure everyone is taken care
of.
Tony is a very dedicated hard worker who especially loves the dogs. Always ready to raise his hand and stay till late in the night to unload a truck of supplies, or make sure the animals are all right thru the night during a snow storm. Tony cuts fallen trees off fences, repairs fences, and does a lot of mowing. Tony has tried working at a couple other jobs while volunteering at Rikki’s. But he always comes back to Rikki’s full time. He just can’t get enough animals anywhere else.
Clarence volunteered one summer a couple of years ago, putting up miles and miles of fencing. When a position came open he joined Rikki’s full time. Clarence is a cat man and you’ll often find him at Feline Fields making sure his best friends have everything they need and are happy. It’s rare to see him without a cat on his shoulders. Clarence’s construction skills are amazing and he can repair or build just about anything we need.
You’re calling
THIS dinner?
Shaun is easy going and flexible and happy to work which ever animals need him for the day. He’s worked at Rikki’s a couple days a week off and on for a few years. We sure wish he’d turn that into full time !!!
Joey joined Rikki’s in the spring of this year. He says it’s the best job ever and an honor to serve the animals.
Hannah heard about Rikki’s and joined the team at the end of summer. She loves working in the 9th Life Retirement, Assisted Living and Psychiatric areas as well as the hospital. She says this is her dream job and she hopes to be here forever !!! We hope so too !!
Shaun is easy going and flexible and happy to work which ever animals need him for the day. He’s worked at Rikki’s a couple days a week off and on for a few years. We sure wish he’d turn that into full time !!!
Joey joined Rikki’s in the spring of this year. He says it’s the best job ever and an honor to serve the animals.
Hannah heard about Rikki’s and joined the team at the end of summer. She loves working in the 9th Life Retirement, Assisted Living and Psychiatric areas as well as the hospital. She says this is her dream job and she hopes to be here forever !!! We hope so too !!
HAY YOU .... IT’S A
CHALLENGE !!!
HAY!! A very
generous donor has a challenge for YOU!
He will pay up to $4,800 of our hay bill (which hopefully
will get us through the winter months) IF we can raise $4,800 to fill the
pantry for the other animals!
In other words, every $1 YOU donate towards food also means
$1 towards hay!!
IF we can meet this challenge and fill the pantry, it would
cover 2 weeks of food for all of our residents so that we have an emergency
stash in case of bad weather and we can't get out!
$3,392 = $8.48 each for 400 cases of canned cat food
$842 = $8.42 each for 100 cases of canned dog food
$599.40 = $9.99 each for 60 sacks of sweet feed
$249.75 = $9.99 each for 25 sacks of cracked corn
Opie meets Stuart at a
special event at Re-Tail, Rikki’s store in Fredericksburg. Watch out calendar for upcoming events!
Thank YOU for being a part of
Rikki’s Refuge !!!
Love,
Kerry & Opie
Kerry & Opie
THANK YOU for your kind and
generous support !!!
Keep up to date with Rikki's
Refuge and check often so you never miss a fun event !!!
on the web: http://www.RikkisRefuge.org/
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RikkisRefuge/
Let your friends know they can
become a Rikki's Family Friend, just like you, share this newsletter with
them. If you'd like to change your
subscription options, just "reply" or email mailto:Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org
with your request. 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 support
provides direct care for the animals. A financial statement is available upon
written request from the Virginia State Office of Consumer Affairs. Donation drop off every Saturday from noon-
2 pm at 21410 Constitution Hwy, Rapidan VA 22733. We love canned and dry food !!
