Good Morning Good News !!!! March 28, 2013

      Mr. Turkey finds a new love !!!!

Voting ???? 

Is it really worth my time ???

YES !!!

A few clicks every day can earn $1,000

or Rikki’s Refuge !!!

Please CLICK here

Every Day !!

It's real easy .... click on Vincent above or go here http://animalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3

and enter Rikkis Refuge, Orange, VA, USA and follow the directions ...

Little After Sunrise Easter Service

at Rikki’s Refuge No-Kill Sanctuary

Easter Day, Sunday, March 31, 2013 at 8 am

I sure hope you can come !!!!

I have a few slots left so if you meant to RSVP and haven’t yet -

please DO IT NOW !!!

Service by Rev. Theresa Spears,

non-denominational, spiritual, everyone is welcome.

Blessing of the Animals following the service

as we tour Rikki’s Refuge and you meet all the animals.

RSVP ASAP, limited space, Service under cover followed by the tour which is an outdoor event, dress for the weather, and the animals (which means that for your safety, no sandals so your feet don’t get stomped by big hoofed animals, no short pants / dresses / skirts or bare shoulders so you don’t get scratched, no jewelry nothing shiny or dangly so the emus won’t injure you by grabbing), admission is $12.50 per person or a case of canned cat food!  If this is financially difficult for you let us know.       

RSVP  TODAY !!!!

Call 540-854-0870 x3 or

email mail@RikkisRefuge.org

Lots of Fun !!!

Easter Fun last weekend was lots of fun .....   egg hunts, contests, prizes ....  everybody from the youngest to the oldest had lots of fun ... and we were graced with lovely weather.

Easter Bonnet Winners

Winner: Kelsy in the the Girls Division; Snoop in the Dogs Division; Nathan in the Boys!

Click here to see the photo album of the day: http://rikkisrefuge.blogspot.com/2013/03/easter-fun-photos-march-23-2013.html

HEY !!!!   Who let the boys in the dressing room !!!

After the festivities of Easter Fun  
          ... E. M. Duck waddled off to meet and greet the residents of Rikki’s Refuge .....

View the photo album of how the different species reacted to a giant duck .....

      http://rikkisrefuge.blogspot.com/2013/03/revenge-of-duck.html

Congratulations Meredith Vargas

-- we all love you whole lots !!!!  Youz the bestest doctor on the whole big planet .... We couldn't do it without you !!! Thank you for being the Official Doc of Rikki's Refuge and solving all the crazy issues and problems we manage to find !!!!

So many critters everyone thought would never have a chance .... and YOU fixed them up and made them happy and healthy and they got a great life !!!! Thank you from our thousands of critters you've saved !!!!

Culpeper Animal Hospital is celebrating ten years of wonderful service under Dr. Vargas.  Stop in and check them out -- a full WEEK of celebration .... and best of all FREE nums .... Oh and a drawing for a free bath ... well .... ha ha ha ... I'm sure not signing up for that .... but maybe Oscar should !!!!

For more info: http://www.culpepervet.com/

I Needz Gushyfudz Pleaz

I you can’t come to our Easter Service and bring some nums .... you can donate so I can buy?  Please click on the kitty above and share a meal with me !!!!   Thank you!!

Love you bunches,

           Opie

2013 is the Year of the Purr ....

Join the movement ... we’re adding purr to planet earth !

 Look! It's a great car magnet with the world's most loved cat -- Vincent Cat!!!!

"What Would Vincent Do?"

He'd "Purr More, Hiss Less".

Magnet is $5 each, plus shipping (65-cents for 1 magnet, $1.05 for 2 for U.S. addresses). For other shipping costs (international, or for more than 2 magnets) contact Melissa Felts dogslife24@comcast.net  with your zip code and how many you want.     Purchase your magnet TODAY right here http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate.php

Don't be the LAST person on your block

to have a PURR MORE HISS LESS magnet on your car!

Order YOURS today !!

Revenge of the Duck

After the festivities of Easter Fun ... E. M. Duck waddled off to seek revenge .....
On the lovely ½ mile stroll from Rikki’s North - where Easter Fun was held ... to Rikki’s South where 22 animal neighborhoods await ... Goosey Gardens ... Feline Fields ... Doggy Downs ... Bovine Bulevard ...


E. M. Duck stopped to take in the beauty of the budding trees on the surrounding hills ....

Rikki’s Refuge sits in the center of 450 acres ... 350 of it forever preserved natural woods and wetlands where umpteen little critters make their homes, safe and sound from the surrounding growing hooman population.

First stop .... Bovine Boulevard

Where Calvin was the first to say WHAT THE HECK ????

He just couldn’t get enough of these great big orange feet !!!!

A big smack on the ... bill ....













From Bovine Boulevard ... it’s only a hop skip and waddle over to Horsey Haven

On to Chicken City where ....
once Miss Charlotte heard the secret ....

they all flocked to Mother Hen (?) to learn


Lucky for E. M. Duck guard dog KiKi was in a good mood and not very hungry
 









Though Wiley had pate on the mind ......

Feline Fields might be a bit more difficult to traverse .....
Little Phat ... num num num

Timmy ... Oh really duck?

But luckily ... the cats at Rikki’s Refuge are well fed ....



When we tell you that visiting the animals at Rikki’s Refuge is an up close and purrsonal experience we’re really NOT kidding


And always a great opportunity to get some really wild pictures


By now - with spring in the air - you’ve all heard tails of Mr. Turkey and his insaitiable appetite ... despite three wives ...



Mr. Turkey is always on the look out for ..... 

                     OH WOW .... A New Chick in Town !!!!

Let the courtship begin .....




time for some snuggles now


And at last ... E.M. Duck has reached her destination ... Goosey Gardens .... the place for revenge ....

Revenge of the duck ...... 

Rikki’s Refuge has this Baaadddd goose named Poppy .... 

Poppy was probably an Easter Goose once upon a time .... He was certainly raised by people and had no clue he was a goose .... 

Then somebody got tired of him and he got dumped in run off pond by some office ... 

But he wasn’t wanted there either ... cuz he was ... or horrors of horrors ... pooping ... and running up to people ..... 

And so he ended up getting turned into a wildlife rehabber .... But he wasn't wildlife .... He's a domestic goose ... Who thinks he's an apartment dwelling mutant ... 

and soon he made his way to Rikki’s Refuge where we welcome the strange ... the odd balls ... the out of place .. the misfits .... and where we LOVE them forever ! 

Poppy’s first days at Rikki's were hard .... 

He was terrified of the other geese. Usually a new goose takes right to the flock ... Sometimes hangs on the fringes for a few days or a week and then is accepted in .... 

But not Poppy .... The geese came to check him out and he ran to the house wanting to come inside and be protected ..... Night fall came and he sat down on the porch .... Had to come and live inside for a while ... Then just at nights .... And eventually after many months he finally started to make friends with the geese. 

He now runs with the flock ... Though he's a bit out of place ... He's never had a girlfriend ... The she geese look at him like he's kind of weird .... He's a different type of goose than any of our others ... And they let him in the crowd for goosey activities .... But no girl will bond with him .... 

So he's a bit frustrated ... And so - especially this time of year -- He takes it out on da hoomans .... 

You go near the geese and Poppy pops up and chases you and bites you on the butt !!!! 

It's really funny to see him do that ... But it makes the hoomans run and squeal and some of them don't like it so much .... 

Well E.M. Duck .... 
     in her hooman state .... 
          has had her butt bit one too many times ..... 

So she closes in for revenge ..... 

Watch her bite Poppy's butt !!!! 
     See how quick Poppy is up and backing down !!! 
          He's the first goose to get up and complain about this giant duck ....
 

No geese were harmed in the making of this video !!!!

Easter Fun, The Photos, March 23, 2013

Long before the gates opened ..... the bunny’s helpers were hard at work stashing eggs ....












They hid them high ......

They hid them low ....

 They hid them not too hard for da wee hoomans ...
















HEY !!!! Who let the boys in the dressing room !!!
 

Easter Dog .... Easter Bunny ... Easter Duck

It’s time for the hunt !!!! On your mark ..... get set ..... GO .....

Earon took Kelsy, younger and a bit shy at first, under her wing to help her find eggs.

That was the kindest thing !!! The utterly spontaneous selfless act makes me know our planet is evolving !!! Instead of rushing off to get more eggs for herself, she stopped to take the hand of a younger child who was feeling lost and help make the day wonderful for them !!!!! Way to go !!!

At Rikki’s Refge some bunny is always ready to help you !!!

Pictures with the Easter Bunny !!!



Easter Bonnet Winners


Winner of the Girls Division: Kelsy Winner of the Dogs Division: Snoop Winner of the Boys Division: Nathan
Kelsy shows off the giant egg she won, and her wonderful daddy who helped her make her winning Garden Bonnet !!!

Kelsy was on a winning streak !!!

She also won the Guess How Many Jelly Beans contest !!!! LOOK at those SMILES !!!!

I think everyone - young and old - had a good time. The kids are looking forward to more fun and games at Rikki’s Refuge ... The parents are looking forward to tours and volunteering ...

Even Boogz enjoyed the extra treats and handouts he mooched !!!