Monday, December 20, 2010

The Full Vincent's 25 Days of Christmas

Vincent's 25 Days of Giving 
with Love at Christmas





Click on the animal               Click on the gift
you wish to feed                  you wish to give



On the Twenty-Fifth Day of Christmas
all the critters of the Refuge,
want to wish the very best to YOU!
Please join Vincent enjoying 25 meals, Christmas breakfast, Christmas snack, Christmas lunch, Christmas snack, Christmas dinner, Christmas snack ....

Vincent wants to remind you to feed your favorite cat.
We end our 25 days of Christmas from a final plea from Vincent for canned Fancy Feast! Case of Fancy Feast!   Please sign up for a monthly delivery!!!  Pretty paw please !!!!



On the Twenty-Fourth Day of Christmas
All the doggies are as happy as can be
chowing down of gourmet doggie food

twenty-four happy mutts, 
eating till they are full
Today we have another request from the dogs for people to gift them a Case of Canned Dog Food! 














On the Twenty-Third Day of Christmas
Rikki’s hospital patients received
lovely hanging, easy cleaning, dinner bowls

twenty-three bowls for all the yummie
Some of these small, hanging, stainless steel feeding dishes would be great to have for the hospital ward! 














On the Twenty-Second Day of Christmas
the hoomans were in a great mood
getting automatic help opening all the food

twenty-two labor saving can openers
Despite our love of pop-top canned pet food, the staff know they will have to deal with cans that have to be opened by hand. So a few of these electric can openers will speed up feeding time and make everyone happier.  Two would probably be enough but we’ll share with 22 volunteers!

On the Twenty-First Day of Christmas
the hoomans and doggies alike
were thrilled to chase off the windy bite

twenty-one warm and fuzzy uni-species balaclavas
Want to support the workers who take care of all the creatures in 30 degrees and BELOW weather? Some Balaclava’s will really help keep them warm. And since these are fleece with a hole cut in them, we can always think outside the box and wrap sick or senior pets in them for added warmth.  They would actually be perfect for that since they wouldn’t fall off like a blanket would.  At only $6.50 each, these are a terrific buy.












On the Twentieth Day of Christmas
our hoomans sighed with relief
to have wonderfully dry feet

twenty warm and toasty feet
Have you ever worked in wet shoes or boots? It is awful – especially when the temperature dips and the wind blows!  Today we’re thinking of the staff again with this electric boot/shoe dryer.  A bit pricey, but it dries 2 pair of shoes/boots at the same time. 












On the Nineteenth Day of Christmas
wouldn’t it be wonderful if
all the doggies got wonderful long walks

nineteen dogs a walking
We never have enough dog leashes and collars to walk the dogs who live in Doggy Downs! Having a bunch of spares would ensure that the Doggy Downs dogs (as opposed to our mascot dogs) get walked regularly.  Any color and any brand will do, as long as it is a nylon leash – not retractable – and the collars should be wide and snap close.  No need to buy matching sets – unless you want to. 










On the Eighteenth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s welcomed eighteen extra eyes on the lookout

eighteen extra eyes on the lookout
Now its time to think about our wildlife. Unfortunately, we have poachers who come into the woods around the sanctuary to hunt – despite our NO TRESPASSING / NO HUNTING signs. This poses a danger not only to our wildlife, but also to our dogs, staff and volunteers. We routinely have volunteers patrolling our property to keep the poachers out, and a few pair of these waterproof binoculars would surely help! 











On the Seventeenth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s received radios to keep up on any emergencies

seventeen ears a listening
A couple of these solar power / self-crank emergency radios (with flashlight and cell phone charger) would be great for the times when the power goes out AND we’re out of batteries – and that could happen at any time of the year! 













On the Sixteenth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s is happy to have
sixteen healthy hoomans caring for the critters.

sixteen healthy hoomans a caring
Time to think of the staff again, this time with a supply of Airborne Immune Boosting tablets.  There is no such thing as a “sick day” at the refuge -- the animals have to be cared for every day.  These Airborne tablets would give the staff a little extra boost to help them get through the day when they are feeling run down. 














On the Fifteenth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s received fifteen seniors breathing easily,
in moist humidified air.

fifteen seniors breathing easily
A few humidifiers for the senior center  would really be great.  Here is one that will run for 12 hours on a single filling and has an automatic shutoff. 













On the Fourteenth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s welcomed your help to trap
and fix all the feral kitties.

fourteen feral kitties happily helped to the speuter clinic
We’re getting close to Christmas and people are thinking about others.  Let’s help the feral kitties.  We could really, really use as many of these feral cat TNR (trap, neuter, return) traps as possible – both for work we do here at Rikki’s and to support our Wild and Feral division. We never use traps to catch and kill!  The more of these traps we have, the more cats we can help get to the speuter clinic. 











On the Thirteenth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s memory received a boost,
with lots of storage room for photos and medical notes.

 thirteen terabytes of memory
You know, it’s easy to forgot about all the hard work that goes on in the office. Today’s gift request is for a couple 1 Terabyte External Hard Drives so Kerry can backup Rikki’s photos and medical records!











On the Twelfth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s jumps with joy to receive,
dozens of Gift Cards for lots of goodies,

twelve glorious gift cards
Most people hate gift cards – but not us – we just love them! And some of the favorite places we would love to have gift cards for are Target and Home Depot.  And I bet you can think of a lot more useful places!























On the Eleventh Day of Christmas
our hearts, well our hands and toes, would be warmed to receive, a little wondrous warmth

eleven wondrous packets of warmth
 Most of our daily chores take place OUTDOORS. Winter is tough, especially when the wind blows. A few  boxes of these hand warmers would work wonders at taking the edge off!   



 













On the Tenth Day of Christmas 
look what came to Rikki’s,
ten hoomans who can see in the dark

 ten hooman helpers illuminated to see
At Rikki’s work starts before sun up and ends long after the sun has gone down. Several of these 7 LED headlights would be so welcomed by our staff and make night rounds so much easier!   
 



















On the Ninth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s Doggies jumped in glee
excited to receive
domed doggy igloos

nine domed doggy igloos

A happy day for the dogs!!   They’d love to have these lovely outdoor houses. Medium size is fine, we don’t want them too big or they get drafty. Stuffed with straw, these houses will be used by dogs – and sometimes a goat or pig – and maybe an occasional chicken! 















On the Eighth Day of Christmas
The kitties stopped climbing the tree
and curled up all cozy in their condos fit for three

eight cozy kitty condos
One thing we can never have too many of are outdoor cat condos! Yes, we have the cat barns, but many of our felines like to have their own space. These outdoor condos, stuffed with straw, work great all winter – and beyond. 













On the Seventh Day of Christmas
the guinea pigs rejoiced
as they as they climbed their new porch
and explored guinea pig garages

seven guinea pig garages
The guinea pigs would love to use this as a shelter – especially when we stuff it with straw!  Yes, we know the product says it is a covered cat litter box, but we get used to thinking “outside the box”.  You see the nice little stairs and the cozy compartment inside? 










 
On the Sixth Day of Christmas
you warmed our hearts, hands and feet
as Rikki’s received warm and wonderful heat

six months of warm and wonderful heat
Winter is here - boy is it ever - and we never seem to have enough heat!  A few of these ceramic tower heaters would certainly keep the senior center, hospital and office nice and toasty!  And they are economical too.  There’s always cooler areas of the building that can use a boost!  This is a great price too!














On the Fifth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s received gentle, soothing,
healing music complete with a player for CDs
 five gentle, soothing, healing musical CDs
Calming soothing CDs to help the animals recovering in the hospital unit and/or those living in the senior center.    












On the Fourth Day of Christmas
Rikki’s received some light
to help us see all the creatures at night


four lights to help us see all the creatures at night
These Solar-Powered Motion-Activated 80 LED Security Floodlight can be installed ANYWHERE!!!!  It gets really dark at the refuge in the winter, and when we have to check on our creatures during the night, it would be great to actually be able to see them!  We could use several of these lights for around the main house and the cat runs in the barns and everywhere.














On the Third Day of Christmas
doggy lovers want to feed,
nummy canned food to all the doggies
 three nummy cans food 
for each of the doggies
The doggies are drooling for a case of Pedigree, ground, Butchers select canned – with the pop top lid. Or any flavor that is ground and has a pop top lid. We get more mouthfuls out of ground and when it is 20 degrees outside the last thing anyone wants to do is fiddle with a can opener! Amazon gives you the option of sending us a case every month if you want to . . hint, hint. We really need canned for the dogs during the winter to help keep them warm and healthy.
















On the Second Day of Christmas
those who love us want to see,
all the old folks and the hospital patients warm and very comfee

two snuggy pads to keep us comfee
This wonderful Microwaveable heating disc will give up to 12 hours of warmth to our seniors or sick.  We have plenty of towels to cover the disc, so no need to buy a cover.  We use them a lot, but we only have two, and we can’t afford to buy more.  We really wish we had half a dozen or even a dozen!  They are just the bestest.  Wonderful for somebody sick and super safe, never get too hot but hold that heat for hours.  Even Iggy likes them and tries to share with old Mr. Sam.  Mr. Sam and the other old arthritic folks love to have one under their bed, they wake up with less creaky and stiff joints. 













On the First Day of Christmas
those who love me want me to get,
my very own case of FANCY FEAST ....
 
and one VINCENT eating FANCY FEAST ....
Those who love me want me to get my very own case of FANCY FEAST ....   You know what’d be really nice and like Christmas ALL year round????  If you signed up to send me a case a month!!!  I’ll love you forever, I promise !!!!

 












You can have Amazon send gifts right to us!

Vincent D. Cat
Rikki’s Refuge
10910 Barr Ln
Rapidan VA 22733

AND it even counts towards Amazon point for Rikki’s cuz you’ll be going in thru our site with this link!!!! 

Interested in buying other items from Amazon for yourself or for gifts for all your friends and family?  Use this link to make your shopping shop for Rikki’s - it doesn’t cost you a thing - Amazon will make a donation to Rikki’s when you enter their site thru this link!!!   http://www.amazon.com/?&tag=wwwrikkisrefu-20&camp=212361&creative=392013&linkCode=wsw&


Giving animals a Christmas

 Today in the Free Lance Star





Katarina Galvin (center, red coat) instructs a group of teen volunteers from Fairfax County on cleaning a shelter for feral cats at Rikki's Refuge in Orange County. Galvin, the refuge's volunteer coordinator, has organized an angel tree program to benefit animals this holiday season.
ROBERT A. MARTIN/THE FREE LANCE-STAR


 Katarina Galvin, with T. J. at Rikki's Refuge, has put ornaments with pictures of needy animals on trees at local stores.
ROBERT A. MARTIN/THE FREE LANCE-STAR




Teen coordinator at Rikki's Refuge launches a different kind of Angel Tree-one seeking gifts for animals


Date published: 12/20/2010

BY ROBIN KNEPPER


Angel trees are not uncommon this time of year, but Katarina Galvin has put her own spin on the tradition.

She has made and placed animal-angel ornaments, each with the wreath-surrounded picture of a needy non-human recipient, on Christmas trees throughout the area.

Galvin, 23, is the volunteer coordinator for Rikki's Refuge in Orange County, and the ornaments picture some of the 1,200 rescued animals that live on the 367-acre farm. The nonprofit sanctuary is home to more than 20 different species of abused, neglected and abandoned animals.

At the Petco store in Harrison Crossing in western Spotsylvania County, the Christmas tree is adorned with cat, dog, rabbit, guinea pig and turtle angels--domestic animals for which gifts can be purchased right there. The ornament can then be attached to the gift, returned to the tree or taken home as a memento.

At Booth Feeds' stores in Spotsylvania and Stafford counties, the angels are cows, horses, pigs, sheep, chickens and other farm animals. Other trees decorate offices, and there is one at Confederate Ridge Animal Hospital in Fredericksburg.

In Orange, there are trees at the Orange-Madison Co-op, Village Feeds and the LaRue de Beauty salon. In Culpeper County they can be found at the Culpeper Animal Hospital and the Culpeper Co-op.


Galvin was in the seventh grade when a friend's family took her on her first visit to Rikki's Refuge. That was seven years ago, but because she lived in Fredericksburg and didn't drive, she didn't get back to Rikki's until 16 months ago.

"I always remembered that it was a place with loving people taking care of animals," she says. "After I revisited it, I kept going back."

She was asked to be the sanctuary's first youth volunteer coordinator.

"It was really fun," she says. "I got to take disabled animals to schools and teach students how to take care of them, since some of them were differently abled kids."


Last summer, Galvin set up a teen volunteer program at Rikki's Refuge that attracted 15 teenagers who went to the farm on Thursdays to clean cat boxes, train dogs, organize trailers, paint buildings and care for animals. She helped organize monthly tours and open houses.

Starting next month, there will be Sunday tours of the sanctuary.

"Kerri Hilliard [the sanctuary's executive director and founder] supported me through everything," Galvin said. "This was the first time I had worked with animal rescue, and she helped me learn the operations and encouraged me to do more and more."

This isn't Galvin's first volunteer experience. At 16, she started as a junior volunteer at Mary Washington Hospital. After a month she was hired to work in the dietary department after school, during the summer and, later, during college breaks.

After college, she was promoted to an office job and is still employed by Mary Washington Healthcare.
As the volunteer coordinator for both teens and adults, Galvin finds her work challenging and rewarding.

"I love doing it," she says. "It's helped me become way more confident, and I've learned management skills and even how to train dogs."

This is the first year of the animal-angel tree, but probably not the last.

"I always feel good when I throw a fundraiser and it's a success," she said. "It blows me away every time."
Good Morning my Friends!
So the Shelter Challenge is closed!!! 
Now we sit on paws till Wednesday when they announce the winners!!!! 
I think it's gonna be YOU !!!!! 
And what shall I do with myself now? 
I don't know what to do if I'm not voting! 
OH I know! 
I'm gonna take mom's truck and go Christmas Shopping! 
What can I get for YOU?

 Put your orders in the comment place below!
I'll try my best!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Good Morning Good News !!!! December 19, 2010




Please drop a Penny in the Old Man's Hat !!!
Click on the Penny !!!



Today’s the last day to vote !!!
Cast your vote and then hold your breath!!!
You’ve won Vincent’s Seal of Approval for being such a good voter!!

 Still a little time left - voting closes at midnight PST
Rikkis Refuge, VA, USA

 

Current stats have us at NUMBER ONE
in Virginia with 38.22% of the votes. That's AMAZING -  that's YOU !  The runner up in second place has 4.69% of the votes, so we are WAY in the lead. YOU ARE SO AMAZING!  Planet wide we are ranked at number seven with 1.01% of the total votes.  Best Friends is, of course number one with 2% of the votes. Only DOUBLE the number of votes that we have!  Not bad for us HUH?  The runner up, at eighth planet wide is has 0.99% of the votes, pretty close on our heals. Please vote till midnight PST so we don't lose our lead!


HELP!!!!   MORE RAPPERS NEEDED
Just a couple of days away from our wrapping at Barnes & Noble.  Steve, our friend from Barnes & Noble, called tonight, and told me there were extra sessions available on Monday and Tuesday from 11 am to 4 pm, and would we like to have them.  I said YES!!!.

Barnes & Noble has been very good to Rikki's Refuge.   They called us to offer the additional hours.  That means money for us. 

Now, I know that a lot of you have signed up for our other times.  Would anyone like to help Fred and me fill these additional hours?  PLEASE????

I'll take Monday, since I'm supposed to bring the newsletters, posters and handouts and do the first 5 hours ( from 11 am to 4 pm) and then my scheduled 4 pm to 7 pm.  Fred has said that he would cancel his plans in Tuesday, and be there at 11 am and continue to his scheduled shift from 4 pm to 7 pm.  Can anyone else help us fill these additional hours?  It means money for the animals, and DOUBLE the funds with the matching challenge.  Please help!

Thank you for your support of Riikki's Refuge.  The animals  send their love.
    Catnip Candy  paulcandy214@verizon.net


Does anybody
use a P-Active or wacom cintiq touch pad? If you do what do you think of it? What do you use it for? Does it do what you expected it to? Why'd you choose the one you did? Any comments on which is better and so forth?   Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org


Anya is SAFE

Anya really scared us today. She's been here a couple weeks. An elderly gal dumped at the pound all matted and unkempt. She had to be shaved down.  She’s lovely, gentle, loving, gets along with everyone, likes to lean against your legs. She looked out the cage and begged for a home.  And still nobody would adopt her. I cannot stand the seniors just left behind to be offed.  Once loved and cared for and here she sat, now loved by no one.

She's lucky and got to come to Rikki's to spend her golden years. She has to wear a coat when she goes outside till her fur grows back. She wants to be out all the time, but we don't let her, except on warm days, and then she must be in a fenced area or with someone. 

Well this morning somebody took her out to potty. Something happened, they ran for something else, one of those distractions that could happen to anybody, and when they realized it - Anya was gone.

Already too many tracks in the snow to track anybody.  All hands on deck and everybody went searching.  Soon all the 4wd vehicles were on the hunt too.  Then people were trekking in the wood.

She had on a bright orange coat, so she should be easy to spot.  After an hour and a half her coat was found.  And she wasn't in it. It'd gotten caught on branches and she'd wiggled out. Oh no, now this poor old gal, sight failing, not really knowing where home was, maybe trying to go home to her owners who’d abandoned her was alone, lost, no doubt cold, and trekking thru the snow covered woods and fields.  What would become of this poor gal. 

A couple volunteers showed up and started the hunt too.  We circled the perimeter road in case she finally came out the woods.  Thankfully we’re very secluded and surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of acres of woods and at least a mile from any road .... but ....  we were scared.  really scared.

We called all the neighbors. Went to the county shelter to let them know - they’re very close by and in case they got a call or somebody picked her up.  Nobody had seen her.  The nightmares going thru everybody’s heads were really scary.

After two and a half hours Valerie saw her and chased her down and called for a 4 wd truck to come pick them up as close as they could get to where they were in the woods.  Joe zoomed off and soon there was Valerie and Anya climbing out from the back of the truck. 

And what did Anya want to do?  Not go inside and sit by the heater and warm up.  Not dry her feet and thaw her toes.  No.  She wanted to head right back to the woods!  She fought like heck being hauled back inside!!! 

Soon as she was safely inside all the hoomans began to notice their freezing body parts and they wanted to hunch up by the heaters!!!  But no luck for them either!  Everybody’s work was two and a half hours behind schedule and it was time to hop to it!!!  Luckily Anne and Katarina and a group of volunteers were here to help!!!



Starr Suds Up
Poor little Starr. I tried to help by sitting on the edge of the tub and explaining to her that the hoomans weren't really trying to drown her and if she’d hold still it’d be over a lot quicker than if they had to keep stopping and cleaning up the blood and bandaging themselves.  But she wasn’t listening to me!

Poor kitty. All she wanted to do was help wash dishes and she jumped right under the pouring dish soap. Uh Oh, she had a big streak of soap down her back. You know what happens if you eat soap! So mom and Valerie had to hold her for a bath and she didn't like it one little bit!



On the Nineteenth Day of Christmas,
 look what came to Rikki’s,



nineteen rebellious roosters,
eighteen litter challenged kitties,
seventeen emus escaping,
sixteen dangerous ducklings,
fifteen peaceful pigeons,
fourteen peacocks plotting,
thirteen humans helping,
twelve temperamental turkeys,
eleven pouting pussies,
ten crotchety creaking canines,
nine grumpy geese,
eight kicking kittens,
seven guinea fowl freeloading,
six lizards a lazing,
five guinea pigs a gnawing,
four elderly equines,
three burly bossy bovines,
two rabbits a mating,
and a chukar in a cherry tree.


See all the pictures


Rudolph the Red Nosed .....




 Yesterday was a good volunteer day!
Of course, all volunteers are GOOD !!!!  Cindy came and took care of doggies, like she does every Saturday!!!  Happy Doggies!!  Katarina came and had a photographer come and take pictures of her.  The paper is doing a story of her Angel Trees!!!  Bob came out brought lots of dog food to donate!!  Num num num.  He helped out around the farm and then too the generator that isn’t working so he can fix it and bring it back.  Yippee !!!!

Zoe is 13 years old.  She met me at the National Capital Cat Show
and we fell in love!!!  She kept coming back for hugs and purrs!!!  Mmmmm I love you Zoe. 

She’s become a volunteer and has gotten her family and friends to help too.  Yesterday they came to clean up cat runs.  That’s a big job and lots of hard work.  All that pooper scooping smells better when it’s below freezing but their toes and noses were getting cold - and they kept right on working all day!!!

Today Katarina had a group volunteering and Ann came to help too.  That was real lucky cuz with all the extra things going on, we were all way behind schedule.  Thanks to them - my meals were served right on time!!!


Lucky Cat Smiles on Volunteers



Vincent’s Very own 25 Days of Christmas

On the Nineteenth Day of Christmas
wouldn’t it be wonderful if
all the doggies got wonderful long walks

nineteen dogs a walking
We never have enough dog leashes and collars to walk the dogs who live in Doggy Downs! Having a bunch of spares would ensure that the Doggy Downs dogs (as opposed to our mascot dogs) get walked regularly.  Any color and any brand will do, as long as it is a nylon leash – not retractable – and the collars should be wide and snap close.  No need to buy matching sets – unless you want to. 

Click on a doggy to feed him or her, click on a collar or leash to send a gift








eighteen extra eyes on the lookout
seventeen ears a listening,
sixteen healthy hoomans a caring
fifteen seniors breathing easily,
fourteen feral kitties happily helped to the speuter clinic
thirteen terabytes of memory,
twelve glorious gift cards,
eleven wondrous packets of warmth
ten hooman helpers illuminated to see,
nine domed doggy igloos,
eight cozy kitty condos,
seven guinea pig garages,
six months of warm and wonderful heat,
five gentle, soothing, healing musical CDs,
four lights to help us see all the creatures at night,
three nummy cans food for each of the doggies,
two snuggy pads to keep us comfee,
and one VINCENT eating FANCY FEAST ....



You can have Amazon send it right on it’s way to

Anya
Rikki’s Refuge
10910 Barr Ln
Rapidan VA 22733

AND it even counts towards Amazon point for Rikki’s cuz you’ll be going in thru our site with this link!!!! 

Interested in buying other items from Amazon for yourself or for gifts for all your friends and family?  Use this link to make your shopping shop for Rikki’s - it doesn’t cost you a thing - Amazon will make a donation to Rikki’s when you enter their site thru this link!!!   http://www.amazon.com/?&tag=wwwrikkisrefu-20&camp=212361&creative=392013&linkCode=wsw&



If you missed any of Vincent’s Shopping Suggestions - here they all are!



Mom’s Son Checks In
I just wanted to tell you that I survived my first scooter drive here in Thailand!  Grampa is still in the hospital.  He is feeling a bit better, but might still need a day or two more in there.  That is actually kind of good since we need to work under his bed to finish getting the AC running in his cabin.  So Kirk and I had rode tandem up to the hospital and had Subway there with Gpa.  Then it started raining, so we all fell asleep.  The scooter is borrowed from a fellow American yachtie so Kirk wanted it back here for the AM, but he wants to be with Grampa in the AM for when the doctor makes her rounds.  I needed to be back here in the AM to work and direct our laborer.  We woke up around midnight and saw it had stopped raining.  So I said I was game to try my first solo trip.  I had done some scooting around general vicinity of the marina complex (you can't actually come in the complex with a scooter) but hadn't yet got up the guts to ride on the main streets.  The trip was pretty uneventful and late Sunday night was probably about the least traffic out.  It will be a different story the next time I try to ride.



Mary Ellen has been studying Cat Nap Art!






















I think my very own brofur Mr. Darcy can top all of them!

Yaaaaawwwwnnnnnn  that made me sleepy.  I think mom’s got the lectic bankie on and I think I’m gonna have a snack and try a cat nap myself!!!



I haz a happee cuz you’re my HERO !!!!

Love,
Vincent

.... Scoots back to office ..... climbs up on step ladder to turn on light ......  Yaaawwwwnnnnn  ... pulls up into chair .....  turns puter back on .......

Hey Hey MY HEROS I’m so excited, I had to come get out of bed to tell you !!!!  We’re up to $4,235 of our $15,000 challenge!!!   We’re getting closer!!!  I so hope we can make the whole $15,000 challenge.  It’d help mom so much to be able to pay off the bills and start the new year not still owing for our food and meds.  That’s what I’d like to give her for Christmas!!!

If you can help me, or were wondering what to give her for Christmas, this is the purrfect gift.  And it’d be purrfect for my Christmas Pressie too!!!!  (((my stomach must be full from my midnight snack)))

I’ll even make you deal - give the gift of life to somebody you love for Christmas, make a donation to our Double your Donation challenge and I’ll send them a card telling them what you did!!!

Nighty night!!


Anya is SAFE !!!!!

 

Anya really scared us today. She's been here a couple weeks. An elderly gal dumped at the pound all matted and unkempt. She had to be shaved down.  She’s lovely, gentle, loving, gets along with everyone, likes to lean against your legs. She looked out the cage and begged for a home.  And still nobody would adopt her. I cannot stand the seniors just left behind to be offed.  Once loved and cared for and here she sat, now loved by no one.

She's lucky and got to come to Rikki's to spend her golden years. She has to wear a coat when she goes outside till her fur grows back. She wants to be out all the time, but we don't let her, except on warm days, and then she must be in a fenced area or with someone. 

Well this morning somebody took her out to potty. Something happened, they ran for something else, one of those distractions that could happen to anybody, and when they realized it - Anya was gone.

Already too many tracks in the snow to track anybody.  All hands on deck and everybody went searching.  Soon all the 4wd vehicles were on the hunt too.  Then people were trekking in the wood.

She had on a bright orange coat, so she should be easy to spot.  After an hour and a half her coat was found.  And she wasn't in it. It'd gotten caught on branches and she'd wiggled out. Oh no, now this poor old gal, sight failing, not really knowing where home was, maybe trying to go home to her owners who’d abandoned her was alone, lost, no doubt cold, and trekking thru the snow covered woods and fields.  What would become of this poor gal. 

A couple volunteers showed up and started the hunt too.  We circled the perimeter road in case she finally came out the woods.  Thankfully we’re very secluded and surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of acres of woods and at least a mile from any road .... but ....  we were scared.  really scared.

We called all the neighbors. Went to the county shelter to let them know - they’re very close by and in case they got a call or somebody picked her up.  Nobody had seen her.  The nightmares going thru everybody’s heads were really scary.

After two and a half hours Valerie saw her and chased her down and called for a 4 wd truck to come pick them up as close as they could get to where they were in the woods.  Joe zoomed off and soon there was Valerie and Anya climbing out from the back of the truck. 

And what did Anya want to do?  Not go inside and sit by the heater and warm up.  Not dry her feet and thaw her toes.  No.  She wanted to head right back to the woods!  She fought like heck being hauled back inside!!! 

Soon as she was safely inside all the hoomans began to notice their freezing body parts and they wanted to hunch up by the heaters!!!  But no luck for them either!  Everybody’s work was two and a half hours behind schedule and it was time to hop to it!!!  Luckily Anne and Katarina and a group of volunteers were here to help!!!