Monday, January 10, 2011

VOTE FOR TINY TIMMY TO WIN PEPSI REFRESH!


We are climbing!!! We are in the top 100 of the $50k for the Pepsi Challenge! We want to share Timmy's story with as many people as possible, so the higher we climb, the more people will learn about harmful flea & tick products that cause needless suffering for tens of thousands of cats & dogs each year. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!! Don't forget to vote daily!!!

How often??? VOTE DAILY text 104450 to Pepsi (73774) and/or http://www.refresheverything.com/timmytouracrossamerica


We put together a link of voting partners. You may need to cut and paste this into your browser as we added a few. Voting partners (and Timmy Tour) will show up on one page for you. It's easiest to open these in a new window so you can leave a comment at the bottom of their voting pages. IF YOU DON'T LEAVE A COMMENT, THEY WON'T KNOW WHO TO SEND VOTES BACK TO. (Namely Timmy Tour text 104450)

To cut and paste: WINDOWS: Highlight the link by dragging your cursor over the entire link (back to front is easiest) while holding down your left mouse button. Once highlighted, CONTROL+C to copy. Go to your web browser and put your cursor into the address box. CONTROL+V to paste and hit enter. FOR MAC: Do the same, but use APPLE+C and APPLE+V instead of CONTROL.

To open the links into a new window or tab: Put your cursor over the name of the idea and in WINDOWS right click your mouse. A menu will pop up. Choose the option to open link in new window or new tab. For MAC simply press and hold the Apple key and click your mouse. The window will open up automatically.

VOTING PARTNER LINK:
http://www.refresheverything.com/search/?q=pet.detective+timmy.tour.across.america+cash.for.critters+wildlife.rehabilitation.release+catkins.animal.rescue+mommys.heartbeat+bliss.wildlife.rescue+theradog+NAMTA.foundation+national.marine.life.center+texas.marine.mammal.stranding

Again thank you so much for sharing and voting. It means a lot and we can do this! We can raise awareness of Timmy's story and help others not have the issues he has. One Pet At A Time!

~ The Under Secretary for Timmy Affairs

Good Morning Good News !!!! January 10, 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




          Reflection
 


Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.  ---Henry David Thoreau



By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.  ---Confucius




From Madelyn: You've got to get up every morning with a smile on your face & show the world all the LoVe in your heart, then people gonna treat you better. You're gonna find, yes you will, that you're as beautiful as you feel.  ---Carole King♥ღ


Refuge News
Sunday was sunny but cold and windy!  Katarina and Grace came out to help.  Doing dishes and cleaning cages and all kinds of necessary chores.  Laurie stopped in to deliver goodies.  Bob and Jane stopped in to deliver picked up donations.   Theresa and Jim, thanks for feeding mom!
Poor Trav’s not feeling well.  He’s got a tummy upset.  He hates to take medicine of any sort.  He’s not really sick enough to be in a cage but if he isn’t he’s going to try and hide.  So he’s got to stay in a cage a few days so he gets his medicine.  Paws and prayers for Trav.

Katarina displays one of the giant turnips dug up Saturday.  Our hardy volunteers dug in the frozen earth to fill three tucks full of turnips for the animals.  The bunnies and guinea pigs are really delighted with this!  Beauty is feeling left out!  She wanted to go help dig turnips.  She was allowed to go on the New Years Day Nature Hike and doesn’t understand why she can’t go on other adventures.

Cindy gets kisses when she arrives for work on Saturday.

Bob’s handy dandy trailer, hauling in pumpkins early Saturday morning.   This trailer has hauled in just about everything you can imagine!!!   This was one of the six loads of pumpkins hauled in on Saturday.


One of my technologically challenged friends got a camera for Christmas.  Digital.  Can you even get anything else?  He’s been taking pictures but complains that “they just disappear, they never come out”.  He keeps waiting for them to pop out but says he can’t even find the slot where they should come out on the tiny little camera! 


My best e-mail yesterday!  I love hearing from you all and hearing how you first heard about Rikki’s Refuge.  Tell me: Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org

Hi am Ellinor S from Gothenburg Sweden.
I first heard about Rikkies Refuge when one of their pictures made it on to Cuteoverload. It was lots of cats all having a cubby of their own and someone made the comment that the picture was taken at Rikkis and I googled it and that was years ago. I have one tortie cat 10 year old Sotis.

Here’s the picture
This is probably the most popular picture ever taken at Rikki’s Refuge!!!  My mom had that picture in her mind for months and months.  She even tried to pose it umpteen times.  But posing kitties is about like teaching a fish to ride a bicycle.  Even if all slots were filled when she walked in - somebody would jump down to greet her.  Finally one morning she walked in and .....  there it was ...  purrfect ...  but where was her camera???  She snuck back to her office and they were still in place when she SNAPPED !!!!



SHELTER CHALLENGE VOTING
Our check for $1,000 just came Saturday for winning Virginia in the Shelter Challenge Contest that ended on December 19th.  Yippee!!!!  It’s like magic!  We can turn $1,000 into food and caring for the critters in just about an instant.

And the voting starts again today!!!!  Please vote everyday!!!   Every day for 10 weeks.
This voting round runs from today, begins on January 10, 2011, thru midnight (PT) on March 20, 2011.

The Prizes Are:
Grand Prize:  One $5,000 grant for the shelter with the most votes overall.
State Winners:  Fifty-one $1,000 state grants for the shelter with the most votes for that state.
Weekly Winners  Ten $1,000 grants will be awarded, one for each week, for the shelter with the most votes that week.

Can I count on you to win? 

Get started now!  http://bit.ly/VoteVincent   Rikkis Refuge, Orange, VA, USA
It seems to be the same as the last round, I just voted and my confirmation animal was a zebra.  Enter Rikki’s, search, vote, confirm your animal.  Remember it’s simple, no complicated stuff, just tiger, bear, zebra, penguin, dog, cat and so forth.
Vote every day - you can vote from home, from work, from your phone - no matter where you are make sure you get your daily vote in!!!


Have a Great Story to Tell?
Enter the Shelter Challenge New Beginnings Story Contest and you can win for Rikki’s Too!!!

New Beginnings Story Contest - Grand Prize:  One $3,000 grant!
New Beginnings Story Contest - Runners Up:  Four $1,000 grants!

Share your rescued pet's rescue story with the world!
Welcome to the New Beginnings Story Contest portion of The Animal Rescue Site $300,000 Shelter+ Challenge of 2011 - with Petfinder.com.

Beginning January 10th, you can enter your "New Beginnings" rescue story and give your favorite eligible rescue organization (Rikkis Refuge, Orange, VA, USA) the chance to win a grant to help animals.

On February 28th and 29th, judges at The Animal Rescue Site will pick five story finalists, each representing a different organization.  So the more stories out there designating Rikki’s Refuge, the better your chances of winning another $1,000 or $3,000 for the animals!

Then, between March 2nd and 20th, everyone will have the chance to vote for their favorite stories - once every day! The top vote-getter will receive a $3,000 grant to help animals - and four runners-up will each receive a $1,000 grant.

Authors of the stories chosen as finalists will each also receive a $25 Reward Certificate to The Animal Rescue Site store.

The grand prize winner will be determined by the highest number of votes, and announced on March 23, 2011.

To Be Eligible, Your Story...
  * Must be between 20 and 300 words in length,
  * Must NOT contain graphic descriptions or photos of pain, abuse, or injury,
  * Must contain the Exact Name, City, State and Country of Eligible Shelter
            of course you’ll choose Rikkis Refuge, Orange, VA, USA 
            (you’re designating a shelter to receive the grant if your story wins,
            your animal does not have to be from the shelter)
    * Your photo should be 256K or smaller, a JPEG or GIF,
            and no wider or longer than 170 pixels.
    * Please do not post websites or e-mail addresses
    * Any solicitations posted here will be removed.
    * Stories deemed inappropriate will be removed.
    * Confirm your story from that e-mail and we will publish it on The Animal Rescue Site™
    * You will receive your own personal link to share with friends and family!

Need some editing help with your story?  Or need your photo sized properly?  Just send them to me, Vincent D. Cat,  and I’ll get that done for you and then send it back to you for submission.

Please send me stories and pictures for anyone you submit too so I can print them here in Good Morning Good News too!

Ready to enter?  Have your photo ready and your story in a file showing on your computer, you can cut and paste so you don’t make any mistakes typing!

Please click here, and follow the submission directions!

Be sure the first line of your stories says:
Representing Rikkis Refuge, Orange, VA, USA 

Walker tell your mom to submit your story.  Polly too.  Charlie.  Lucy.  Rachel.  Daisy.  And so many more of you.  Each of you who came from Rikki’s should submit a story.  And even if you came from somewhere else, you can submit your story and appoint Rikki’s as your charity of choice.



Zoe Marie Cuppiecake Peanut Spumoni
Zoe Marie Spumoni  Pet Parent: Lisa F.    Entrant #: 4986
I'm a blind cat who relies on my other senses to enjoy this world & I LOVE it! As a little spitfire who loves playing, giving love, having my picture taken, and dressing up proves no one is unadoptable! photo, generously created, by: Rebecca Brittain

Zoe is a facebook friend of mine.  She’ll be running week one in the Bissell contest that starts on January 12th.  Each contestant selects an animal charity to represent and if they are the First Place winner, their charity receives $10,000. 

Zoe picked Rikki’s Refuge!!!  Isn’t that wonderful.

Last year my friend Jimmy Jet ran and people complained about him because he’s blind and they didn’t think a challenged kitty should be allowed to win.  We all thought that was really mean.  Every week last year there was one of us running who faces challenges, but still has a wonderful life.  This year, we’re ganging up, and a different challenged facebook friend will run each week.  I’ll be running week 5.  I’ll introduce you to my friends each week and ask that you vote for them!


A song by Zoe !
I have to tell you, precious little Zoe just loves cupcakes!


On tops uf a Cuppiecake!
Awl cubbered wif cweem chees!
I satted a wated!
...Fo mi picky to postees!

I waded awl Fursdae!
An dat Fwidae too!
An it's now Sabberdae
Wen willw dae be froo!?

I entewed a comtest!
Fo Bissell MVP!
Cuz wast yeerw dae kickeded owt
Jamstew, he ca-an't see!

We gots to show dem!
Dat we is AWL pwittiful!
An dat we is be ugwee
Is nuffin' but bull!

So I wate an I way-ate!
Hopin' dae posty in time!
Foe awl mi fwiends an darew friends
I not can fink uf a wime!

VOBE fo me wen dae posty
An den Jamstew too!
OOH OOH OOH OOH OOH-OOH!
I fink I jus maded doo!!!

I wuv woo awl sooo mush!!! Panks fo yo suppowrt!

Mwah!!!



Live from Vincent Video
Boomer the Seeing Eye Dog


Tails of Trivia
The longest recorded flight of a chicken is thirteen seconds.

In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.  (Including ME)

The Sanskrit word for "war" means "desire for more cows."

In 1984, a Canadian farmer began renting ad space on his cows.  (Oh NO I see mom’s eyes lighting up!)

In Los Angeles, there are fewer people than there are automobiles.

January 10th is National Cut Your Energy Costs Day
Can you please help me with my energy costs?  I’m sorry to be using so much right now, but it’s really cold out there.

Music and Motion
This is the difference in hoomans and dogs and cats.  See dem hoomans climbing right up dat mountain of snow.  You see dem doggies going with dem.  You don’t see no kitty cats doing something like dat.  No sireee you see dem kitty cats staying home and nice and safe and warm!


Great Purrchases
I’ve got a whole, great big, huge stack of $5 off coupons for Purina dry cat food at PetSmart.  Since a bag costs about $11.99 if you can spare only $6.99 I can get a whole bag full of nums!!!!   This is a real deal, for every $6.99 you donate, it’ll buy an $11.99 bag of Cat Chow!!!   I’ve got 21 of the $5 coupons so if 21 of you would each help me out with a bag ....  that’d only be $6.99 each .....  and it’d give me 336 pounds of nums!!!!  Thank you, very much.




Dear Vincent
Does my vote REALLY count?
Lots of you have questions about Rikki’s Refuge.  I’ll pick one or two a day to answer here.  Ask your questions in the blog comments or sent to me at Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org

QUESTION: Vincent, you’re always in contests and asking me to vote for you.  I see the Shelter Challenge Contest is starting up AGAIN real soon.  I’m just ME.  Is it really worth my time to vote?  Does just one more vote from me make a difference?

ANSWER: Are YOU serious?  You are very very important.  Never think of yourself as “just me”.  You are very very important to me.  And your vote is absolutely essential.  Your vote may be just the one that makes us win money!!  I know it can get tiresome to vote every day.  But it means money that somebody else is giving us.  And that’s a big deal.  It takes a lot of money to feed all 1259 of us every day.  And just think about all the flea and tick product, the warm beds, the medicines, the doctor bills and all that stuff.  So your help by voting is so terribly important.

In the last Shelter Challenge YOUR votes brought $2,000 to Rikki’s Refuge!!!!  Now if you look at it that way, it’s really worth it, isn’t it??  I’m telling you, your click a day, is worth $2,000!!!  So click away!!!



Together WE are the world and WE are gonna win!
be a part of the winning team - vote RIKKI’S REFUGE
http://bit.ly/VoteVincent   Rikkis Refuge, Orange, VA, USA


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