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

fifteen peaceful pigeons,

Pigeons? And why do pigeons need a sanctuary.

Some people like to keep pigeons for racing. Racing? You’ve heard of Homing Pigeons, well they are driven far from their home, released, and then timed to see how long it takes them to get home. They’re experts at finding their home from far away locations, most of the time. But some get lost, or don’t want to go home. Having always been fed by a hooman, they don’t know how to care for themselves and they end up on decks begging for food or trying to roost in a shed, or walk into a house. They have bands with ID information to contact the owner, but most owners don’t want a bird back who gets lots, and so they end up at Rikki’s Refuge.

Hoomans do silly things. Some like to release fancy pigeons, often white ones, at weddings. There is no thought to what will happen to these birds who’d been raised in captivity. Some go home so they can do it again. Others are lost, just like the homing pigeons. Many aren’t banded, and if they are, it’s the same story, nope don’t want it back.

And then a few have been injured. Like Skully,

who came to us as a little baby with a very serious head wound. He was nursed and raised by a Rikki’s hooman. And to this day he loves to ride around on a hooman!

The rotunda has 42 pigeons today, and they’re all hungry !!! The best feed for them is a special pigeon chow that runs $35.49 for 50 pounds. Yikes .. so they get some and they get other cheaper bird feed too. One bag of pigeon feed will last them almost 3 weeks. Would YOU

consider making a tax deductible contribution by going to our website
https://RikkisRefuge.org/donate
or by mailing a check
Rikki’s Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960
or the site of your choice
Paypal https://paypal.me/RikkisRefuge
Paypal mail@RikkisRefuge.org
Square https://RR-square.shorturl.com
Venmo Rikki’s Refuge
Zelle mail@RikkisRefuge.org

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US!!!

#RikkisRefuge
#RikkisRefugeAnimalSanctuary

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

fourteen peacocks plotting,

By now you know Rikki’s Refuge is the place the unwanted animals who can’t find safe homes come to. But peacocks?

How do they end up in this plight? The same way most exotic pets do. How cool would it be to have a peacock, sugar glider, iguana, pot belly pig ….. until you find out the noise they make, they’re up all night leaping about, they need a special environment and a small temperature range, they dig up your yard, etc.

Then that exotic animals is a nuisances. And no one will take on your adult nuisance. They want the cute baby exotic before it’s become someone’s nuisance. And so many of those “nuisance” animals come to Rikki’s Refuge. And here, they’re allowed to be themselves and do their thing and no be called a nuisance!!

You’d be amazed how many people do no research to find out the lifestyle of an animal before they rush out to buy one cus it’s cute. Ahhhh.

And this is why rescues are always filled with the exotics that have been thrown away.

We’ll care for them every day, rain or shine, snow or blistering heat. We’ll clean up the poop, nurse them when they’re sick – after we’ve climbed up to the top of the roof to catch a sick one!

Would you help us feed them?

Peacocks eat cracked corn, wild bird seed, sunflower seeds and fruit.

A bag of feed is $12.99
YOU can feed the peacocks today by going to our website
https://RikkisRefuge.org/donate
or by mailing a check
Rikki’s Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960
or the site of your choice
Paypal https://paypal.me/RikkisRefuge
Paypal mail@RikkisRefuge.org
Square https://RR-square.shorturl.com
Venmo Rikki’s Refuge
Zelle mail@RikkisRefuge.org

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US!!!

#RikkisRefuge
#RikkisRefugeAnimalSanctuary

Sometimes you just have to take a break.
Doug told Lauren she was too old to play with the kids’ legos,
so she unloaded the donations Paul picked up for us today,
and now she’s building a kitty castle from cat food cans !!

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

thirteen humans helping, ……

Hoomans come in several breeds around here.

Some have dedicated their lives to the animals and are at Rikki’s Refuge 7 days a week

Some volunteer to fix broken fences, to paint, and to build things at Rikki’s Refuge.

Some volunteer to help with the daily chores, feeding, and endless poop clean up, scrubbing water bowls food platters and litterboxes.

Some come out for a visit.

We’ll be open from noon till 2 pm on Christmas Day if you’d like to come out for a visit, bring donations, and feed the animals (produce only, or commercial treats for that species. No cookies, candy, breads, etc. Our animals are on strict diets.)

Some go to events and festivals, set up a table, and give out literature about Rikki’s Refuge.

Some work on social media and other office chores. I desperately need a web master. The cats just don’t really help!

Who can help fix up our current wordpress web site, or create something better? PLEASE HELP ME !! Can you help post to twitter, instagram and facebook? Can you set up tictok and other social media accounts for us? We’re all old folks here and need some youngsters who are social media savvy! Send me an email if you can help Kerry@RikkisRefuge.org

Some hoomans bring us donations, a case of cat food, or a full truck of feed! Some drive to pick up donations. Pumpkins in the fall. Produce from stores and warehouses. Long trips to Purina when they donate food. Can YOU drive? Are you willing to help fetch donations for the animals?

Some hoomans donate the money that keeps things running. Food, cleaning supplies, bedding, electricity, propane for heat, gas and diesel to keep the vehicles and tractors running, medical bills, flea and tick prevention. We can care for an animal for an average of only $1 a day. Food, housing, love. With 1,287 animals, even that bill adds up. When you donate $1 it helps one animal today. When you can be a $30 a month recurring donor, you support one animal for a year. Of course we love great big huge donations. One thousand people donating only $1 adds up to $1,000 !! So every penny counts !! Make your donations really count by supporting the animals of Rikki’s Refuge.

Some hoomans like to volunteer at our thrift store. Re-Tail, 3503 Lafayette Blvd, Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA. Stop in for fabulous bargains. We have new items out every day. Clothing is only $1 an item!! YES winter jackets too!! And on THURSDAY DECEMBER 14th, tomorrow, everything in the store is 30% off!! Want to volunteer? Just speak to Kim or Kyle at the counter and they’ll get you signed up.

HOW do YOU want to help out? Let us know: Volunteers@RikkisRefuge.org

If you can’t spare the time, a small donation will do !
https://RikkisRefuge.org/donate
or by mailing a check
Rikki’s Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960
or the site of your choice
Paypal https://paypal.me/RikkisRefuge
Paypal mail@RikkisRefuge.org
Square https://RR-square.shorturl.com
Venmo Rikki’s Refuge
Zelle mail@RikkisRefuge.org

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US!!!

#RikkisRefuge
#RikkisRefugeAnimalSanctuary

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

twelve temperamental turkeys,

well … not all of them. But boys usually are. They’re very territorial and ready to fight anybody who comes on their land. Just like roosters. The turkeys will fly up in the air and kick you! A big guy can knock you right over. It’s that male aggression and protection of territory and females. The females are often friendly. But watch out if one of the guys are around! You pat one of his gals, or feed her something special, and he’ll come kicking and beating you with his wings !!!

But their sound is just lovely !! Gobble Gobble Gobble !!

Listen to our turkeys in the video here !

Rikki’s Refuge is supported ONLY by donations from kind individuals just like YOU. Please consider an end of year gift to help the animals at Rikki’s Refuge live in love and peace and always have enough to eat. Thank you.

Please make your tax deductible contribution by going to our website
https://RikkisRefuge.org/donate
or by mailing a check
Rikki’s Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960
or the site of your choice
Paypal https://paypal.me/RikkisRefuge
Paypal mail@RikkisRefuge.org
Square https://RR-square.shorturl.com
Venmo Rikki’s Refuge
Zelle mail@RikkisRefuge.org

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US!!!

#RikkisRefuge
#RikkisRefugeAnimalSanctuary

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

eleven pouting pussies.

Rikki’s Refuge houses almost 600 cats each and every day … a few pouting, but most are happily playing with their friends.

They’re all gonna pout if they don’t get their dinner tonight !! It takes 80 pounds of dry food a DAY to feed all these kitties. We just ordered 1,056 pounds from Tractor Supply … to last us almost two weeks. $767.76 is the dry cat food bill EVERY TWO WEEKS !!!

HELP !! Would you please buy us one 44# bag for $31.99 or even HALF A BAG for only $16? We rely entirely on private donations, a few bucks at a time, from kind and generous people like YOU! There is no government support, no large grants, no single great big donor. It’s all $25 here or $50 there. And that’s how we keep going!!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP TODAY !
Please make your tax deductible contribution by going to our website
https://RikkisRefuge.org/donate
or by mailing a check
Rikki’s Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960
or the site of your choice
Paypal https://paypal.me/RikkisRefuge
Paypal mail@RikkisRefuge.org
Square https://RR-square.shorturl.com
Venmo Rikki’s Refuge
Zelle mail@RikkisRefuge.org

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US!!!

#RikkisRefuge
#RikkisRefugeAnimalSanctuary

I didn’t order this !!!

says Heidi our senior cow.
Yesterday it was sixty.
EWH (evil weather hooman) had said it’d get colder today, but not THIS cold !!

Hurry up and make it melt, we don’t like cold sleety snow at all.

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

ten crotchety creaking canines,

Did you know most of the dogs at Rikki’s Refuge were given up simply because they got old? They couldn’t keep up on the morning jog, catching the frisbee got harder, those long hikes were just too much, they needed to get outside to pee more often, even waking people up in the night asking, or they had accidents. And they got dumped. The lucky ones ended up at Rikki’s Refuge where they can spend their retirement years with friends and lots of love at Doggy Downs.

Other dogs came to Rikki’s Refuge when their owners felt they needed too much medical care; diabetics, arthritis, seizures, kidney or heart issues. It’s costly, both the medication and the vet visits.

I’ll never understand why so many people don’t love their dogs enough to keep them their whole lives. When I get old and don’t walk so fast or need some medications, I sure hope those who love me don’t throw me out like trash. Don’t you?

Won’t you please help one of the dogs at Rikki’s Refuge today, or donate to help us be able to care for another dog with no safe place to go? Thank you.

Please make your tax deductible contribution by going to our website
https://RikkisRefuge.org/donate
or by mailing a check
Rikki’s Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960
or the site of your choice
Paypal https://paypal.me/RikkisRefuge
Paypal mail@RikkisRefuge.org
Square https://RR-square.shorturl.com
Venmo Rikki’s Refuge
Zelle mail@RikkisRefuge.org

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US!!!

#RikkisRefuge
#RikkisRefugeAnimalSanctuary

It’s a wet morning at Rikki’s Refuge.

The horses and other large animals don’t mind. The hoomans bundle up and try to stay dry, but it doesn’t stop the feeding and clean up. It just makes it harder to pooper scoop in the rain. YUCK !!

Pooper scoopers only last so long. And they break. Or an animal wrestles them away and chews them up! We need to buy a few more. The ones we use for large animals are $21.98 each.

Can you spare the change to buy us one?

Please make your tax deductible contribution by going to our website
https://RikkisRefuge.org/donate
or by mailing a check
Rikki’s Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960
or the site of your choice
Paypal https://paypal.me/RikkisRefuge
Paypal mail@RikkisRefuge.org
Square https://RR-square.shorturl.com
Venmo Rikki’s Refuge
Zelle mail@RikkisRefuge.org

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US!!!

#RikkisRefuge
#RikkisRefugeAnimalSanctuary

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

nine grumpy geese,

And some of them sure can be! It’s one of the main reason people get rid of geese. They can bite much worse than you’d think. Some like to sneak up on you and nip the back of your knees. Other geese are dumped once they grow up, cus people just don’t think adult animals are as cute as babies. That baby goose swimming in your bathtub and pooping little poops might be fun. But the big goose flying around your apartment, chasing you out of his bathtub and pooping where ever (no, you can’t litterbox train the birds) is no longer so much fun!

The lucky ones end up at Rikki’s Refuge, the others on somebody’s table in a rather unhealthy state.

Geese are very vocal, a lot of the day. Where as the guinea fowl call out alerts over danger and intruders, the geese walk about several times a day just chattering away at each other. And Ohhh they love it when it rains !! They dig holes all over to make little puddle pools. We give them kiddy pools filled with fresh water every day, but they prefer the nice muddy holes they make !

We have dozens and dozens of geese living at Rikki’s Refuge and wondering all around.

And that means a lot of cracked corn, bird pellets, seeds, and fruits when ever they’re donated. They love fruit! And you know what else the birds need every day? Hoomans to scoop the poop, hoomans to hose the poop off the decks, the steps, the walkways. And the hoomans at Rikki’s are happy to clean up after the geese cus they know that’s what taking care of animals is all about. Those little acts of kindness and caring are what allow our geese and other birds, all the animals at Rikki’s Refuge to live long happy lives and never end up on somebody’s table.

Only $12.99 buys a bag of feed for the geese. Can they count on YOU to feed them today?

Please make your tax deductible contribution by going to our website
https://RikkisRefuge.org/donate
or by mailing a check
Rikki’s Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960
or the site of your choice
Paypal https://paypal.me/RikkisRefuge
Paypal mail@RikkisRefuge.org
Square https://RR-square.shorturl.com
Venmo Rikki’s Refuge
Zelle mail@RikkisRefuge.org

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US!!!

#RikkisRefuge
#RikkisRefugeAnimalSanctuary