Greetings!

January has come and gone and with that comes preparation for the new visitor season. Our scheduled opening for 2012 is April 7^th, weather permitting of course.

It was a pretty quiet month for us. The freezer is up and running and is now filled with food. The cats are fat and happy with all the fresh food coming in. We are getting an abundance of food and have actually had to turn some away because we have no more storage room. This is a good problem to have.

All of the Yogie animals are in overall good health. We do have an aging population of animals. Moses is our youngest and he will be 6 years old this month. Snagglepuss is 28 and has a growth on her breast, but because of her advanced age we will not be doing any surgery. She is eating, drinking, and doing well. When the time comes to make a decision, we will do so out of love and kindness. She is an amazing animal.

Our Yogie truck blew the water pump yesterday, but was quickly repaired and back on the road. We don’t like repair costs, but it is also the cost of having any vehicle. Things do go wrong. Things do break. Fortunately we have a great mechanic who works to keep the costs down for us and that is much appreciated.

We are at a standstill with getting the buildings modified for dens houses. More to come when we know.

Combined Federal Campaign is in full swing. If you are a military or Federal employee this is a way you can do a payroll deduction donation to Yogie and Friends. Our CFC number is 42427. Please think of our wonderful animals when donating.

We hope that people will spay and neuter their pets. There are far too many unwanted adoptable animals dying everyday at local animal control facilities and this can be easily remedied in several ways. Don’t shop! Adopt! Spay and neuter. Work with rescue groups to get that beloved family pet. There is a huge problem with wild born cats and feral cats can be considered a nuisance to people. They have their place in society. They help control the rodent population for one. If you trap-Spay/Neuter-release feral cats, there are programs that will help you do so at reduced costs. Please consider this anytime you see feral cats. Also, be part of the solution. Don’t be part of the problem. There are a lot of instances of people abandoning their pet cats thinking others in the neighborhood will feed them. This is not often the case and these animals end up in kill shelters. So please check out sites that help with feral cats. And please be good to your pets.

Upcoming Events:.                        

March 18^th, 2012                 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.                   Bake Sale and Fundraiser

                                                                                                Petco, Youree Drive

                                                                                                Shreveport, LA\

April 7^th, 2012                      Noon – 5pm                           Yogie Season Opening (Weather Permitting)

June 16^th, 2012                    Noon – 5pm                           Military Appreciation Day

August 13^th, 2012                TBD                                        Bistro Byronz Fundraiser

September 15^th, 2012         11am-4pm                             Bake Sale and Fundraiser

                                                                                                Petco, Youree Drive

                                                                                                Shreveport, LA

October 27^th, 2010  Noon – 5pm                                       Yogie Season Finale

Facebook: Don’t forget to follow us on Face Book. We have a very active page and update it often with news and events as they happen.  Sometimes we even make special offers on Facebook for our fans and it’s a good way to spread the word. We’d love to increase our fan base.

A few ways to help financially:

Coins for Cats! Do you empty your pockets of all your coin when you get home and throw them in a jar or piggy bank? Well, what a great way to get kids involved in fundraising help for the animals.  A little coin can go a long way! That little bit of effort can end up being a nice chunk of change.

Kroger Neighbor to Neighbor Donation Program: The accumulation period is 1 July 2011 – 30 April 2012.  It is so easy to do. Just give the cashier the letter we have linked on our website. The old letters work since it is the same barcode. The cashier will scan that and your Plus Card and it will be linked. Every time you shop at a Kroger in Texas and Louisiana and use your card, then a percentage of the sale goes to Yogie and Friends. Kroger gives a portion of $1 Million to local Texas and Louisiana programs through this program.

For the cats!

Jenny