May 2009 News
Greetings!
Well, we were able to open for the season on April 11th and it was a grand opening for sure. We had a lot of visitor’s that day and it was one of the better season openings we’ve seen in quite some time. Thanks to all who came and visited for supporting these great cats.
There has been so much rain and some really bad storms. We hope this isn’t a sign of a difficult weather season for us. We realize people are still dealing with damage from storms the past few years. We hope everyone is safe and well.
Wildlife and Fisheries inspected Yogie and Friends on April 23rd. We are waiting for the official report to come in, but overall things went very well. There were some minor issues identified that we were aware of and actually working on, so that was good because it shows how responsible and safety conscious we are. For years we worked on ensuring there were no trees close to the enclosures that could possibly damage the pens in the event of bad weather. We had made many upgrades throughout the year and that was another positive aspect of the work we do. One thing we are still waiting for clarification on is what they refer to as “night dens.” These would be concrete structures for the animals to be locked down in during inclement weather. We already have a structure we use, but we are waiting to see if we have to go a different direction. If we do we will need a great deal of financial help from the public. We’ll let you know as soon as we know. In the meantime the good news is we remain open to the public for educational visits.
Happy Ninth Anniversary! Yogie and Friends Exotic Cat Sanctuary will be nine years old on May 26th. Making it so many years is just another indication of a caring community and supporters wanting to see us succeed. Yogie and Friends is the brainchild of Timothy Mills. Tim, with the support and guidance of a dear friend, the late Bill Strunk, created the organization to rescue abused, neglected, and unwanted large, exotic cats. With help from some friends, but mostly his own hard work, Tim created the facility for these animals. We hope to continue helping these wonderful animals for many years to come. 
Parties: We get several requests to do parties at Yogie and Friends. At this time we don’t do parties were we provide food or other items. But, if you would like to hold your party at the sanctuary that is not a problem. Usually we will reserve the picnic area for those wishing to have a party and they bring all the supplies with them. After that they will take a tour of the sanctuary with all the party goers. If this is something you want to do, then please give us a call for more details. We hope to be able to do all the party work in the future and will be looking at scheduling parties after we close at 5 P.M. This will give our party goers a more private opportunity.
Telephone Problems: Right now we are experiencing problems with our phone line. AT&T told us about two months ago that the main line on the road was bad and needed to be replaced. We are still waiting for them to do so. As a result we have our phone number transferred to my cell phone. The cell phone is on between 8 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. Central Time. We apologize for any inconvenience. It is frustrating for us as well.
On-line Catalog: We are working on having an on-line catalog of merchandise very soon. It’s just a matter of getting things organized and setup to do so. At this time it will just be our t-shirts. Hopefully we will be able to have more items available as the opportunity allows us. Keep watching our website for that.
Volunteer Help Needed: We can use regular volunteers to act as tour guides and someone to man the admissions/gift shop on Saturdays. We are open Noon – 5 P.M. and we realize that many people don’t want to give up their Saturdays. We would set up shifts if needed. If this is something you are interested in then please contact us. Our volunteers fill out applications just like any other job you apply for. You must be 16 or older (with reliable transportation). We ask that you are able to drive yourself to the facility so you aren’t depending on someone else to get you to us. An easy way you can help the cats is when you do your shopping on-line is by using iGive. If you do your shopping on-line then you can contribute by shopping through the iGive tool. Everything helps. Visit www.iGive.com and select Yogie and Friends as your cause when you shop. It’s so easy.
Kroger Neighbor to Neighbor Program replaces the Kroger Share Card Program. The new Kroger program is now up and running. The advantage of the new program is now you only need to use the one card, your Kroger Plus Card. The Share card is obsolete. If you download the Kroger letter from our website and bring it with you the next time you shop at Kroger’s all you need to do is give the letter, with the bar code, to the cashier along with your Kroger Plus Card. The cashier will scan the bar code and it will be part of your Kroger Plus Card. One less step. The Program is now in its renewal period. The bar code on the letter will remain the same, but you will need to re-link your cards in June. There will be a void period (May and June 2009) where no accumulation to organizations will occur. Accumulation for linked cards will begin July 1, 09 – April 30, 10.
Combined Federal Campaign. It is that time of year again when Federal and Military personnel can donate to Yogie and Friends through payroll deduction under the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) program. If you are interested in contributing this way our CFC number is 42427. 
Coins for Cats! I recently emptied a little piggy bank I throw all my change in when I come home. It wasn’t even full, maybe half so. It added up to $106! That little bit of effort ended up being a nice chunk of change. I gave it to Yogie and Friends. This is a neat way for kids to be able to help the animals with very little effort.
Cans for Cats! Kids can also help by collecting cans and taking them to the local recycling center for cash and this can also add up to a nice piece of change for the cats. It’s something kids can do to help go green and help the big cats all at once.
Volunteers of the month: We want to thank Andrea Labor Amy Morrissey for their help with manning the admissions and working as guides to our visitors. These two young ladies are a great asset to the facility. We so appreciate your dedication.
Check out the programs being offered at Yogie and Friends. There is the Yogie and Friends Membership Program , Sponsorship Program, and Corporate Sponsorship Program . These are programs that help us support the animals and another way that you can get involved. Program packages are available here on our website. Go Green with our ink jet and cell phone recycling program. Details are listed on our website.
We have several programs for you to help our animals: www.magfundraising.com, www.igive.com, Cause ID 19883, www.networkforgood.org, www.goodsearch.com, just to name a few. They are all listed here on our website.
Please remember to spay and neuter your pets. Also, do what you can to prevent flea and ticks causing serious illnesses to your animals. They deserve your care and kindness. Don’t stop using preventative just because it is cold outside. Some of these pests are still around in the winter. Please make sure you provide all your animals, inside and outside, fresh, clean water (and not covered in ice during the winter). Provide good, warm and dry shelter for those animals outside. Be good to your animals. Be good to people! Be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Jenny and the Yogie Cats!
Posted in Monthly Newsletter and tagged May 2009 News, Monthly Newsletter, Yogie and Friends News
April 2009 News
Happy April!
Spring is here, but boy, this is looking like we may have a very hot summer. We have already had some 
unseasonably warm days, but then came a cold snap again. This is very confusing weather and with that confusing weather also comes the waiting game to see if we can open for the season as scheduled. As of this typing it looks like the weather may cooperate and we plan to open for the season on April 4th at noon. We certainly hope it doesn’t rain.
New Visitor Hours: We changed our visitor season. Our new visitor hours are Saturdays only from noon till 5 P.M. and as always, weather permitting. Our new season is from the 1st Saturday in April to 1 November, or basically the last Saturday up to November 1st.
Our scheduled season opening is 4 April 2009 (weather permitting). Noon – 5 P.M.
Wildlife and Fisheries has scheduled it’s inspection of Yogie and Friends the week of April 20th. We feel good about the quality of care that we give our animals. But, the new laws that changed without any notice may cause us to close to the public if they don’t like our facility. We hope they don’t do that and we’ll let you know as soon as we go through this inspection. The new AZA requirements will apply to us and we don’t really think that is fair. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Field Trips: Yogie and Friends conducts group tours on Tuesdays and Thursdays and our prices are the least expensive of any attraction in this area. If you or anyone you know are interested in having your school, home school group, day care, or any group of 20 or more visit with us, then please let us know. This is a guided, educational tour and just plain old fun experience. 
We realize that times are going to be financially more difficult for people now. More layoffs are happening and people are not taking vacations like they have in the past. We understand. We are feeling the economic pinch as well and these animals depend on us. If that means tightening our financial belts personally, well we have already done that to ensure the cats are cared for. That won’t change. It may mean turning away animals that need a home, but we won’t sacrifice what we have by taking in more than we can handle. That makes no sense at all. Our admission costs are staying the same low price. We need you to see our beautiful animals so you know what it is you are supporting.
Yogie and Friends 10th Anniversary Calendar is in production. This calendar will be for the 2010 calendar years and will have amazing photos of our beautiful animals as well as species and biography information. If you are interested in helping sponsor this calendar, then please contact us. Our goal is to have the calendars available for sale by October 2009. May 2010 will be Yogie and Friends tenth anniversary. At this time it looks like the calendar may sell for $14 – $15, but we don’t have the final numbers at this time. Hey, 100% of the proceeds go to the animals and it will make a nice gift for next holiday season!
We are trying to have a table at Petco on Youree Drive in Shreveport every Saturday to let people know who we are and what we are all about. Hope to see you there.
I had an opportunity to speak to the kids of the We Care Club at Youree Drive Middle School in Shreveport on February 27th. This group gave a donation to Yogie and Friends as well and we thank you for that and the opportunity to speak and share about these great animals. We hope these kids have a greater appreciation and understanding of the plight of these magnificent animals.
Upcoming Events:
4 April 2009 Noon – 5 P.M. Yogie and Friends Season Opening
2 May 2009 6 – 10 A.M. Belk Charity Day in Shreveport
An easy way you can help the cats is when you do your shopping on-line is by using iGive. If you do your shopping on-line then you can contribute by shopping through the iGive tool. Everything helps. Visit www.iGive.com and select Yogie and Friends as your cause when you shop. It’s so easy.
Kroger Neighbor to Neighbor Program replaces the Kroger Share Card Program. The new Kroger program is now up and running. The advantage of the new program is now you only need to use the one card, your Kroger Plus Card. The Share card is obsolete. If you download the Kroger letter from our website and bring it with you the next time you shop at Kroger’s all you need to do is give the letter, with the bar code, to the cashier along with your Kroger Plus Card. The cashier will scan the bar code and it will be part of your Kroger Plus Card. One less step. The Program is now in its renewal period. The bar code on the letter will remain the same, but you will need to re-link your cards in June. There will be a void period (May and June 2009) where no accumulation to organizations will occur. Accumulation for linked cards will begin July 1, 09 – April 30, 10.
Combined Federal Campaign. It is that time of year again when Federal and Military personnel can donate to Yogie and Friends through payroll deduction under the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) program. If you are interested in contributing this way our CFC number is 42427.
Coins for Cats! I recently emptied a little piggy bank I throw all my change in when I come home. It wasn’t
even full, maybe half so. It added up to $106! That little bit of effort ended up being a nice chunk of change. I gave it to Yogie and Friends. This is a neat way for kids to be able to help the animals with very little effort.
Cans for Cats! Kids can also help by collecting cans and taking them to the local recycling center for cash and this can also add up to a nice piece of change for the cats. It’s something kids can do to help go green and help the big cats all at once.
If you are interested in volunteering with us then please contact us. Come visit us at the sanctuary and see what we are all about. This is a 100% volunteer driven organization, which means, nobody gets paid for the work they do. We love the animals and what we are doing for them. There are many different volunteer opportunities such as tour guide, admissions, lawn care, fundraising, etc. A little something for everyone. But, please know this. There is absolutely no contact with the animals. If you want to volunteer with the intent of “touching” one of these animals, then this is not the place for you. If you are doing this for the love and care of the animals, then maybe this is something for you.
Volunteers of the month: We want to thank everyone who helped with the March bake sale. The weather was really cold and gloomy, so we want to say a very special thank you to those who came out and supported our efforts and those who helped with the baking and setup. Thanks to: Nina Hustus, Vicki and Brianna Volk, Jeanne Reed, and Paige Bass.
Check out the programs being offered at Yogie and Friends. There is the Yogie and Friends Membership Program , Sponsorship Program, and Corporate Sponsorship Program . These are programs that help us support the animals and another way that you can get involved. Program packages are available here on our website.
Go Green with our ink jet and cell phone recycling program. Details are listed on our website.
We have several programs for you to help our animals: www.magfundraising.com, www.igive.com, Cause ID 19883, www.networkforgood.org, www.goodsearch.com, just to name a few. They are all listed here on our website.
Please remember to spay and neuter your pets. 
Also, do what you can to prevent flea and ticks causing serious illnesses to your animals. They deserve your care and kindness. Don’t stop using preventative just because it is cold outside. Some of these pests are still around in the winter.
Please make sure you provide all your animals, inside and outside, fresh, clean water (and not covered in ice during the winter). Provide good, warm and dry shelter for those animals outside.
Be good to your animals. Be good to people! Be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Jenny and the Yogie Cats!
Posted in Monthly Newsletter
March 2009 Newsletter
Happy March!
I know the weather has been very confusing to the plants, animals, and people alike. Trees and plants are starting to bloom and this makes us think we will be having one hot summer. Hopefully it won’t be too hot.
New Visitor Hours: We changed our visitor season. Our new visitor hours are Saturdays only from noon till 5 P.M. and as always, weather permitting. Our new season is from the 1st Saturday in April to 1 November, or basically the last Saturday up to November 1st.
Our scheduled season opening is 4 April 2009 (weather permitting). Noon – 5 P.M. We are really gearing up for the new season. That means mowing, weed eating, and all the other maintenance that comes with the warm weather. We hope our visitors will find Yogie and Friends a calm and relaxing atmosphere as well as our cats do. This is why we don’t have a lot of fancy esthetics. Concrete walkways increase the air temperature about 15 degrees and we don’t want that. That is another reason we don’t open when it rains. We may not be a fancy place, but we have some happy, healthy animals.
Happy Birthday Moses! Moses the lion turned three years old on February 27th. It seems like yesterday that Tim found this little surprise in the lion pen. Thankfully we won’t be having anymore surprises like this again. We decided that vasectomies and lions just don’t work. But, we love this little guy and he is getting more and more beautiful as he grows. We would really like to get some major piece of land donated to expand the size of the animal habitats. We are not looking to bring on any more big cats at this time. We want to expand the size of the current resident’s living area to make it more of a natural design. Since our animals were in a crisis rescue situation we didn’t have the luxury of building first, then rescuing. Some places had that luxury, but we didn’t. It is usually rescue or destroy when it comes to the big cats. You can’t just foster one of these animals like a domestic dog or cat. But, since we are now in a housed situation we can get land, and with help from donations, then build a more natural habitat to move our animals to. If anyone can help with this, then please let us know.
Field Trips: Yogie and Friends conducts group tours on Tuesdays and Thursdays and our prices are the least expensive of any attraction in this area. If you or anyone you know are interested in having your school, home school group, day care, or any group of 20 or more visit with us, then please let us know. This is a guided, educational tour and just plain old fun experience.
We want to thank Animal Welfare and the Krewe of Barkous and Meoux for helping us with the spay and neutering of a family of feral cats we found at Yogie and Friends. It was a mom and her three kittens, 1 girl and 2 boys, that have all since been fixed and now are being socialized. So, thank you two groups again for the financial help with this. We often receive phone calls or e-mails from people wanting us to get involved in political fights. This is something we cannot, and will not, do. The IRS laws governing non-profit organizations are very clear. No politics! We will never do anything that will risk our animal residents. We do our political part by voting when voting comes up. So, we hope nobody ever feels like we don’t want to do anything, we just cannot. We do so in the manner that the law allows us.
Yogie and Friends 10th Anniversary Calendar is in production. This calendar will be for the 2010 calendar years and will have amazing photos of our beautiful animals as well as species and biography information. If you are interested in helping sponsor this calendar, then please contact us. Our goal is to have the calendars available for sale by October 2009. May 2010 will be Yogie and Friends tenth anniversary. At this time it looks like the calendar may sell for $14 – $15, but we don’t have the final numbers at this time. Hey, 100% of the proceeds go to the animals and it will make a nice gift for next holiday season! We are trying to have a table at Petco on Youree Drive in Shreveport every Saturday to let people know who we are and what we are all about. Hope to see you there.I had an opportunity to speak to the kids of the We Care Club at Youree Drive Middle School in Shreveport on February 27th. This group gave a donation to Yogie and Friends as well and we thank you for that and the opportunity to speak and share about these great animals. We hope these kids have a greater appreciation and understanding of the plight of these magnificent animals. 
Upcoming Events: 14 March 2009 Semi-Annual Bake Sale and Fundraiser, Courtyard Coffee
We have been asked to do the sales every 4 months, and it looks like we will do so. We are fans of the little business person and love holding these events at Courtyard Coffee. This is a family owned and run business and we hope to continue this collaboration as long as possible. Keep your eyes and ears open for our seasonal bake sales now.
An easy way you can help the cats is when you do your shopping on-line is by using iGive. If you do your shopping on-line then you can contribute by shopping through the iGive tool. Everything helps. Visit www.iGive.com and select Yogie and Friends as your cause when you shop. It’s so easy.
Kroger Neighbor to Neighbor Program replaces the Kroger Share Card Program. The new Kroger program is now up and running. The advantage of the new program is now you only need to use the one card, your Kroger Plus Card. The Share card is obsolete. If you download the Kroger letter from our website and bring it with you the next time you shop at Kroger’s all you need to do is give the letter, with the bar code, to the cashier along with your Kroger Plus Card. The cashier will scan the bar code and it will be part of your Kroger Plus Card. One less step.
Combined Federal Campaign. It is that time of year again when Federal and Military personnel can donate to Yogie and Friends through payroll deduction under the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) program. If you are interested in contributing this way our CFC number is 42427.
Coins for Cats! I recently emptied a little piggy bank I throw all my change in when I come home. It wasn’t even full, maybe half so. It added up to $106! That little bit of effort ended up being a nice chunk of change. I gave it to Yogie and Friends. This is a neat way for kids to be able to help the animals with very little effort.
Cans for Cats! Kids can also help by collecting cans and taking them to the local recycling center for cash and this can also add up to a nice piece of change for the cats. It’s something kids can do to help go green and help the big cats all at once.
If you are interested in volunteering with us then please contact us. Come visit us at the sanctuary and see what we are all about. This is a 100% volunteer driven organization, which means, nobody gets paid for the work they do. We love the animals and what we are doing for them. There are many different volunteer opportunities such as tour guide, admissions, lawn care, fundraising, etc. A little something for everyone. But, please know this. There is absolutely no contact with the animals. If you want to volunteer with the intent of “touching” one of these animals, then this is not the place for you. If you are doing this for the love and care of the animals, then maybe this is something for you.
Check out the programs being offered at Yogie and Friends. There is the Yogie and Friends Membership Program , Sponsorship Program, and Corporate Sponsorship Program . These are programs that help us support the animals and another way that you can get involved. Program packages are available here on our website.
Go Green with our ink jet and cell phone recycling program. Details are listed on our website.
We have several programs for you to help our animals: www.magfundraising.com, www.igive.com, Cause ID 19883, www.networkforgood.org, www.goodsearch.com, just to name a few. They are all listed here on our website. Please remember to spay and neuter your pets.
Also, do what you can to prevent flea and ticks causing serious illnesses to your animals. They deserve your care and kindness. Don’t stop using preventative just because it is cold outside. Some of these pests are still around in the winter. Please make sure you provide all your animals, inside and outside, fresh, clean water (and not covered in ice during the winter). Provide good, warm and dry shelter for those animals outside.
Be good to your animals. Be good to people! Be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Jenny and the Yogie Cats!
Posted in Monthly Newsletter and tagged March 2009 Newsletter, Monthly Newsletter, Yogie and Friends News