2003 December News
Hi Everyone,
Hard to believe it is already December. This means lots of things for lots of reasons. For the animals at Yogie and Friends it will mean more needs and hope that our generous friends and animal lovers will be there for us. We hate that we have to close for the winter months, but the weather gets so rainy and makes the sanctuary too muddy and cold for visitors. On occasion we do get out of town visitors and they may call and make special arrangements to visit if the weather permits. We are really going to need your help during these lean months. We will be closing to the public starting December 15th until the 1st of April.
We are proud to announce that we are now members of the Desoto Parish Chamber of Commerce. We were able to become members this last month and hope to be more active in some of the activities they will have.
You can help in several ways. Financial is always the biggest need in any non-profit organization. Since we get no government support or any grant money we really count on you to help us. Tim and I both work full-time jobs and we receive NO COMPENSATION from Yogie and Friends. All money raised by donations or fundraisers is put into the facility to run it and care for the cats. I promise you that your contributions are used wisely.
Petco has added Yogie and Friends to the Tree of Hope this year. We will be one of the recipients of this wonderful program. All you have to do is go to Petco on Youree Drive in Shreveport and buy an ornament at the cash register. You can buy in denominations of $1, $5, $10, and $20. The more you buy, the more the animals will benefit. Go check it out. What a great holiday gift you can buy.
We also have a link on the website now that you can donate by credit card. Please take advantage of this link. It is user friendly and the best way for our friends all over the world to donate to us. Remember, your donations are tax deductible.
If you’ve been out to the sanctuary recently you will see some of the esthetic changes to the facility. We have new wooden name signs on each of the cat pens. We would like to thank Dwayne ONeal for doing this for us. He burned the names in the wood. Tim made ME paint them. Still they look great.
We also have information stations of each species of cat posted in front of the pens. These are educational and informative. They are designed in such a way that even children can understand and learn about the cats. I was able to make these myself with a little inexpensive wood and the help of Pam at Barksdale Arts and Crafts.
There are lots of good things happening at Yogie and Friends. We are constantly striving to make things safer and more secure for both the animals and us who work with them. We are currently making preparations for installing stainless steel feeding chutes in each pen so that there will never be any risk of contact with an animal when it comes to feeding. After all, these are still animals and when they are ready to eat they are ready to eat. We do need donations of cement to complete the feeding stations as well as some of our safety lockdown areas. If anyone has a cement truck with a chute to help out that would be great.
We are also trying to complete an education building. This will be used primarily for educating schools and special tours that come out to the sanctuary. It will give us the opportunity to educate about the cats before actually going around the sanctuary to see them. We need items such as insulation, drywall, electrical, etc. You can call for more information about the needs here. It wont take much to get it up and running.
We would like to thank several people this month for their contributions either financial or with their skills. Thanks to David Tanner and Ron Yates who helped build the feeding chutes. They had the talent and skills to work with the sheet metal. We really appreciate it. Also, the Krewe of Barkous and Meoux have renewed their monthly support of $100 per month. You have no idea how much we appreciate this. This will help us with our food bill throughout the lean winter months when we have to close to the public.
Our VOLUNTEER of the month is the Stonewall Deer Processing, Macs Place. Macs place has been donating deer during the season. This helps feed the cats and it also adds variety to their diet. We thank them and hope you will visit them and bring your deer to them for processing.
We can also use volunteer help with fundraising and general labor. Tim and Jim Denney have been working hard on putting up fences, building security lockdowns, and many other things. I am sure they would welcome the help here. I have been a little out of pocket and am behind on contacting potential fundraising volunteers because I was in a car accident on November 17th. So I apologize to those I have not contacted yet. Please be patient with me there. I am trying to get things rolling again.
I hope that everyone has a safe and happy holiday. Please remember to keep your animals safe, warm, fed, and cared for during the year. Get them the veterinarian care they so richly deserve and just love them. They are so unconditional.
Happy Holidays!
Jenny Senier
VP, Yogie and Friends
Posted in Monthly Newsletter and tagged 2003 December News, Latest News, Yogie and Friends News
2003 September News
Hello Everyone,
This is Jenny Senier, it’s pronounced like Senior, Vice President of Yogie and Friends. Tim asked me to do the update this month. I guess it is also a good thing for you all to hear from me once in a while to know that I really do exist. I was originally going to be a more behind the scenes kind of person, but how can anyone stay away from these cats when you really get to know them?
Well it is September already and another school year has begun. Along with the new school year will come several requests for school tours. Well, we have anticipated this and as a result all the schools in Caddo and Bossier Parish should be receiving school tour packages. They will have a schedule of available tour dates and tour times. You can also request a tour package by e-mailing us if your school is not one of these. Daycares and Church groups have also asked for tours. Hopefully this will streamline the process of scheduling for everyone involved.
For those of you who have read about Samson and Delilah, our two beautiful Bengal Tigers, you know that they had a very difficult beginning. When Tim got them they were quite a sad sight. They lived in a very small pen with no shelter from the elements and living in their own waste. They were emaciated and Samson could not even walk. If he did walk it would be just a few steps and then he would fall. Tim nursed him back to health by hand feeding him milk and meat. Samson is the beautiful animal you see now on our website.
As far as Delilah, well, she could walk. She was also quite thin and sickly looking. But, on another sad note when she was just a young kitten, she was thrown into a swimming pool before she could truly grasp what was going on and she was not ready to swim. In the wild the mother tiger will ease her kitten into the water and teach them. Delilah pulled all her muscles as a result. She never went into the water again. It has always been a sad thing for us at Yogie and Friends to watch her buddy, Samson, enjoy playing and splashing in the pool and Delilah not also enjoying this. She would watch on the side and often put her paw in, but she would never go in.
Good news! Much to our delight and surprise Delilah went into the pool on August 30th. She went in full body and has even been splashing and playing with Samson. You cannot imagine our delight. Delilah has finally come to the point, after almost three years with us, of feeling loved and trusting enough to see that she has a safe and permanent home where she can play freely, have enough food to eat, and not be harmed. Now Samson and Delilah can live the life they so richly deserve.
Recently, the previous owners of Bubba, the Cougar, came down from Arkansas to visit him. They really love and care about him. They rescued him from being killed, but were not financially able to keep him. They had the sense and foresight to recognize their limitations so they did the most loving thing they could do for him and found him another home. We appreciate them and thank them for caring so much about Bubba.
The word about Yogie and Friends is getting out more and more each day. Word of mouth, the great billboard on I-49, meeting people at the Shreveport-Bossier Tourist Bureau and the Bossier Chamber of Commerce are also helping us. But, we need your support. I know that many of you have been on vacation and getting in your last minute trips before the school year started. Finances are tight and there are no Federal Grants available for sanctuaries like ours. Believe me, I have beaten the bushes on this. Things can only happen on the support and generosity of the public. You can never give too much money or time. Always remember that your donations are tax deductible and this can help you at the end of the year as well. Please remember these wonderful animals when you are thinking of giving. We will always use the money wisely and it only goes to the care of these animals. None of us receives any compensation.
As many of you well know when things go wrong they often go wrong in numbers. Well, the four-wheeler is in the shop for repairs and this is something we desperately need when it comes to building fences. It is too heavy to just haul around to build the pens. We also had a flat on the flat bed trailer that we use to pick up the fences at the fence place. We are waiting on the tires to come in for that. Our rider lawn mower also died on us. So, now we have a problem there too. If anyone is feeling the urge to give in this area, then we can surely use a new lawn mower and flat bed trailer.
As always, please make sure your animals have “fresh” cool water, shade to get out of the sun and a veterinarian check up every year. Remember, they have no one to look after them but you.
There is so much to do and say here but I will add this: If you see anyone abusing an animal, please call the police. It is against the law to abuse animals, and make sure they come out and do something about it. We are the only ones the animals have to help them, we are their voices.
We are also in desperate need of volunteers. There are several different things our volunteers can do. Much of the work is labor intensive, such as putting up new fencing and hauling dirt to the pens to do maintenance. Other work can be things such as mowing, weed eating, and general lawn maintenance. Volunteers will NEVER be in any danger and will not be working hands on with any animal. Marketing and computer skills are other ways you can help.
I hope to see you all out here soon. You will enjoy your visit.
Jenny Senier, Vice President
Yogie and Friends
Here is a little information about me, Jenny Senier
I was born and raised in Boston. I joined the Air Force when I was 17 and I retired from it in 1998. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Board Certified Substance Abuse Counselor, and Nationally Certified Counselor. Phew! Thats a mouthful isnt it? I work at a mental health rehab in Shreveport and I work with several children. I have found several of the children I work with are often very withdrawn and wont talk much. But, when I bring them to see these cats I can hardly shut them up. These animals do wonders to help others as well. I started working with Tim to help write grants. Sadly, I found that there are no grants for sanctuaries such as ours. Yes, Chimp Haven has, but they qualified because of the research chimps they will house. So, we depend on the public and our own salaries to do this. I am the person who conducts tours and gets out to the public to try and educate. This is a team effort and lots of work. It is very rewarding once you see these beautiful animals and then to see them get better, like Delilah. We need your help. We hope you will.
Posted in Monthly Newsletter and tagged 2003 September News, Latest News, Yogie and Friends News
2003 July News
Our Monthly Update from Tim Mills, Yogie and Friends hardworking Executive Director!
We are now able to accept donations and contributions by VISA and Master Card. Make a $25 tax deductible donation and receive a FREE T-shirt of your choice!
Hi everyone,
It’s July again and it’s my Birthday this month! Yep, another year older and do I feel the pain. We had a really hard time this past month. Snaggletooth, one of our female lions had to be put down. We are all very sad and still mourning her death. You can read about her on the home page, and donate in her name.
The Sanctuary is growing and getting more calls to take cats but we do not have the space or the money. I received a call to take 4 more big cats, which I had to turn down. I did tell them about other places, and found some of them homes. Its really hard to know a cat has no home and you can’t take it. The good news is that we took another cat in this past month. He is a 3 year old bobcat that has been declawed and in need of a home. He came to us from Texas. He is very good looking and seems to be in good health.
Yogie and Friends is now a member of the Bossier City Chamber of Commerce. We are going to have a Ribbon Cutting at the Sanctuary later this month. Hopefully this will be the start of more businesses noticing us and supporting us.
Its very hot outside so be sure you keep your pets and livestock in shaded areas and with fresh cold water. Also, if you take your pet with you in a car, make sure you don’t leave it in the car. It gets HOT and it WILL KILL your pet. Even keeping your window cracked, it is still over 120 degrees inside a car and that will kill any animal very fast so please be careful.
Like always, we are in need of monthly and yearly financial support. Our cost to keep these beautiful creatures is very high and we are in need of anything you can give. All the money goes to the support of the cats, no one gets paid. So, please give. Thank you.
The Dynamic Duo, Batman and Robin (see them here), have arrived at Yogie and Friends. They are living with Yogie and Boo Boo. They are trying to solve the case of “The Missing Christmas Turkeys”. Batman and Robin are two 14 month old male lion cubs. They were at a Zoo in Texas but were not wanted so found their way here to Yogie and Friends. They are getting along with Boo Boo and Yogie nicely and getting to know me. So come on down and help Batman and Robin solve the puzzle of the missing Christmas Turkeys.
We are in need of money and donations of any sort. As you know, there is no funding for what we do, no sanctuary(except chimp haven) gets any federal or state funding. There is no funding available to us so we depend upon you and businesses to donate funds so we can rescue and care for these great animals.
We are in need of other types of help as there is so much to do here that we can’t do it all. Most of the work is caring for the lawn, fencing, leading tours. No one will be near the cats or be in any danger from them. If you can help in any way, Yogie and Friends will be very grateful.
Tonia and David Zuber have built Leo, Snagglepuss and Snaggletooth a new cat house. Its really huge and nice and the cats really love it very much, Thanks!
We also put in a security system so we can see everyone who gets near the pens. This will make the area more secure and safe for the cats.
As always, please make sure your animals have “fresh” cool water, shade to get out of the sun and a veterinarian check up every year. Remember, they have no one to look after them but you.
These children are every good when they come out, they want to learn about each animal. Cassie Rose is teaching the school children when they come out. Her husband, Tony, also helps when hes not working. They are a big help and know a lot about the cats and love the children. We are thankful for the donations these children and teachers are giving to the cats. Everything they give helps out the cats. Thank you.
Speedy has gotten a new pool. He is slowly getting used to it. Pooh Bear is still a big kitty, (about 650 lbs) and very sweet. I got a horse brush for the cats and most of them love to be brushed. Only a few of them dont like it and some want to play with the brush. This is the time of year the animals shed their winter coat, and they lose a lot of hair.
There is so much to do and say here but I will add this: If you see anyone abusing an animal, please call the police. It is against the law to abuse animals, and make sure they come out and do something about it. We are the only ones the animals have to help them, we are their voices.
The pens are in need of lots of work the next few months and hopefully we can get in some donations and volunteers to help do all the work that needs to be done. We still need at least 4 new pens built.
All the cats are doing very well, and playing in their swimming pools. They are soooo neat and just awesome.
There are two topics I wish to address this month, first is “Animal and Human Abuse”, second is “Zoo surplus animal dumping”. Please read this article, it is very important. We need to take action against these things in our culture, so if you see this happening, please report it to the local police and keep on them until they do something about it.
The cats are all doing fine, just a little wet when they play in the rain. They have good shelters built by David and Toni Zuber, which we are very grateful. Summer is just around the corner and the cats love to play in the water.
It has been very slow the past month, donations are down seriously. Please everyone who sees this, send a donation to help out the cats. All the money goes to help the cats.
Those who want to help please e-mail me and come out to see me. Please do this more than one time, since I get lots of people say they want to help and then we never see them. Also, I’m very busy and forget things at times, so if you really want to help, please keep after me. Those who have gave a donation and I haven’t put your name on the web site, please let me know, I do forget things. I’m just human so please forgive me.
Here is an e-mail I got from my Yahoo Tiger club. I hope you will read it and know what we are up against. Thank you. Read it here.
I hope everyone will sign our guest book and e-mail our Congressional members and let them know we need very strict laws concerning ownership of exotic animals. You can e-mail them below.
We are also in need of funds, as we are not supported by any state or federal government. There are no grants out there for sanctuaries, so we depend upon your help. And please remember your animals during this time of year. Its hotter outside and they are in need of shelter from the heat. Make sure the water bowls are full of clean water. This will take time to do, but a pet depends upon no one but you. Please be a responsible pet owner.
We have a golf cart for those who are handicapped so they can enjoy the cats also.
Please remember these cats are NOT PETS. These animals are very dangerous and can kill or seriously hurt you . It does not mean that the cats are bad or evil, this is what they are and what they do. We do not promote these animals as pets. They belong in the wild, but because of man and the desire to own them as pets they lose their natural environment. The animals suffer from a lack of room, a good diet, vet care, a mate, and so on. Also the owners are in danger of the cat hurting them and whoever is in the cats area. So please, if you or someone you know wants to buy a cute little exotic cat, understand that they get big fast and its very dangerous and not healthy for the animal. If you care for wild animals at all, just don’t do it.
Hope to see ya out here real soon!!
Posted in Monthly Newsletter and tagged 2003 July News, Latest News, Yogie and Friends News