May 2013 Sanctuary Newsletter
Greetings!
I realize this update is very late, but I had gone home to Boston to visit family. My trip had been planned prior to all that had happened, so it was a very good, but somber visit. But, here I am with our update.
We had our surprise USDA inspection before I left and the only issue of concern is drainage on the property. This continues to be a problem for us because every time we make improvements it seems to impact another section of the property causing water to get stuck. So we contacted our friends with the Navy Sea Bees on Barksdale Air Force Base to come out and look at the problem areas since we just had several days of hard rain and see what we are dealing with. We will have the team out again in the next week or two to assess, design, plan, or whatever it takes to let us know what we need to do and how to get there. After that we will look at the costs and fundraise accordingly and then plan to do the work. These guys are great and we are very happy to have them here. With three years of drought we never really had the opportunity to see the problem. Now we have and are going to hit it hard and heavy.
Our admissions building is looking good. We just need to do a second coat of paint on the outside of the building and then the inside. We have some Air Force volunteers coming out on the 18th and they will do this work for us. It’s nice to have these volunteer resources available.
Volunteering at Yogie and Friends is a unique opportunity. We always need, and depend on volunteers. If this is something you are interested in we ask you to come out and visit us on any Saturday during our normal noon – 5pm visitor hours and talk with us. We want you to first see who and what we are. Volunteering can be anything from working inside the admissions building, mowing, weed eating, helping with fundraisers, walk around guides (we don’t do guided tours, but walk around and provide information and answers), and basic maintenance around the property. Due to liability issues we ask that volunteers be 18 or older (17 for married or active duty military) and have reliable transportation to the sanctuary (we don’t want to set our schedule for someone and they not show up). We don’t have any veterinary or veterinary assistant volunteer positions. If you are interested, then please come out and make yourself known to us.
Coffee Fundraiser: Raise Money for Pets coffee fundraiser. This is a really neat program. If you purchase coffee via this website, they will donate $3 per bag to Yogie and Friends. This is a fair trade organic coffee and that makes it a win/win in our books. They have several varieties available and also decaf. Why not consider coffee in your gift giving?
http://www.raisemoneyforpets.com/yoandfrexcat.html
Donate your old Apple Products: We are trying out a new program where you can donate your old, non-working, or broken screened, Apple Products such as iPhones, iPods, iPads, and things like that. If you would like to help and donate to Yogie and Friends, you can mail us the items. If you have the original packaging they came in send that too. We get more money for the recycled product.
Recycle Ink Cartridges and Cell Phones: We have a really successful recycling program. You can donate your empty ink jet and laser cartridges and Yogie gets some much needed funds from this. It may seem small, but it all adds up. There are a couple of ways to get cartridges to us and you can find out more on our website on exactly how to participate. This helps the environment and the big cats when you recycle your printer cartridges.
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC): Military personnel and Federal Employees can do payroll deduction donations to Yogie and Friends via CFC. This program is easy and another good way to give financial assistance to the big cats. We hope you will please consider Yogie and Friends when making your CFC contribution. Our CFC number is 42427.
Look us up on Facebook and Like our page. We love to share with our fans.
Upcoming Events:
15 June 2013 Noon-5pm Military Appreciation Day
TBD (Sep) 11am-4pm Fall Bake Sale and Fundraiser
Petco, Youree Drive, Shreveport, LA
26 Oct 2013 Noon-5pm Yogie Season Finale
PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. Adopt! Don’t Shop! Also, please continue heartworm prevention all year round and not just in the summer months. Heartworm disease can be transmitted all year.
For the cats!
Jenny
Posted in Monthly Newsletter
April 2013 Sanctuary Newsletter
Spring has sprung!
Well at least it is supposed to be here. We’ve had some very odd (and dangerous) weather here lately, but hopefully it will not be raining for our opening day scheduled on April 6th. We are excited for our new visitor season. We hope lots of people come and see these amazing animals and how loved they are.
Our March bake sale was another success and we want to thank all those who came and supported us by baking, buying baked goods, donating, and just being an overall supporter of the sanctuary. This is another way for us to share information about the sanctuary and the animals we are caring for.
Clearance Sale: We have a really nice selection of Cardew Collectible Ceramic mugs, tea pots, and other items that will be on clearance this season. Many of the items have been discontinued and we want to offer them to our fans at a discounted price. We have endangered species items, Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, and Wizard of Oz items as well. We are trying to make room in the admissions building for Yogie and Friends unique items such as picture mugs and tee shirts of our own animals. Come on out and see the amazing selection we have. 100% of the proceeds go to help the big cats.
Trap-Neuter/Spay-Return (TNR): For those who are familiar with TNR you know this is one of the busier times of year. Spring is when many feral kittens are born. Feral cats have a place in the community. There are people who do not agree, but there will always be feral cats. If you can trap them and have them spayed or neutered and return them back to their colony they will usually live out their lives in the same area you found them and in relatively good health. Several of us are working with feral colonies and if you’d like to help us with this effort we can use your help. You can help with cash for us to pay for spay and neutering or just bringing us some cat food. We use dry food for the colonies and wet canned or canned tuna to place in the traps to entice them. If you are interested in helping this way we really appreciate it.
One of the goals we have for the sanctuary this season is landscaping in the animal habitats. We’ve had three years of drought, and unfortunately the forecast is not promising, and that has wreaked havoc on the grass. We are looking into getting sod and animal safe plants for the habitats. We want to make them as comfortable as possible for the animals.
Coffee Fundraiser: Raise Money for Pets coffee fundraiser. This is a really neat program. If you purchase coffee via this website, they will donate $3 per bag to Yogie and Friends. This is a fair trade organic coffee and that makes it a win/win in our books. They have several varieties available and also decaf. Why not consider coffee in your gift giving?
http://www.raisemoneyforpets.com/yoandfrexcat.html
Donate your old Apple Products: We are trying out a new program where you can donate your old, non-working, or broken screened, Apple Products such as iPhones, iPods, iPads, and things like that. If you would like to help and donate to Yogie and Friends, you can mail us the items. If you have the original packaging they came in send that too. We get more money for the recycled product.
Recycle Ink Cartridges and Cell Phones: We have a really successful recycling program. You can donate your empty ink jet and laser cartridges and Yogie gets some much needed funds from this. It may seem small, but it all adds up. There are a couple of ways to get cartridges to us and you can find out more on our website on exactly how to participate. This helps the environment and the big cats when you recycle your printer cartridges.
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC): Military personnel and Federal Employees can do payroll deduction donations to Yogie and Friends via CFC. This program is easy and another good way to give financial assistance to the big cats. We hope you will please consider Yogie and Friends when making your CFC contribution. Our CFC number is 42427.
Facebook: Please LIKE us on Facebook. When you do you need to ADD TO INTERESTS LIST us in order to see our updates. When you do LIKE on us mouse over the LIKE, and there is a dropdown menu you will see. One of the menu items is ADD TO INTERESTS LIST. Add us and then create a list. We made ours ANIMAL RESCUES and all our posts show up now. Please do this to help us continue to get the word out about these great animals. It’s a good way for us to share our events too. Tell all your friends about us too and ask them to like on us.
Kroger Neighbor to Neighbor Donation Program: If you are a Kroger shopper in Texas or Louisiana, then we hope you will take the letter on our website with you the next time you shop and have the cashier scan the bar code and pair it with your Kroger Plus Card. Once you do this, then every time you shop you will be contributing to Yogie and Friends.
Upcoming Events:
6 April 2013 Noon-5pm Yogie Season Opening (Weather Permitting)
15 June 2013 Noon-5pm Military Appreciation Day
TBD (Sep) 11am-4pm Fall Bake Sale and Fundraiser
Petco, Youree Drive, Shreveport, LA
26 Oct 2013 Noon-5pm Yogie Season Finale
PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. Adopt! Don’t Shop! Also, please continue heartworm prevention all year round and not just in the summer months. Heartworm disease can be transmitted all year.
For the cats!
Jenny
Posted in Monthly Newsletter
March 2013 Sanctuary Newsletter
Greetings!
Well, we are wondering where February went. Sure it is the shortest month of the year, but it sure feels like it just flew by. With March comes a lot of work for us at the sanctuary to get prepared for our visitor season on April 6th. Weather permitting of course.
All of the Yogie cats are doing well. Moses, the lion, just celebrated his 7th birthday on February 27th. He has turned into a magnificent animal. He looks like he may be a Barbary lion with his extra-long mane. We do have an aging population of animals and with that usually comes special health issues and needs. So far we have been fortunate not to have any major issues with our animals. Boudreaux, the mountain lion, does have a little arthritis that he is on medication for, but all in all the animals are doing really well.
Dancer the Kitten: If you remember there was an injured 10 week old kitten at Bossier City Animal Control that was going to be euthanized, but we rescued her. She lives at Yogie and Friends with Tim and she is doing very well. Her leg has healed nicely and she runs and plays with the other cats. She has received her vaccinations and is just waiting until she is old enough to be spayed. She has a few months to wait. Still, we are glad she is part of the Yogie domestic pets and has a huge place in all of our hearts.
Admissions/Gift Shop Building: For years we have been trying to get some volunteer help to make some repairs to our building. The floor was terrible. It was improperly installed and looked terrible. Even when we swept and mopped it, it still looked dirty and took away from how the entire building looked. Well, we finally decided to fix that problem. No money was taken from Yogie. I decided to purchase the materials myself. I can claim it on my taxes and Lowes had the flooring on sale at an amazing price. One of the exit doors was not properly framed and the bathroom had water damage from a leak. Well, that is all fixed now. It looks professional and is really welcoming. All that is left is the caulking and painting and a few minor touch ups. This will all be done before April 6th and we are excited for our visitors to see this.
Coffee Fundraiser: Raise Money for Pets coffee fundraiser. This is a really neat program. If you purchase coffee via this website, they will donate $3 per bag to Yogie and Friends. This is a fair trade organic coffee and that makes it a win/win in our books. They have several varieties available and also decaf. Why not consider coffee in your gift giving? http://www.raisemoneyforpets.com/yoandfrexcat.html
Recycle Ink Cartridges and Cell Phones: We have a really successful recycling program. You can donate your empty ink jet and laser cartridges and Yogie gets some much needed funds from this. It may seem small, but it all adds up. There are a couple of ways to get cartridges to us and you can find out more on our website on exactly how to participate. This helps the environment and the big cats when you recycle your printer cartridges.
Donate your old Apple Products: We are trying out a new program where you can donate your old, non-working, or broken screened, Apple Products such as iPhones, iPods, iPads, and things like that. If you would like to help and donate to Yogie and Friends, you can mail us the items. If you have the original packaging they came in send that too. We get more money for the recycled product.
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC): Military personnel and Federal Employees can do payroll deduction donations to Yogie and Friends via CFC. This program is easy and another good way to give financial assistance to the big cats. We hope you will please consider Yogie and Friends when making your CFC contribution. Our CFC number is 42427.
Facebook: Please LIKE us on Facebook. When you do you need to ADD TO INTERESTS LIST us in order to see our updates. When you do LIKE on us mouse over the LIKE, and there is a dropdown menu you will see. One of the menu items is ADD TO INTERESTS LIST. Add us and then create a list. We made ours ANIMAL RESCUES and all our posts show up now. Please do this to help us continue to get the word out about these great animals. It’s a good way for us to share our events too. Tell all your friends about us too and ask them to like on us.
Kroger Neighbor to Neighbor Donation Program: If you are a Kroger shopper in Texas or Louisiana, then we hope you will take the letter on our website with you the next time you shop and have the cashier scan the bar code and pair it with your Kroger Plus Card. Once you do this, then every time you shop you will be contributing to Yogie and Friends.
Upcoming Events:
23 March 2013 11am-4pm Spring Bake Sale and Fundraiser
Petco, Youree Drive, Shreveport, LA
6 April 2013 Noon-5pm Yogie Season Opening (Weather Permitting)
15 June 2013 Noon-5pm Military Appreciation Day
TBD (Sep) 11am-4pm Fall Bake Sale and Fundraiser
Petco, Youree Drive, Shreveport, LA
26 Oct 2013 Noon-5pm Yogie Season Finale
PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. Adopt! Don’t Shop! Also, please continue heartworm prevention all year round and not just in the summer months. Heartworm disease can be transmitted all year.
For the cats!
Jenny
Posted in Monthly Newsletter