Yogie and FriendsFIV+ Cats

Sep 2nd September 2008 News

Greetings!

Well, here it is September and just last week we were so happy to get some much needed rain. Now, as I type this Louisiana has been hit by another hurricane. Fortunately the vast majority of the coastal residents have evacuated and many of them to our region of Louisiana. We are happy that the storm didn’t cause the devastation that Katrina had. But, it isn’t over yet. We are waiting to see how bad the storm hits us here in the Ark-La-Tex. As I look at the radar on my computer I am amazed how massive this storm is. We always take special care to heed the weather warnings. We certainly don’t want any harm to come to human or animal life. We expect the storm to hit us in the next couple of hours.

We continue to make improvements at the sanctuary. The good thing is that many of the recent improvements were to ensure there we no trees around the pens that could cause damage in the event of a severe storm. We just did this as a precautionary maintenance issue and long before hurricane Gustav. Talk about proactive work! Many trees in the area are also experiencing some strange tree disease and many needed to be cut because of the rot they had. Always better to be safe.

We recently heard some sad news about the death of the director of the Alexandria zoo. Mr. Les Whitt, died on August 16^th. He was a very pleasant man to talk with and he was always willing to share ideas with me about the animal world. He was also a fellow musician and the few times I had the opportunity to speak with him I had the pleasure of talking music as well. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

I had the pleasure of meeting guitarist, James Burton, at his annual festival. Mr. Burton has a program that gives children who wouldn’t ordinarily have the opportunity to get a guitar and learn to play and they give underprivileged kids guitars. Very cool thing Mr. Burton does. Music and animals are just two areas that kids benefit from. They get to express themselves in unconditional ways. It is a great program.

Yogie and Friends has started a program that allows young volunteers to work with us. Ordinarily we don’t allow anyone under 18 years old to work with us at the sanctuary because of the liability issues. But, now we are opening up a program to train kids 16 and up to be tour guides. We decided this was an opportunity to get some of these energetic and enthusiast kids the chance to do something with the animals, without any direct contact with the animals. This way they get the opportunity to learn about the species, while learning how to teach as well. We have a training program in place now and already have volunteer teens in training.

Another opportunity for teens is the gift shop and admissions area. Sometimes we realize that there are those who don’t want to do the heavy physical things. We understand. That isn’t for everyone. But, they can work in the admissions area and that is a big help. It also gives the teen a chance to demonstrate they are responsible enough to do things like this. So, if you have anyone interested in these areas, then please contact us. It’s really a lot of fun to teach them and watch them in action.

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 only downside is that it must be renewed annually. But, that is a small price to pay to help the cats. So, if you are a Kroger shopper please help the cats with this program.

Upcoming Events:

13 Sep 10 A.M. – 5 P.M. Grandparents Day

Kids can bring their grandparents to Yogie and Friends on this day and the Grandparents will get in for FREE! Kids, don’t forget to bring your grandparent with you since you need an adult with you to visit Yogie and Friends.

20 Sep 11 A.M. – 4 P.M. Semi-Annual Bake Sale at Courtyard Coffee on Youree Drive in Shreveport. This is always a big success. So much so we have requests to do them on a quarterly basis. If you’d like to help with this event, then please let us know.

24 and 25 Sept 8:00 A.M. – 4:30 P.M. LSUHSC Nursing Symposium at Diamond Jacks Casino in Bossier City. This is an annual event that the nurses hold and they asked Yogie and Friends to participate to help Yogie get more exposure and raise some money at their event. We appreciate this invitation. We will have all kinds of t-shirts, coffee mugs, and other unique Yogie and Friends merchandise available.

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. So, if you think this is the place for you, then let us know.

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.org, 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. I recently found a dog who is pregnant and it is very sad that she was wandering my neighborhood and very hungry. She will be spayed after she weans her babies. We are looking into a grant program that allows the capture, spay/neuter, and release program, but we want to go a step further. When all the puppies are born to the dog I found they will all be micro chipped. I am working with some animal groups to help me pay for this. I don’t want it to come from Yogie money. This way no puppy will be adopted out without a microchip and will always have positive identification. That is a grant we are researching. If you find anything like this, please let us know.

Also, do what you can to prevent flea and ticks causing serious illnesses to your animals. They deserve your care and kindness.

Please make sure you provide all your animals, inside and outside, fresh, clean, and cool water. Provide good shade shelter for those animals outside. NEVER leave your animals outside in the hot car. Even parked in the shade temperatures rise to well over 100 degrees.

I hear the storm intensifying outside my windows. I hope you all fare well through the storm.

Be good to your animals. Be good to people! Be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Jenny and the Yogie Cats!