June 2010 Newsletter

Greetings!

 June is here and the temperatures have already been far above normal. We will be hitting triple digits this weekend and that is not good. We are behind on rainfall, if you can believe it after the winter we had, and the weather man says we are in “moderate” drought conditions. This heat presents a myriad of dangers to people and animals. Please make sure you take precautions when working outside in this type of weather. Dress in lightly colored clothing. Drink plenty of water and fluids like PowerAde or Gatorade to help keep the electrolytes in your body. Get inside and rest, or at least under the shade in a well ventilated area. Don’t tie dogs up outside. More often than not people will tie them to a tree and then the sun changes and the poor dog cannot get into the shade. Provide fresh, clean, cool water. Change it often as it will get very hot. Don’t leave a dog or any animal locked up in a car. Even with the windows cracked open the temperatures get well over 100 degrees. It will kill the animal. Please, use common sense. Be safe.

Facility Upgrades: June places us at the halfway mark of when all the Wildlife and Fisheries upgrades must be completed. Weather permitting we hope to have the fence height completed in the next couple of weeks. There will be some tweaking needed on the fence and then most of the upgrades will be done. Then it is on to the larger and more difficult portion of the upgrades. The den houses. These must be constructed of steel, concrete, or cinder blocks with the door that can shut the animal in, in the event of inclement and dangerous weather. Our animals do have good shelter now, but they want us to use different materials. We had a builder from the Navy Construction Battalion (SEA BEES) come out and look over what our needs are. Once we give her the dimensions we need for each den house she will develop the design and material needs down to the last nail or screw. That’s what they do. From there we will get material costs and hopefully get everything donated. We can do this with the help from the public and do it before or by the deadline. More info will come on our website and Facebook once it is ready.

We got a price on gravel to make a parking lot that will allow us to open after the rain. If you can help with this the cost is $6830.30. This would help us not be dependent on the weather.

Esteban Guitar Raffle: We’re doing another guitar raffle. Tickets are $10 each and the winner gets a great package that includes lessons on DVD by Esteban, an amplifier, extra strings, and much more. The drawing will take place at our fall bake sale at Petco on September 11th. Winner need not be present, but will be responsible for pickup, or if out of town, shipping costs. More details on our website.

Volunteers of the month:  Elizabeth Lynn and the kids at the Bienville Parish 4-H for helping the big cats as part of their service project. They chose the "Coins for Cats" program as their service project and raised $361.75 for the animals. Thanks kids! You rock!

Upcoming Events:

18 – 19 June               Cajun Crossroads Festival, Mansfield, Louisiana

10 July 2010   Noon – 5 P.M. Military Appreciation Day at Yogie and Friends

11 Sep 2010   11 A.M. – 4 P.M. Bake Sale and Fundraiser, Petco, Youree Drive, Shreveport

International Visitor: We had a great visit from Paul and Louise Denman from Australia. They spend several days visiting with us and the animals at Yogie and Friends. We hope to someday visit them down under.

You can help the animals by doing any of the following: 

Go Green: with our ink jet and cell phone recycling program. This is a great way to help the cats and the environment all at once. Get your office involved. Throw your empty inkjet/laser printer cartridges or even an old cell phone into a box and when it is full, just seal the box, place the prepaid postage label on the box, and drop it off at any UPS location or if you have UPS pickup at your office just give them the box. It’s so easy. We’ll be glad to mail you the shipping labels. This all adds up quickly. Details are listed on our website.

Shop 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.

Coins for Cats! Kids and adults alike can help by collecting spare change. Maybe you empty the change out of your pocket at the end of the day, or you find a dime on the ground. Throw them in a jar or piggy bank or any container you choose and watch how quickly it can add up. This is an easy way to pick up some cash for the cats.

Kroger Neighbor to Neighbor Program The accumulation for the 2009 season ends on 30 April and will begin again in July. Please shop like crazy and use your cards when you do. It can really add up and it doesn’t cost you a thing.

Combined Federal Campaign. Just a reminder that our CFC number is 42427. This is a great program for Federal Employees and military personnel use as a way to do workplace contributions.

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.

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.

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. Prevention should be year round and not seasonal.

Please make sure you provide all your animals, inside and outside, fresh, clean water. Provide good shelter from the elements for those animals that live 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