September 2013 Sanctuary Newsletter
It’s September!
Yay! Hopefully this means we will start seeing a break in the hot, hot temperatures. We could really use some rain too.
Our final visitor day for the 2013 season is October 26th.
Kroger Community Rewards Program: Starting today, September 1, 2013, every time an enrolled participant shops at Kroger using his or her Kroger Plus card, Yogie and Friends will begin accumulating rewards. In addition, once a household member enrolls his or her card, all linked Kroger Plus cards within that household will begin earning funds for Yogie and Friends. That is if you have selected us as your charity of choice and we sure hope you have. Please make sure you register your Kroger Plus Card on line and then link Yogie and Friends as your charity of choice. This only applies to Texas and Louisiana shoppers for us. Thank you in advance. Our charity NPO number is: 80724
Coins for Cats: Do you throw your loose change in a jar, or ashtray, or anyplace for that matter at the end of your day? Would you consider doing this as a way to help the big cats at Yogie and Friends? Your change may not seem like much, but it really adds up. Kids are always asking us how they can help the cats. This is a great way. How many times do you find coins on the ground? Throw them in a jar. See how fast this all adds up. It’s a great activity to get the whole family involved in. We hope you will think of the cats and do the Coins for Cats.
Shreveport-Bossier Lost and Found Pets: We have been seeing a great deal of lost and found pets in our area. And we mean a lot. There is a Facebook page dedicated to this called Shreveport-Bossier Lost and Found Pets. I recently posted about four dogs I found with photos and a contact number. I stopped posting photos because I received a call from a guy wanting to buy one of the dogs. Now I just list basic info and require the caller to answer very specific questions. In these two cases the owners identified some very unique things about the dogs. These were happy endings. It doesn’t always happen. All this to say that if you can go the extra mile of making your pet identifiable to be reunited, then please do so. You can get tags that are flat on the collar so the tag isn’t accidentally pulled off. Put the pet name on it and your contact phone number. If you can do so, then microchip. We realize animals get out for a variety of reasons and we want them safely returned. We need more happy endings.
Abandoning Animals: Another issue we are seeing in the Northwest Louisiana area, and we know it isn’t unique to us either, is people abandoning animals. Quite often we find that someone has moved out of their home and left their cats behind. The sad thing is many of these animals end up starving to death or killed by other predatory animals or cars. This is just a very cruel thing. We hope that more people would contact local rescues to see if there is anything they can do to help with this situation. We realize in the case of the death of a pet owner that often a family member is either unwilling or unable to take the pet. It is illegal in Louisiana to dump animals anywhere and often they are dumped at Veterinary clinics thinking they will be sent to good homes. This is not always the case. Rescues are getting inundated and are overwhelmed. It’s a sad situation. At least call and see if help is available. Never, ever, abandon an animal like that to starve or be killed. Also, please make plans for your beloved pets in the event of your death. They are important.
Recycle Ink Cartridges and Cell Phones: Our recycling program is strong and growing. Please don’t throw those old ink jet/laser jet cartridges in the trash. Give them to us. We recycle them and get cash for the cats. It adds up fast. The company we use also makes sure that they are recycled in an environmentally friendly way and that is important in so many ways. If you would like to participate in this program it is very easy. You can box up the cartridges, put a prepaid label on it that we will provide you, then drop it off at any UPS shipping facility or they can pick it up at your business if you have UPS pickup at your business. It’s a win-win situation. Help the environment and the big cats. If you need labels, then just contact us and we will get some too you.
Rescue Roast Coffee and Tea: We have these products available at the sanctuary and will also have it at our bake sales. This is a fair trade, organic product and available in regular roast and decaf. We also have tea bags available. It’s a great product. You can also purchase it on-line and they will donate $3 to Yogie and Friends from the sale of each bag. http://www.raisemoneyforpets.com/yoandfrexcat.html
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.
Upcoming Events:
28 Sept 2013 11am-4pm Fall Bake Sale and Fundraiser
Petco, Youree Drive, Shreveport, LA
12 Oct 2013 1-4pm Orr BMW Pet Adoption Event
Yogie and Friends Eat a Dog, Save a Cat Fundraiser
Orr BMW, 70th St., Shreveport, LA
$5 gets you an all beef hot dog, chips and a drink
Proceeds go to Feral cat spay/neuter program
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
August 2013 Sanctuary Newsletter
Greetings!
Can you believe it is already August? That means just three months left until we close for the season. Where does the time go?
We are happy to announce that we received a grant from the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) Sanctuary Fund. We really appreciate the people at NAVS who have been true friends to our sanctuary over the years. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts. This grant is going to be used toward the drainage system within the cat pens. Three years of drought have wreaked havoc in a few of the pens. It caused the dirt to pack down hard and as a result when it actually does rain, then the water rolls to certain spots and causes it to puddle and stand. We never want any standing water since that could be a possible breeding ground for mosquitoes. We are going to dig and install French drains to help bring the water out of those areas of the pens. We will also build up the dirt in areas that are worn and attempt to get grass to grow. Not an easy task when we are still behind on rain here. But we will try our best. We still need to raise about $2000 more since the cost of gravel is outrageous, but we need it for the drains. It’s not an easy task, but we can do it with the help of our fans. If you would like to help, then you can send your tax-deductible donation to: Yogie and Friends, 128 Fob Lane, Frierson, LA 71027 or donate via our website. We appreciate any and all help with this project.
Kroger Community Rewards Program: As of today, 1 August 2013, you can now link your Kroger Plus Card to the Community Rewards Program. The new program requires that you have a Kroger Plus Card (that’s not new), but it must be registered on-line. If you haven’t already done that, then please go to the Kroger website and register your card. I had trouble with it and just got a new digital Plus Card and use my home phone number as the alternate number. Hopefully you won’t all have to do that and can just register your cards. Once you have your Plus Card registered you will link your charity of choice to your Kroger Plus Card. Linking the card begins today, 1 August 2013, and once it is done your purchases will start to count beginning 1 September 2013. We have a step by step instruction sheet to help you with this. We hope you will be patient and continue to work with this program. Once it is setup it will be a breeze, but we realize some of us are resistant to change. But that’s okay. We’ll get there. Lol! Download a copy of the instructions we have provided on our website.
Coalition of Louisiana Animal Advocates (COLAA): There is an organization in Louisiana dedicated to making things better for animals in the state. They are instrumental in getting animal abuse laws enacted and educating the public about animal issues. Check them out at www.colaa.org we are also including a guide they have put out regarding animal cruelty and animal laws in the state. It’s good information.
Recycle Ink Cartridges and Cell Phones: If you are not already participating in our recycling program we hope you will do so. This is a great program. It helps the environment and our big cats. It’s a great way to get young kids involved in helping a cause they might not otherwise have a chance to help and it educates them about these issues at the same time. 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. Check it out. It’s so easy to do.
Coins for Cats: Do you throw your loose change in a jar, or on in an ashtray, or anyplace for that matter at the end of your day? I have a small ceramic piggy bank I put it in every night. One day I took it to my bank and it added up to $166.00. That’s not too bad for some pocket change every day. Why not consider doing this to help the big cats? Just designate a jar, or piggy bank, or anything you have to toss your loose change in, cash it in, and donate it to Yogie and Friends. You’d be really surprised at how fast this all adds up.
Coffee Fundraiser: We now have some of this coffee available locally. We purchased the fair trade organic regular roast and decaf. We also have their fair trade tea bags available. We have these items available at the sanctuary for purchase if you are interested. This is a really neat program. You can also make purchases via their website; they will donate $3 per bag to Yogie and Friends. They have several varieties of coffee and tea available. Why not consider some of this in your gift giving? We will have some available at our bake sales too.
http://www.raisemoneyforpets.com/yoandfrexcat.html
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:
28 Sept 2013 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
July 2013 Sanctuary Newsletter
Hello All!
Summer is here! And with this comes the high heat and humidity we are so used to here in the south. Please take care of yourself and your animals during these very hot times. It isn’t just us humans who experience heat related illnesses. Our pets do as well and they require the same care and consideration regarding the high temperatures.
We have written a grant to assist with getting the materials for our drainage system project and are just waiting to hear back. The grant is for $5000, so if we get that we are only looking at raising another $4000 for this project. It’s not an easy task, but we can do it with the help of our fans. If you would like to help, then you can send your tax-deductible donation to: Yogie and Friends, 128 Fob Lane, Frierson, LA 71027 or donate via our website. We appreciate any and all help with this project.
We are looking at modifying the name of the sanctuary. Right now it is Yogie and Friends Exotic Cat Sanctuary. Many people, ourselves included, refer to it simply as: Yogie and Friends. It would be nothing more than just dropping the “exotic cat sanctuary” or “exotic cat” portion of our name. We still want to look at keeping sanctuary in our name. We do more than just rescue big cats. It’s showing people the “and friends” part of what we do. This is still a work in progress and we will let you know once we make any changes.
Kroger Community Rewards Program: Kroger has revamped their donation program and it is now called the Kroger Community Rewards Program. Our only concern here is that our fans who are not computer savvy or yet, don’t have one will have difficulty with this program. Hopefully there will be a friend, neighbor, or librarian that can assist them with this. The new program requires that you have a Kroger Plus Card (that’s not new), but it must be registered on-line if you haven’t already done that. Once you have your Plus Card registered you will link your charity of choice to your Kroger Plus Card. You cannot begin linking the card until 1 August 2013 and once it is done your purchases will start to count beginning 1 September 2013. We have a step by step instruction sheet to help you with this. We hope you will be patient and continue to work with this program. Once it is setup it will be a breeze, but we realize some of us are resistant to change. But that’s okay. We’ll get there. Lol! Download a copy of the instructions we have provided on our website.
Coffee Fundraiser: We now have some of this coffee available locally. We purchased the fair trade organic regular roast and decaf. We also have their fair trade tea bags available. We have these items available at the sanctuary for purchase if you are interested. This is a really neat program. You can also make purchases via their website; they will donate $3 per bag to Yogie and Friends. They have several varieties of coffee and tea available. Why not consider some of this in your gift giving? We will have some available at our bake sales too.
http://www.raisemoneyforpets.com/yoandfrexcat.html
Recycle Ink Cartridges and Cell Phones: Our recycling program is one of our best programs. It is a great way to help both our environment and our big cats. It’s a great way to get young kids involved in helping a cause they might not otherwise have a chance to help and it educates them about these issues at the same time. 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. We thank our webmaster, Paige Bass, for getting this program started and her hard work with keeping it going. We really appreciate all her hard work.
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:
28 Sept 2013 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