October 2002 Sanctuary News

Our Monthly Update from Tim Mills, Yogie and Friends hard-working Executive Director!

Hi everyone:

We are now able to accept donations and contributions by VISA and MasterCard.  Make a $25 tax deductible donation and receive a FREE T-shirt of your choice!

It’s October and summer’s hot weather is slowly going away. The tigers are more bouncy and playing in the pools more. September was also very busy. Channel 12 came out and did a  “live at 5” broadcast on September 25. It was great but we had to use lights to do the broadcast as it was “live at 5” in the AM!! Leo was very vocal during the filming. We are thankful for the people who came out early in the morring to support us. We had a great time with Jeff Ferrell and his camera man, Bobby. Bobby had a great time playing and running with Yogie – Bobby was on the outside of Yogies’s pen, of course. Thank you very much, guys!

We took in 5 exotic cats this summer, and built 2 new pens and still in need to build one more. We now have 7 tigers, 5 lions, one black leopard and one serval. We named the serval Speedy Gonzales. We are sorry to report the death of Slowpoke, our bobcat,  in September. Although he was only with us a short time, we will miss him. This was Slowpoke.

We took in 3 lions, 2 female and one male. We were told they were living in a garage for 17 years in Texas. They were in bad shape and in need of good vet care, healthy food and a good home. We are giving them that plus lots of love.

We also had a home school group that came out, around 35-40 people. LSUS Biology club, and the Krewe of Barkus and Meoux came out and visited the cats. They all enjoyed themselves and are welcome to come back soon.

This coming month we are going to have Keithville middle school out to visit Yogie. The kids are going to have a blast with the cats, learning about them and seeing these cats play.

We are still expanding Yogie and Boo Boo pen. So anyone that want to come out and help, please let us know. Our next project is building a new pen for Tigger. He has outgrown the small pen he is currently using. We are in need of funding for this, as it cost us a little over $4000. per pen to build so please, if you can, donate to help support this great cause.

We also had 2 big cat houses built by David and Tonia Zuber this summer. They are nice
enough to come out and build heavy duty houses for our big cats. The houses have lots of
room with a floor to keep them dry.

As you can see the web site has changed, and is being completely redesigned. We want to thank Len Moyer of Merlin Computers for his contribution and for introducing us to Don Sherret of WWWeb-Works Web Design Studios in Shreveport. Please visit their businesses and thank them for all they are doing for the animals.

It’s school time of year so any schools you might know of that want to go on a field trip to see wildlife, please let them know we are here and open for schools during the week. We even have a lesson plan to teach the kids about the cats.

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 , ,

September 2002 Sanctuary News

Our Monthly Update from Tim Mills, Yogie and Friends hard-working Executive Director!

Hi everyone:

Its finally September, and hopefully the hot weather will cool down. We sure had a busy summer here. We took in 5 exotic cats this summer, and built 2 new pens and still in need to build one more. We now have 7 tigers, 5 lions, one black leopard, one bobcatand one serval. We named the serval Speedy Gonzales and the bobcat Slowpoke Gonzales. Update Sept. 12 – We are sorry to report the death of Slowpoke last night. His serious injuries were too much for him and he just couldnt make it. Although he was only with us a short time, we will miss him.

We took in 3 lions, 2 female and one male. We were told they were living in a garage for 17 years in Texas. They were in bad shape and in need of good vet care, healthy food and a good home. We are giving them that plus lots of love.

We also took in a bobcat that a family found in the area that was hurt and wouldn’t have lived without proper medical care. The bobcat was less than 2 pounds and had a crushed hip and pelvis, ticks and worms. The family was nice enough to call us and bring him out and even paid for his medical bills. If everyone would act this way, looking out for helpless animals in need, I wouldn’t have to rescue so many animals. We are very thankful to the family for their caring of the bobcat and their gift of life to save him. This was Slowpoke.

We just had a serval flown to us from Washington State. The owner, because of his job, 
didn’t have time for the cat. The serval flew in Wednesday to Shreveport Airport and I
took him home. He is outside in a new pen beside Tigger the leopard. He is still not sure
what is going on! He misses his old life but we will give him lots of love and make this his new home.

We also had 2 big cat houses built by David and Tonia Zuber this summer. They are nice
enough to come out and build heavy duty houses for our big cats. The houses have lots of
room with a floor to keep them dry.

As you can see the web site has changed, and is being completely redesigned. We want to thank Len Moyer of Merlin Computers for his contribution and for introducing us to Don Sherret of WWWeb-Works Web Design Studios in Shreveport. Please visit their businesses and thank them for all they are doing for the animals.

It’s school time of year so any schools you might know of that want to go on a field trip
to see wildlife, please let them know we are here and open for schools during the week.
We even have a lesson plan to teach the kids about the cats.

We have a golf cart for those who are handicapped so they can enjoy the cats also.

Please remember in your prayers the young girl in Florida who worked at Bush gardens and was showing her boyfriend and her family a tiger. Well, something happened and she got her arm biten off. They rushed her to the hospital and they don’t think they can put her arm back on.

These things happen at zoos and other places that have big exotic cats. 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 , ,

Summer 2001 Sanctuary News

A special thanks to these people for their help with our sanctuary.

Jim and Lilly Denney, Tony and Silvia Mills
** **

We need volunteers to help us raise money for further improvements to the sanctuary.  Call one of the numbers on the ‘contact us’ page if you can help.

Hundreds of feet of fencing have been added to ensure the cat’s safety.  The property is now completely enclosed.  The cats are triple-fenced.

Every tiger and lion pen now has a filtered swimming pool.

Three young Siberian Tigers were picked up from south Texas on Thanksgiving 2000.

In January  2001 two grown Bengal Tigers were picked up from east Texas, the cats were in poor health and under weight, but now they are recovering nicely.

The Shreveport-Bossier, La. (SB) Magazine featured our sanctuary in the June 2001 Edition.


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