Shelter Shorts

January 2012

2012-01-29T15:35:00.000-06:00

Shelter Shorts January 2012

SHELTER SHORTS is a monthly newsletter intended to keep Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter volunteers and supporters connected. With everyone’s hectic schedules, we know it is often difficult, if not impossible to attend monthly meetings or to work at all of our fundraisers.
Everyone is invited to submit articles for the newsletter. To do so, please call Bev at 608-326-2914 or email her at lilnicki@live.com.

December 2011

2012-01-02T11:43:00.001-06:00

Shelter Shorts December 2011

SHELTER SHORTS is a monthly newsletter intended to keep Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter volunteers and supporters connected. With everyone’s hectic schedules, we know it is often difficult, if not impossible to attend monthly meetings or to work at all of our fundraisers.
Everyone is invited to submit articles for the newsletter. To do so, please call Bev at 608-326-2914 or email her at lilnicki@live.com.

November, 2011

2011-11-22T07:57:00.000-06:00

Shelter Shorts December 2011

SHELTER SHORTS is a monthly newsletter intended to keep Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter volunteers and supporters connected. With everyone’s hectic schedules, we know it is often difficult, if not impossible to attend monthly meetings or to work at all of our fundraisers.
Everyone is invited to submit articles for the newsletter. To do so, please call Bev at 608-326-2914 or email her at lilnicki@live.com.

October, 2011

2011-10-25T17:53:00.000-05:00

Shelter Shorts October 2011

SHELTER SHORTS is a monthly newsletter intended to keep Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter volunteers and supporters connected. With everyone’s hectic schedules, we know it is often difficult, if not impossible to attend monthly meetings or to work at all of our fundraisers.
Everyone is invited to submit articles for the newsletter. To do so, please call Bev at 608-326-2914 or email her at lilnicki@live.com.

September, 2011

2011-09-26T08:41:00.001-05:00

September, 2011SHELTER SHORTS is a monthly newsletter intended to keep Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter volunteers and supporters connected. With everyone’s hectic schedules, we know it is often difficult, if not impossible to attend monthly meetings or to work at all of our fundraisers

Everyone is invited to submit articles for the newsletter. To do so, please call Bev at 608-326-2914 or email her at lilnicki@live.com.

Monthly meetings are held on the 3^rd Thursday of every month at the Prairie du Chien City Hall. Meetings begin at 6:00 p.m. Please use the back door. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. The next meeting is Thursday, October 20.

Fundraising Update

Phoneraisers
Please continue to save your old cell phones and ink jet cartridges. Drop them off at Tender Care Animal Hospital, or bring them to the monthly meeting.

Tee Shirts
We have 4 colors in 3 sizes to pick from – sand, light blue, yellow and pink in medium, large and XL. The RABAS logo on the front is in color. Shirts sell for $14 each. If you would like to purchase a tee shirt, please contact Bev and she will bring one for you to the next meeting or make arrangements to get one to you. We also have a number of the original style tee shirts that were purchased at Sports World. These also sell for $14.

Dog Obedience Classes
Fall dog obedience classes will start this Tuesday, September 27. Classes will be held at Tractor Supply. We will work outside in the fenced in area (weather permitting) and will hopefully be able to move inside as we lose daylight and the weather gets colder. Classes will start at 6 p.m. and will consist of a 6 week basic obedience lesson plan. Cost of the classes is $75. Dogs need to be current on all vaccinations and must have had a recent (within 6 months) negative fecal check . Proof of a topical flea and tick preventative will also be required. A training collar and 8 foot leather or nylon leash will also be needed. For more information or to register, please call Bev at 326-2914. Class size will be limited to 10 dogs. To date we only have 2 dogs, but it is not too late to join.

I am very excited about the opportunity to use the fenced in area at Tractor Supply for dog classes. It will provide a perfect working environment which will include “proofing” (training dogs to work with distractions) as well as an area for possible off-leash work. In addition to the above benefits, the classes may also provide added exposure for RABAS.

U.S. Bones
Please continue ordering cat and dog treats from USBones.com. They donate 25% of each order placed to RABAS.

Dr. Donna Higgins’ Wildlife Photo Gallery and 2012 Calendars

Donna Higins Facebook

The prints can be viewed on line at our website (www.riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org) or at her office. Calendars can be viewed on Donna’s Facebook.

2^nd Yappy Hour...
...was held on Thursday, September 22nd at The Sawmill Saloon in the patio area adjacent to the bar. I think that the attendance at the Autumn Yappy Hour was even bigger than the Summer version. We had a number of repeats from the July one, but also a number of new faces (both human and canine). Jim Rohde won the 50/50 which was just over $100 I believe. He donated his half of the pot back to RABAS. Thanks, Jim. Jim asked when the winter Yappy Hour would be as we had one in summer and fall and thinks we should have one for each season. Instead of a Thursday evening, he suggested a Saturday afternoon. I told him that we would talk about it. Bonnie Fuller from the Sawmill asked if I could come to the November meeting of the Tavern League. She would like to enlist their help in our efforts to raise money. It was nice to see a number of recently adopted dogs at Yappy Hour – John and Judy Ryan and their young pup, Bailey; Deb and Phil Dwornik with their new Border Collie, Sadie and Cody their Golden Retriever; and Diane and Bob Witt and their newly adopted Labrador/Poodle mix Molly. Donna’s barbeques were delicious. Thanks again to everyone who helped with this in any way.

Culvers Custard for Critters...
...was held on Tuesday, September 13. Jason Cathman, owner of the PdC Culver’s donated 15% of sales to RABAS. There was also a special 2^nd Flavor of the Day for Custard for Critters – Chocolate Critter Crunch (chocolate custard with Nestle Crunch bars). “Pup Cups” (scoop of vanilla custard with a dog bone on the top) were available “to go” for those dog owners who would like to take a creamy treat home for their dogs. Guest waitresses included Jill, Mollee, Bev, Deb Cross, Linda Munson and Jean Titlbach. “Chance”, RABAS’ large, furry mascot (a.k.a Randy Paske) was in attendance from 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. to the delight of everyone, especially young children. Again, thanks to everyone who came to Culver’s that evening for a delicious meal or custard treat and to those who helped to spread the word by email, Facebook, word of mouth, etc.

McGregor Fall Arts and Craft Shows...
... are fast approaching. The dates are Saturday and Sunday, October 1^st and 2^nd and 8^th and 9^th. We will sell Rural Route 1 Popcorn (tubs of flavored pre-popped corn), fresh Wisconsin cheese curds, large, home-made, individually wrapped take and eat cookies and a number of assorted crafts, providing they are approved. For those who have email, you have already received a request for baked goods, so you can ignore this request. Cookies should be approximately 6 inches in diameter which is ½ cup batter per cookie. Alexis suggests that if the cookies are not baking completely because of their size, use your thumb to put a hole in the center. Cookies should be individually wrapped and labeled with the kind of cookie. If the cookie has nuts or peanut butter, please be sure to list that on the label. If you can bring them to McGregor on Saturday morning, please do so. At this time, I do not know where our location will be, just look for our blue tent. If you cannot bring them to McGregor, please call me at 326-2914 or reply to this email and I will try to make arrangements to pick them up from you.

Volunteer list for McGregor –
Saturday, October 1 – 9-5:

Brandon Long,

Donna,

Bev

Sunday, October 2 – 10-3:

Joe,
Sandy,
Julie,
Mollee

Saturday, October 8 – 9-5:

Shirley,
Brandon,
Joe?
Jean?
Bev if needed

Sunday, October 9 – 10-3:

Jill,
Bev,
Donna,
Randi K (clean up

Kathy P – will bake apple turnovers
Randy and Kathy P – will pick up popcorn
Jill – will pick up cheese curds

If you cannot work your shift, please try to find someone to work it.

Kwik Trip Script Gas Cards –
Dale Huston contacted me about an easy fund raiser that the Rotary is currently doing. He suggested that RABAS try it. The new fund raiser is selling Kwik Trip Script Gasoline Cards. The Board discussed it at the September meeting and it was brought to the Sept. RABAS general meeting. Some members thought it would be worth our while to try it, while others were not in favor. We compromised and will start with an order of 100 - $25 cards which are good at all Kwik Trip and Kwik Star Gas Stations. We pay $22.50 for each card and sell them for $25 each. It is our hope that RABAS members and volunteers will purchase these cards for their own use as gasoline is something everyone uses. It is not our intent to sell these cards door to door, but if you would like to, that is fine. The cards should arrive tomorrow (Monday, September 26). If you would like to purchase any cards, either for yourself, or to sell to friends, relatives, or coworkers, please contact Jill at 326-4870 or Bev at 326-2914 or reply to this email. The cards will need to be paid for at the time they are issued.

Maurice’s Runways and Rescues –
I contacted Maurice’s a few weeks ago about the possibility of doing this program again this fall. The date for Runways and Rescues is Sunday, October 16. The location will hopefully be a local school. Jen from Maurice’s is in the process of getting permission. We should know by later this week if it’s a go. Our own Mollee Whyte will be a model for this event. I was also approached by a local Girl Scout Troop about the possibility of the troop doing an educational exhibit at one of our events. I suggested this one and they have put the date on their calendar. I will be in touch with them as I learn more about it.

Strikes for Strays...
...is scheduled for Saturday, November 3. Julie is in charge of this event, but needs some help. Is there anyone who would be willing to co-chair this with her? The posters and ads are designed, I will be willing to write an article and get it on People, Places and Things. We need to get going on this as we are only about 5 weeks from the date for Strikes for Strays. Please let me know if you would be willing to help Julie with this event.

Pounds Off People and Pooches (POPPS) –
At this point, I am not sure if POPPS will continue this fall. If anyone is interested, just show up at 6 p.m. near the old rodeo grounds, east of the Villa Louis mansion and just south of the WPRE.

Please take the time to check out our website – riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org. Information on it changes sometimes daily. This website is awesome!!! Thanks, Randy for constantly updating our website.

Therapy Dogs

Therapy Dogs International teams remain active in the community. On Tuesdays Kathy and Digger are at Bluff Haven, Deb and Jasmine go to Walter Schmitt Home and Paula and Maggie visit Bluff Haven. Deb, Bev and their dogs will resume the reading program at the schools in late October or early November.

RABAS Fund Raising Gauge –
Julie continues to research this project. She provided estimates on the gauge at the September meeting. The majority felt that this is something that we should continue to pursue. Julie’s brother is willing to construct the gauge as his time allows. We felt that we could possibly get donations for paint and lumber from local businesses. At this point, we do not have a place to put the gauge. More discussion on the gauge will be held at the October meeting. Thanks, Julie.

Cruzin’ Fur Critters –
I hope to attend God’s Country Motorcycle Touring Club’s Annual Meeting in November. I want to ask them if they would help us with Cruzin’ next year. I think for this event to be a success, we need to be associated with a motorcycle group.

Volunteer hours – Please keep track of your volunteer hours each month and get them to Jill. Volunteer hours can include any of the following and probably some things that are not mentioned: meetings, baking, working at fund raisers, hanging posters, phone calls and all the things it takes to make this organization as great as it is.

Future Fund Raisers Update –
At the May Board Meeting, the Board discussed the number of fund raisers. The general feeling is that we need to eliminate some of the smaller ones as many of our members and volunteers are getting burned out. The fund raisers that we will continue with are as follows:

Tractor Supply – Valentine Bake Sale – Saturday only
March – Pizza Hut Guest Server Night
April – Pasta for Pets, Princess for the Evening, Kembles – Saturday only
May – True Value – Friday and Saturday (if both days are available) – Mother’s Day Weekend
June – Cruzin’ Fur Critters (assuming we decide to do this one again, based on this year’s turnout)
July –Pasta For Pets and/or Prairie Fest.
August – Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle and Tractor Supply Pet Appreciation Week
October – McGregor Fall Festival Arts and Craft Show
November – Strikes for Strays – Julie and Allison will take charge of this event. I believe the date has been set for the 1st Saturday in NovemberDecember – Wake Up Santa – 1^st Saturday in December; Santa Visits – Randy P will set this up as he did this past year; Tractor Supply Gift Wrapping and Bake Sale

Treasurer’s Report - Treasurer Jill Cipra reports that RABAS now has approximately $86,550.09 including $14,152.41 in our checking account and $72,397.68 in 4 different CDs. This does not include the deposit from the Yappy Hour.

New Arrivals/Recent Adoption Success Stories

The beautiful cocker spaniel named Gracie that was mentioned in last month’s edition of Shelter Shorts did indeed find its forever home. Gracie now lives with Mike and Mary Jane Faas. Mary Jane says that it is as if Gracie has always been a part of their family. She accompanies Mike on his locksmith calls, just as Shooter did. Thanks to Randi Kluesner for her help in connecting Gracie with Mike and Mary Jane.

Diane and Bob Witt are now the happy owners of Molly, a beautiful lab/poodle mix in need of a new home. Molly’s original name was Maggie, but Witt’s yard and Paula G’s yard are adjacent and Paula’s dog’s name is Maggie. So Maggie now answers to the name Molly. Maggie and Molly are playmates. Molly was hesitant to climb stairs or to go down them. But after practicing on the outside stairs at the Villa Louis office, she now is unafraid of stairs.

Congrats to both families on their new additions.

Dogs Needing a New Home –
There are two dogs at SW Vet in need of a home. Both are males. One is a beautiful, large, brown lab type dog about 2 years old and the other is a very cute terrier type dog (black and brown) about a year old. If you know of anyone looking for a new companion, please have them contact SW Vet at 608-326-6464.

Membership Renewals -
Memberships are good for one year from the month the member joined. Jill will send out renewal applications to those whose membership has expired. Please consider renewing your membership as memberships are an important part of our income. There are 5 different levels of membership:

$5.00 student; $15 Individual; $25 Family; $50 Sponsor; $100 Patron; $500 Benefactor. Some members choose to donate a fixed amount every month. Thanks to everyone for your financial support. Watch us grow!!

RABAS Wish List
Wish List Items include:

Land

Gift certificates to either the Courier Press or WPRE Radio Station to pay for ads for upcoming fund raisers
postage stamps, paper, envelopes, labels, napkins, paper towels, hand sanitizer, ketchup, mustard. Contact Bev at 326-2914 or reply to this email if you have any kitchen or paper supplies. If you have information on land, please contact Randy at 262-388-2654 or Bev at the above number.

Donations
Culver’s - $321.45
Ray Wrobel - $15
Mr. and Mrs. Dave Skemp - $25
Brenda Heim - $5 (for an extra towel from the PPPP)

All donations are recognized in the Shelter Shorts and a thank you note is written.

Current and New Members (Recent renewals and new members are shown in bold type).

John andVicki Howe $25 Family Membership - New
Georgia Hutchinson $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Marilu Bintz $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Sharon Boylen $15 Single Membership - Renewal
Joe Hunzeker $15 Single Membership – New
Marilyn Crubaugh $15 Single Membership - New
John and Judy Ryan $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Marty Leeman $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Gary and Kathy Koch $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Julie & Mollee Whyte     $20 Single and Student Membership - Renewal
June Burns $15 Single Membership - Renewal
Janet Lueck $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Paula Gutzmer $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Jane Howe $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Randi Kluesner $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Donna Heilmann $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Bonnie Olson $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Linda Munson $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Donna and Dale Cipra $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Jennifer Clements   $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Deb Cross $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Kim Pinkham $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Vicki Mueller $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Lynn Moris $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Chris Panka $100 Patron Membership – Renewal
Randy and Linda Bedward $25 Family Membership - Renewal
Sue Rider $15 Single Membership
Peggy Johnson $25 Family Membership
Mary Long   $50 Sponsor Membership
Kelly Fishler $15 Family Membership
Lu DeGuzman $100 Patron Membership
Bev Pozega $15 Single Membership
Francis and Laura Nix $100 Patron Membership
Phil and Deb Dwornik $50 Sponsor Membership
LaMarr Kappmeyer $15 Single Membership -
George and Mary Tilley $25 Family Membership
Marjie and Tom Bennett $25 Family Membership
Jan Bernhard $25 Family Membership-
Mike, Shelly and Kaitlin Rider $25 Family Membership
Allison Roberts and Angelica Dayrit $25 Family Membership
Ron Stark $100 Patron Membership
Betty and Eric Frydenlund $25 Family Membership
Mike & Mary Jane Faas $25 Family Membership
Kristin Helgerson Kriegal $15 Single Membership
Randy and Kathy Paske $25 Family Membership
Janice Hein   $15 Single Membership
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Powers $25 Family Membership
Shirley Wegmuller   $15 Single Membership
Jami & Ken Quick $25 Family Membership
Brian & Jill Cipra $25 Family Membership
Olive Burmeister $50 Sponsor – new
Donna Hamm   $15 - Single Membership
Sarah Bartash & Don $25 - Family Membership
Rosemary Reese $15 Single Membership –
Candace Miller $15 Single Membership
Debbie Mason $25 Family Membership
Joe and Susan Van Metre $25 Family Membership
Lisa Parello $15 Family Membership
Alexis Burns Honorary Membership
Ray Wrobel $15 Individual Membership

Reminder: Annual memberships should be renewed 1 year from the month in which you joined.
Continued Monthly Pledges
Don and Eileen Klatt $25 Monthly Pledge
Sandy Kittle   $10 Monthly Pledge
   (Paid $50 at April meeting for 5 months) September, October, November, December and January 2012,

Thanks to everyone who volunteered this month in any way. Thanks to everyone who supported us through donations, and memberships. There are many jobs that continue to get done without recognition. Membership and volunteer listings are current through September 15, 2011.   If I missed your name, I apologize. Please let me know and I will include it next month.

River and Bluffs Animal Shelter Membership Form

Student - $5.00 ____                               Sponsor - $50.00 _____

Individual - $15.00 ____                         Patron -   $100.00 _____

Family - $25.00 ____                              Benefactor - $500.00

I would like to make a monthly pledge of : ________ per month for a total of

$_______ per year.

Name:___________________________________

Address:_________________________________

City/State/Zip_____________________________

Email:____________________________________ Phone Number:______________________

Please mail membership form to: River and Bluffs Animal Shelter

                        PO Box 421, Prairie du Chien, WI 53821

July & August 2011

2011-09-06T15:59:00.001-05:00

SHELTER SHORTS is a monthly newsletter intended to keep Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter volunteers and supporters connected. With everyone’s hectic schedules, we know it is often difficult, if not impossible to attend monthly meetings or to work at all of our fundraisers.
Everyone is invited to submit articles for the newsletter. To do so, please call Bev at 608-326-2914 or email her at lilnicki@live.com.
Monthly meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of every month at the Prairie du Chien City Hall. Meetings begin at 6:00 p.m. Please use the back door. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. The next meeting is Thursday, September 15..
Fundraising Update Phoneraisers Please continue to save your old cell phones and ink jet cartridges. Drop them off at Tender Care Animal Hospital, or bring them to the monthly meeting. We recently received a check for $87.85. Peggy Johnson has been taking care of collecting the phones and shipping them. Thanks, Peggy
Tee Shirts We have 4 colors in 3 sizes to pick from – sand, light blue, yellow and pink in medium, large and XL. The RABAS logo on the front is in color. Shirts sell for $14 each. If you would like to purchase a tee shirt, please contact Bev and she will bring one for you to the next meeting or make arrangements to get one to you. We also have a number of the original style tee shirts that were purchased at Sports World. These also sell for $14.
Dog Obedience Classes Fall dog obedience classes will start in September. I am hoping to start classes on Tuesday, September 20 or possibly September 27. Classes will be held at Tractor Supply. We will work outside in the fenced in area (weather permitting) and will hopefully be able to move inside as we lose daylight and the weather gets colder. Classes will start at 6 p.m. and will consist of a 6 week basic obedience lesson plan. Cost of the classes is $75. Dogs need to be current on all vaccinations and must have had a recent (within 6 months) fecal check. Proof of a topical flea and tick preventative will also be required. A training collar and 8 foot leather or nylon leash will also be needed. For more information or to register, please call Bev at 326-2914 or visit our website at www.riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org. Class size will be limited to 10 dogs.
I am very excited about the opportunity to use the fenced in area at Tractor Supply for dog classes. It will provide a perfect working environment which will include “proofing” (training dogs to work with distractions) as well as an area for possible off-leash work. In addition to the above benefits, the classes may also provide added exposure for RABAS.
U.S. Bones Please continue ordering cat and dog treats from USBones.com. They donate 25% of each order placed to RABAS.
Dr. Donna Higgins’ Wildlife Photo Gallery Dr. Donna Higgins continues to support RABAS through her beautiful wildlife prints on display at her office downtown PdC. The framed and matted prints, sell for $85, of which Donna donates $50 to RABAS. If you are looking for an attractive addition to your home or office, or a unique gift idea, please consider a print from Donna Higgins. Donna’s wildlife prints range from humming birds to bald eagles, deer, egrets and pelicans.
The prints can be viewed on line at our website (www.riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org) or at her office.
Yappy Hour was held on July 28th at The Sawmill Saloon in the patio area adjacent to the bar. I believe we had about 15 dogs, and I think everyone that attended enjoyed this special night out with their canine companion. The Fullers were gracious hosts. Bonnie prepared some appetizers for the evening and they donated $240 from a 50/50 raffle at a golf outing. In addition to the donation from The Sawmill, we took in $204.00, including tshirts, donations and the 50/50 raffle. Advertising was expensive, totaling $131.50. As Donna said prior to Yappy Hour, sometimes it is not about making always making money.
Because Yappy Hour was fairly well-received, we decided to try it again. Yappy Hour will be held on Thursday, September 22 at The Sawmill. It will start at 6 p.m. Hopefully it will not be as hot in September as it was in July. Remember, you do not need to have a dog to come to Yappy Hour. I hope to see many of you there.

Tractor Supply National P.A.W. (Pet Appreciation Week) celebration was held on Saturday, August 6.
This event was not as well attended as we had hoped, but again, I think those that did come, enjoyed themselves. Deanna Franzen brought a few dogs in need of a home. John and Judy Ryan and Joe Hunzeker were on hand to help with these dogs. John and Judy just happened to fall in love with the cute little pup they were in charge of and that pup now has a forever home with them.
Pasta for Pets – Summer Edition- was held on Thursday, August 11. I believe we served 102 people. We took in $404 from the silent suction, $492 from the meal, $95.50 from the 50/50 raffle and there was $71.34 in the donation jar. I believe we made about $950.00 on Pasta for Pets, including ads and food expenses. Thanks to everyone who helped make desserts, provided silent auction items and to those who helped at the event. A big thank you to Bird, Andy, Chip and Dave Skemp for helping us with this event. These are the kind of events that I personally would like to do more of – bake a pan of bars and just show up and work for a couple of hours – no lugging tables, grills, 3 carloads of “stuff” and then taking it home to clean and putting it all away in addition to dealing with all the “leftovers.
Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle was held on Saturday, August 27. The weather was perfect and we had a nice turnout of 49 dogs. All of the dogs were well behaved and again it was hard to say who had more fun – the dogs or the people watching them. I think we made about $710 on this event. We limited our menu to 24 brats, barbeques (made by Donna), chips and a 12 pack each of Diet Pepsi, Pepsi, Mountain Dew and an 8 pack of water. All of the brats, 24 buns for barbeque,(there was just a small amount of barbeque left) pop and water were sold. We took in $121 on the 50/50 and the person who won it (Rich Pica) donated $10 of his half back to the shelter, so we profited about $$60.50. We borrowed a portable microphone from Kramer Realty. Ryan, who was the lifeguard for this event, wanted to donate all of his time, but I twisted his arm to accept $25 instead of the agreed upon $40.
Catfish Filet Fry was originally set for September 23 at Timber Lanes. We decided at the August meeting to table the catfish fry until Spring or Summer 2012. Everyone agreed that with high school football games on Friday night, attendance might not be very good. We had thought about doing it on a Saturday night, but again, everyone felt that “Friday night is “Fish Night”. I stopped in at the bowling alley to cancel the catfish fry and Craig agreed that it was a good idea to wait until next year to do this.
Culvers Custard for Critters will be held on Tuesday, September 13. Jason Cathman, manager of the PdC Culver’s will donate 15% of sales to RABAS. There will also be a special 2nd Flavor of the Day for Custard for Critters – Chocolate Critter Crunch (chocolate custard with Nestle Crunch bars). “Pup Cups” (scoop of vanilla custard with a dog bone on the top) will also be available “to go” for those dog owners who would like to take a creamy treat home for their dogs. Guest waitresses include Jill, Mollee, Bev, Deb Cross, Vicki Mueller, Linda Munson and Jean Titlbach. “Chance”, RABAS large, furry mascot (a.k.a Randy Paske) will be at Culver’s from 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Please help spread the word to your friends, co-workers and relatives about this opportunity to help RABAS and enjoy a delicious meal and/or custard treat.
McGregor Fall Arts and Craft Shows are fast approaching. The dates are Saturday and Sunday, October 1st and 2nd and 8th and 9th. We were hoping to decorate some gourds, but due to lack of time, we will table the gourds until next year and get a jump on decorating them in mid summer. We are still hoping to provide a few items for the craft portion. For those of you who plan on making things for the craft sale, please have pictures to me via email no later than Sept. 18. This is a juried show, so everything that we sell, other than food needs to be approved before we can sell it. Our plan at this time is to go with the old favorites – cheese curds (will order 50 pounds per weekend, instead of 100), Rural Route 1 Popcorn (flavored, pre-popped in plastic tubs), and large, homemade, individually wrapped cookies. The deadline for registration is September 23. The general feeling is that we should be at both weekends, but to do so, we will need help. 2 people per shift (about 4 per day) can easily manage the stand, but help is needed to help set up and take down. If you can help work a few hours (3 or 4), help with setup or take down, or both, please let me know soon. Also, please let me know which day and which weekend you will be available.   The response that is received will determine whether we will have a stand at McGregor and if so, whether we have it one weekend or two. Please reply to this email or call me at 326-2914.
Pounds Off People and Pooches (POPPS) has not happened much this summer due to the obsessive heat and last Tuesday it rained. I think as the temperatures become more seasonal, the walk will continue. The community dog walk is held on Tuesday evenings at 6 p.m. and we meet just east of the Villa Louis and north of the Sculpture Park. Remember to bring “poop” bags and water for your dog. Everyone is welcome, whether you have a dog or not.
Please take the time to check out our website – riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org. Information on it changes sometimes daily. This website is awesome!!! Thanks, Randy for constantly updating our website.
Therapy Dogs Therapy Dogs International teams remain active in the community. On Tuesdays Kathy and Digger are at Bluff Haven, Deb and Jasmine go to Walter Schmitt Home and Paula and Maggie visit Bluff Haven. Deb, Bev and their dogs will resume the reading program at the schools in late October or early November.
RABAS Fund Raising Gauge – Julie continues to research this project. She will provide more information on her findings at the September meeting.
Volunteer hours – Please keep track of your volunteer hours each month and get them to Jill. Volunteer hours can include any of the following and probably some things that are not mentioned: meetings, baking, working at fund raisers, hanging posters, phone calls and all the things it takes to make this organization as great as it is.
Future Fund Raisers Update – At the May Board Meeting, the Board discussed the number of fund raisers. The general feeling is that we need to eliminate some of the smaller ones as many of our members and volunteers are getting burned out. The fund raisers that we will continue with are as follows:
Tractor Supply – Valentine Bake Sale – Saturday only
March – Pizza Hut Guest Server Night
April – Pasta for Pets, Princess for the Evening, Kembles – Saturday only
May – True Value – Friday and Saturday (if both days are available) – Mother’s Day Weekend
June – Cruzin’ Fur Critters (assuming we decide to do this one again, based on this year’s turnout)
July –Pasta For Pets and/or Prairie Fest.
August – Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle and Tractor Supply Pet Appreciation Week
October – McGregor Fall Festival Arts and Craft Show
November – Strikes for Strays – Julie and Allison will take charge of this event. I believe the date has been set for the 1st Saturday in November
December – Wake Up Santa – 1st Saturday in December; Santa Visits – Randy P will set this up as he did this past year; Tractor Supply Gift Wrapping and Bake Sale
Treasurer’s Report - Treasurer Jill Cipra reports that RABAS now has approximately $85,333.54 including $13,127.96 in our checking account and $72,205.58 in 4 different CDs. This does not include the deposit from the Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle.
Our Sympathy To - Janet Wagner, who lost her good friend and constant companion, Corgi, a tan Corgi dog. I met Janet years ago at Wyalusing State Park. She and Corgi were frequent visitors to the park.
Phil and Deb Dwornik, whose good friend Nikki, a beautiful Border Collie died in July.
Everyone who has lost a beloved pet, understands how difficult it is. I truly believe in “The Rainbow Bridge” where one day we will be reunited with our pets where they are made well again and are waiting for us to cross over the bridge to be joined with them forever.
New Arrivals/Recent Adoption Success Stories One night, shortly after Deb and Phil’s Nikki died, Deb and I were talking and she told me how much she missed Nikki and wanted another Border Collie. They do not have internet access, so while we were on the phone, I went to Petfinder.com and searched for Border Collies. Within 2 days, they became the proud owners of Sadie. They adopted her from a shelter in Sparta.
As mentioned above, John and Judy Ryan fell in love with a cute little tan and white pup at the Pet Appreciation Week event on Saturday, August 6. They also decided to give Bailey a forever home.
A young kitten was found at Jack Kussmaul’s house (Jill’s uncle) on Hwy. C near Millville. Jack fed it but really did not want a cat. So Jill took it upon herself to find a home for the beautiful orange kitten. At the same time, Linda Bedward was looking for a home for 4 kittens and had placed an ad in the paper about these 4 kittens. Someone from Dubuque called her and asked if she had any orange kittens. Bingo- the orange kitten had a forever home. He came to PdC and met Jill and the rest is history. Jill did tell him that if things did not work out, to call her. So far no phone call. Linda also found homes for the 4 kittens.
Just 2 weeks ago, Randi K was notified of a Jack Russell Terrier and a Cocker Spaniel in need of homes. She got pics to Randy P who put it on our website and I emailed it out to my “shelter contacts”. The Jack Russell found its forever home with a couple from Sparta who saw it on our website. Randi K met them on Saturday along with their granddaughter and it was love at first sight. The Jack Russell joins a few other pets on 12 acres. We are hoping that the Cocker Spaniel also has a home – we hope to know more this week. There is a family that was considering the Cocker.
Julie Moret from Southwest Vet called me last week about a young dog that was turned it to the clinic in need of a home. She said it was a very nice dog. I asked her to email me a picture (which she did not do). But this morning I received a phone call from Julie saying they found a home for the pup. Julie assured me that when they have pets in need of homes, she will contact me.
Kristy Nelson was notified a very loving Curly Coated Retriever named Beau who was desperately in need of a home. Beau’s was brought from Finland for a gentleman who became unable to care for him. Vet was boarded with a vet for 6 months. Because he was in a kennel for 6 months without much exercise, he lost much of his muscle tone. Jane, the lady who found out about Beau, and fostered him, worked hard to help Beau regain his muscle tone. Jane came to realize that Beau is a very loving dog, great with kids and had knowledge of basic obedience commands. Together Jane and Kristy worked hard to put the word out about Beau. They contacted The Curly-Coated Retriever Club of America (CCRCA). A forever home was found for Beau! On Wednesday, August 17, Beau flew (and arrived safely) on a pet airline to his new home in Virginia. Beau and his new owner are a perfect match and they bonded almost immediately. Kristy would like to thank everyone who helped give this story a very happy ending.
I would like to personally congratulate everyone who played a part in any of the above stories. Truly it shows what can be done if we try. We have found homes for a number of animals in the last few years. RABAS Rocks!!!!!!!!!!!
Membership Renewals - Memberships are good for one year from the month the member joined. Jill will send out renewal applications to those whose membership has expired. Please consider renewing your membership as memberships are an important part of our income. There are 5 different levels of membership:
$5.00 student; $15 Individual;   $25 Family; $50 Sponsor; $100 Patron; $500 Benefactor. Some members choose to donate a fixed amount every month. Thanks to everyone for your financial support. Watch us grow!!

RABAS Wish List Wish List Items include:
Land
Gift certificates to either the Courier Press or WPRE Radio Station to pay for ads for upcoming fund raisers
postage stamps, paper, envelopes, labels, napkins, paper towels, hand sanitizer, ketchup, mustard. Contact Bev at 326-2914 or reply to this email if you have any kitchen or paper supplies. If you have information on land, please contact Randy at 262-388-2654 or Bev at the above number.
Donations Animal Lovers - $53.88
Joe Hunzeker - $29.00
Sawmill Saloon - $240.00
Jack Kussmaul - $100.00 – appreciation of finding the orange kitten a home
Kamryn Tesar - $70
Irma Koonce - $25
Linda Kimball - $25
All donations are recognized in the Shelter Shorts and a thank you note is written.
Current and New Members (Recent renewals and new members are shown in bold type).
John & Vicki Howe        $25 Family Membership - New
Georgia Hutchinson        $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Marilu Bintz        $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Sharon Boylen        $15 Single Membership - Renewal
Joe Hunzeker        $15 Single Membership – New
Marilyn Crubaugh        $15 Single Membership - New
John and Judy Ryan        $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Marty Leeman        $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Gary and Kathy Koch        $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Julie & Mollee Whyte           $20 Single and Student Membership - Renewal
June Burns        $15 Single Membership - Renewal
Janet Lueck        $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Paula Gutzmer        $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Jane Howe        $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Randi Kluesner        $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Donna Heilmann        $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Bonnie Olson        $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Linda Munson        $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Donna and Dale Cipra        $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Jennifer Clements         $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Deb Cross        $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Kim Pinkham        $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Vicki Mueller        $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Lynn Moris        $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Chris Panka        $100 Patron Membership – Renewal
Randy and Linda Bedward        $25 Family Membership - Renewal
Sue Rider        $15 Single Membership
Peggy Johnson        $25 Family Membership
Mary Long         $50 Sponsor Membership
Kelly Fishler        $15 Family Membership
Lu DeGuzman        $100 Patron Membership
Bev Pozega        $15 Single Membership
Francis and Laura Nix        $100 Patron Membership
Phil and Deb Dwornik        $50 Sponsor Membership
LaMarr Kappmeyer        $15 Single Membership -
George and Mary Tilley        $25 Family Membership
Marjie and Tom Bennett        $25 Family Membership
Jan Bernhard        $25 Family Membership-
Mike, Shelly and Kaitlin Rider        $25 Family Membership
Allison Roberts and Angelica Dayrit     $25 Family Membership
Ron Stark        $100 Patron Membership
Betty and Eric Frydenlund        $25 Family Membership
Mike & Mary Jane Faas        $25 Family Membership
Kristin Helgerson Kriegal        $15 Single Membership
Randy and Kathy Paske        $25 Family Membership
Janice Hein         $15 Single Membership
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Powers        $25 Family Membership
Shirley Wegmuller         $15 Single Membership
Jami & Ken Quick        $25 Family Membership
Brian & Jill Cipra        $25 Family Membership
Olive Burmeister        $50 Sponsor – new
Donna Hamm         $15 - Single Membership
Sarah Bartash & Don        $25 - Family Membership
Rosemary Reese        $15 Single Membership –
Candace Miller        $15 Single Membership
Debbie Mason        $25 Family Membership
Joe and Susan Van Metre        $25 Family Membership
Lisa Parello        $15 Family Membership
Alexis Burns        Honorary Membership
Ray Wrobel        $15 Individual Membership
Reminder: Annual memberships should be renewed 1 year from the month in which you joined. Continued Monthly Pledges
Don and Eileen Klatt        $25 Monthly Pledge
Sandy Kittle         $10 Monthly Pledge
   (Paid $50 at April meeting for 5 months) September, October, November, December and January 2012,
Thanks to everyone who volunteered this month in any way. Thanks to everyone who supported us through donations, and memberships. There are many jobs that continue to get done without recognition. Membership and volunteer listings are current through June 16, 2011.   If I missed your name, I apologize. Please let me know and I will include it next month.
Please note, if I missed your membership or donation, I was not at the July meeting and do not have a copy of the Treasurer’s Report for July. I apologize.
Thanks also to Deb and Phil Dwornik for the donation of paper and envelopes. They always seem to know when I am about out.
River and Bluffs Animal Shelter Membership Form
Student - $5.00 ____                               Sponsor - $50.00 _____
Individual - $15.00 ____                         Patron -   $100.00 _____
Family - $25.00 ____                              Benefactor - $500.00
I would like to make a monthly pledge of : ________   per month for a total of
$_______ per year.
Name:___________________________________
Address:_________________________________
City/State/Zip_____________________________
Email:____________________________________ Phone Number:______________________

Please mail membership form to: River and Bluffs Animal Shelter
                                                            PO Box 421, Prairie du Chien, WI 53821

June 2011

2011-07-05T17:30:00.003-05:00

Tee Shirts

We have 4 colors in 3 sizes to pick from – sand, light blue, yellow and pink in medium, large and XL. The RABAS logo on the front is in color. Shirts sell for $14 each. If you would like to purchase a tee shirt, please contact Bev and she will bring one for you to the next meeting or make arrangements to get one to you. We also have a number of the original style tee shirts that were purchased at Sports World. These also sell for $14.

Dog Obedience Classes

Classes have been tabled for the summer due to unavailability of a location and a hectic schedule. Will try for this fall.

USBones

Please continue ordering cat and dog treats from USBones.com. They donate 25% of each order placed to RABAS.

Dr. Donna Higgins’ Wildlife Photo Gallery

The prints can be viewed on line at our website (www.riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org) or at her office.

Cruisin’ Fur Critters Poker Run is now history. Even though the poker run was not as well attended as we had hoped, we did make almost $1000 on it.. We had a total of 27 participants (two of which rode for free because of their help with this event, but they both made donations to RABAS. We knew at the beginning we would need 40 paid participants to break even on this event. Advertising, can coozies and the dj were some of our biggest expenses. As we left Prairie Motor Sports, knowing that we did not have the necessary 40 participants necessary to break even, we talked about ways to recoup our possible losses. I called the dj to ask if he would care if we canceled due to the low number of poker run participants. Gabe was fine with it, so that saved us $200. In retrospect, it was a good idea to cancel as Gabe was scheduled to play from 1-4. Most of the riders did not show up until 2:30, and a few arrived close to 3:00, which meant we would have paid $200 for the dj to play for The Depot’s patrons from 1-2:30. Also, the dj needed to be set up inside. With the nice weather, the motorcyclists chose to sit outside on the nice deck. Phil took it upon himself to sell 50/50 raffle tickets to anyone and everyone. Thanks to Phil’s diligence, he collected $256 on the 50/ 50 raffle.

Lisa Peterman from Monona, Iowa was the winner of the 50/50 raffle and she donated her half back to RABAS. John Keyser won the 1st place price of $100 cash with a full house. The 3rd place poker winner, Dick Hager, from Prairie du Sac, also donated his $75 winnings back to RABAS. Joe put a donation jar on the bar and visited with patrons about the need for a shelter and mentioned that there was a donation jar on the counter if they were interested in helping us. Tim Wagner from Glen Haven won the 4th place which was a helmet donated from Prairie Motor Sports. He donated $20 to us for the helmet. The 2nd place winner of the $100 gift card to Waukon Harley Davidson/Waukon Power Sports was won by Tim Licht of PdC. Mollee Whyte drew his cards for him. John Howe won the top raffle prize of the $100 Walmart gift card. He donated the gift card back to RABAS.

We heard many favorable comments on the poker run, including the route and the hospitality of the people at the validation stops. One suggestion that was made by many of the motorcyclists is that we give them more time to complete the route. So those of us who were at The Depot on Saturday, decided that if we do the poker run again next year, we will add an hour to the time. The distance will stay about the same. John and Wendy Howe were the first bikers out and they were the last ones back in. John said he knew people in every bar he stopped at. Our own Kim Pinkham had the opportunity to ride with my husband. I think they both enjoyed themselves, though at the beginning, Jill, Donna and myself were feeling sorry for Zeke (just kidding, Kim).

As we were starting the grill to cook the burgers and brats, we could not get the gas tank on the grill. The threads on the regulator were stripped. We thought that there could be bikers in by noon or shortly after, so we needed to get the meat cooking. Jill and Phil went to Jill’s house to see if they could get Jill’s grill in Phil’s truck.

Meanwhile, Donna took the meat to her house to grill it on her gas grill. After thawing out the burgers and putting the meat on her gas grill, the grill ran out of gas. So she cooked everything on her stove top, which sounded like one greasy mess by the time she had everything cooked. Jill and Phil stopped at True Value to buy another grill. We had plenty of time to get the meat done before the bikers started rolling in, as they got back in much later than we expected..

All in all, I think the poker run was a success. We may not have made the thousands that we had hoped to, but we at least made some money. Those in attendance enjoyed themselves and most said if we do it again next year, they will be back. Most of the work was done in advance; so on the day of the poker run itself, everything ran quite smoothly.

Again, this event took the cooperation of a number of members as well as the community to be a success. Thanks to everyone for all the time you put into this event. RABAS rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks you cards are done and will be mailed on Tuesday to every business and individual that had a part in “Cruisin’ Fur Critters”.

Prairie Fest will be held this coming Saturday, July 9. Kathy Paske is in charge of representation from RABAS. She has contacted CASA to see if they would like to bring some of their foster pets to the event. No word yet back from CASA. If anyone would like to help Kathy with this event, please call her at 388-262-2649 or email her at kepaske@gmail.com.

Yappy Hour will be held on July 28th at The Sawmill Saloon in the patio area adjacent to the bar. This event, celebrating the “dog days” of summer will start at 6 p.m. and continue until only the dogs are left standing (just kidding). I searched the internet and found some mixed drinks with dog names such as the Pomeranian, Bulldog, Salty Dog, Greyhound, and Dalmation. Hopefully, Bonnie from the Sawmill will be able and willing to mix up these concoctions. I am waiting for her to return my call. A dog question trivia contest will be part of the evening. Dogs will be provided with homemade dog treats and bowls of fresh ice water will be available. We will probably not make much money if any at this event, but as Donna says, it doesn’t always have to be about money. Sometimes we just need to do stuff for fun. We will have the donation jar there and possibly a 50/50 raffle for anyone interested. If it is not too hot, maybe our own mascot, Chance will make an appearance.

Tractor Supply National P.A.W. (Pet Appreciation Week) celebration will be held on Saturday, August 6. Tractor Supply asked if we would like to be involved with this. At the June meeting, members voted to take this event on. I replied to them and told them we will do something, but not sure what yet.

Now that “Cruisin’” is finished, there will be more time to come up with things to do. Ideas I have are the following: Radar Run, Meet the RABAS Therapy Dogs (if any are available that day, hint, hint), parade of dogs, Sawdust Dig, Meet the Grant Co. drug dogs; meet the Prairie du Chien drug dog, possibly a petting zoo. Again, these are just ideas, and I will try to get some of these items firmed up this week. Randy P has contacted CASA to see if they would like to bring some of their foster pets down. We could also have a food stand, or just an ice cream stand or root beer floats. Maybe we could do pet tattoos on kids (Mollee?)

If any of you have any ideas, please let me know. Please mark your calendars for this date, as this event could involve a number of volunteers.

Pasta for Pets – Summer Edition- is scheduled for Thursday, August 11. It was originally set for Thursday, August 4, but I forgot about the Tractor Supply Event. I did not want to do 2 events in one week. Pasta for Pets is one of our easier and most profitable fund raisers. Basically, all we have to do is bake a few desserts, come up with some Silent Auction prizes, and show up to help bus tables and clean up. Bird and Andy and their wonderful staff take care of the rest. August is the peak of the summer tourist season in this area and we will hopefully capitalize on “out of towners” as well as our “regulars” to support this event. We decided at the June meeting, that we will not solicit any businesses for Silent Auction items. We still have a few items left from others fund raisers that we will use up. If any members would like to donate anything, either homemade craft items, baked goods (for the dessert bar or for the Silent Auction), or locally purchased items, please let me know. I think we should include a 50/50 raffle at this event as well. Jill suggested that if we do a silent auction at Pasta for Pets, maybe we should not do one at the Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle. Being an outdoor event, we are dealing with weather conditions – rain, wind, etc and everything blows away. We could still do the 50/50 raffle at the PPPP. We will start advertising for this event in late July.

Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle is scheduled for Saturday, August 27. The pool has been reserved, but we still need to get life guards. This event as well as many others has become routine and we have the planning for it down to a fine art. I will contact Kramer Realty to see if we can use the microphone that we borrowed last year. It is an old one, but perfect for our needs. Also, it is easy to carry around. More on PPPP at the August meeting

Catfish Filet Fry for September was suggested by Bev. Decision on whether to hold a catfish filet fry was tabled for a vote at the July meeting. Julie suggested having it at Timber Lanes. We do not typically have a fund raiser in September, but due to a poor turnout on many of our earlier events this year, it was felt that this could be a boost to our “coffers”. This event would be similar to Pasta For Pets. Timber Lanes would do the cooking and we would just show up with desserts, bus tables, possibly have a silent auction, and sell 50/50 raffle tickets. Craig from Timber Lanes said if we have it in September, we would have to have it on a Friday or Saturday night. I would suggest a Friday night as Friday nights are “fish nights” for many people. I have talked to one commercial fisherman and he would charge us $2.50 per pound. He suggested selling advance tickets so we have some sort of an idea on how much fish to get. The commercial fisherman said they figure ½ pound per person. He also said that once we know how many advance tickets we sell, we should try to estimate how many people may show up without advance tickets. He said to encourage advance sales and to include in our advertising that we will serve until sold out. When the fish is gone it is gone and we will not have to worry about left over fish. Craig suggested serving French fries (very cheap), beans, coleslaw and a bun with the meal. Once it is decided on whether to do the catfish fry, I will contact other commercial fishermen for prices/donations. There are 3 that live less than a mile from my house.

Hot Topics

Pounds Off People and Pooches (POPPS)...

... startecontinues, though participation has been down from previous years. The community dog walk is held on Tuesday evenings at 6 p.m. and we meet just east of the Villa Louis and north of the Sculpture Park. Remember to bring “poop” bags and water for your dog. Everyone is welcome, whether you have a dog or not. I usually have an extra dog someone can “borrow for the walk”. At the June 14th dog walk, as we were approaching the log cabin Rendezvous registration/checkin, a gentleman saw the 2 American Eskimos, 1 mixed breed and 2 cockers heading his way. I could tell that he wanted to talk and meet the dogs, so I walked over to him. He told us about the cocker spaniel he has that came from the animal shelter near Cazenovia (now shut down). He told us how important this dog is to him and that he appreciated the work that we do. He reached in his pocket and gave me a $20 donation. His name is Bob Welsh.
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Therapy Dogs
Therapy Dogs International teams remain active in the community. On Tuesdays Kathy and Digger are at Bluff Haven, Deb and Jasmine go to Walter Schmitt Home and Paula and Maggie visit Bluff Haven. Deb, Bev and their dogs visited a large group of physically and mentally challenged campers at Wyalusing’s Indoor Group Camp in June. Again, it was hard to say who had more fun, the dogs or the campers. Bev, Vegas and Nicki will visit Vacation Bible School on July 11 to talk about proper care of pets and how pets are God’s creatures and need love and attention, just like people. .

RABAS Fund Raising Gauge – Linda Bedward suggested we place a gauge of the amount we estimate we need and how much we have to date similar to the United Way “thermometer” which is located at the intersection of Marquette and Blackhawk. A design of a dog chasing a cat up a tree was suggested as the design. The tree would be used as the gauge to show how much we have and how much we need to raise. Julie volunteered to have information on a sign by the June meeting.

Volunteer hours – Please keep track of your volunteer hours each month and get them to Jill. Volunteer hours can include any of the following and probably some things that are not mentioned: meetings, baking, working at fund raisers, hanging posters, phone calls and all the things it takes to make this organization as great as it is.

Future Fund Raisers Update – At the May Board Meeting, the Board discussed the number of fund raisers. The general feeling is that we need to eliminate some of the smaller ones as many of our members and volunteers are getting burned out. The fund raisers that we will continue with are as follows:
Tractor Supply – Valentine Bake Sale – Saturday only
March – Pizza Hut Guest Server Night
April – Pasta for Pets, Princess for the Evening, Kembles – Saturday only
May – True Value – Friday and Saturday (if both days are available) – Mother’s Day Weekend
June – Cruzin’ Fur Pets (assuming we decide to do this one again, based on this year’s turnout)
July – Pasta For Pets and/or Prairie Fest.
August – Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle Tractor Supply Pet Appreciation Week
October –McGregor Fall Festival Arts and Craft Show – Bev and Donna will co-chair this event. We may try an assortment of crafted items from our talented volunteers as well as the bake sale, cheese curds, and Rural Route 1 Popcorn. Kathy P mentioned the fact that this is a juried craft show, so any items that we would like to sell will have to be approved prior to the show. So, if you have any crafted item that you would like to donate, please let Donna or me know and if you can, email a picture. Deb Cross makes quilted crayon bags that we are hoping to sell, Kathy P may make a type of mini wall hanging. Deb also has a beautiful hand made plant stand made and donated by a friend of hers that we could possibly sell at the craft fair if it does not sell for a worthy price at Pasta for Pets Silent Auction. Marilyn Crubaugh, Kathy P’s mom and Deb’s friend also make crocheted and knitted dish cloths that are big sellers at the craft fair. Joe showed us his craft items at The Depot on the day of the poker run. Joe is an accomplished wood burner, doing a variety of artwork on both leather and wood. Once I have pictures from others who are interested in making craft items for the craft fair, I will compile them and email them to the person in charge of the craft fair. If you would like to make anything for the craft fair that we can sell, please email me a picture by the end of August or the 1st part of September. Deb Cross attended the Cranberry Fest last year and bought some gourds that had been dried and decorated and were a hot sell. She thinks that we could do the same and sell them at McGregor. She and her husband Mike planted gourds this spring, but they may have to dry for a year before they are ready to be carved and decorated. But Donna has some that she has offered to RABAS. If there is anyone who would like to get together and try to carve and decorate the gourds please let me know. Deb has a book with designs in and she said we could work in her garage. .
November – Strikes for Strays – Julie and Allison will take charge of this event. I believe the date has been set for the 1st Saturday in November
December – Wake Up Santa – 1st Saturday in December; Santa Visits – Randy P will set this up as he did this past year; Tractor Supply Gift Wrapping and Bake Sale

The Board decided to not hold the dog wash this year. Profit was only a couple of hundred dollars, and some members felt it was a bit risky dealing with dogs that did not want to be washed and also handling dogs that were literally covered with fleas. We truly appreciate the support from Tractor Supply, and still look forward to the February Valentine Bake Sale and the December Gift Wrapping and Bake Sale. Also, as mentioned above, some of the usual 2 day bakesales/foodstands will only be one day.

The Board also decided to not do the Home and Garden Show unless the format somehow changes to target more businesses and traffic.

The Board is trying to do away with some of the smaller bake sales/food stands in the hopes that our annual community events will become more profitable as they become better known. Currently, our bake sales and food stands are our “bread and butter” and we realize that we cannot do without them.

Linda Bedward has offered to address, stamp and put return address labels on envelopes for Shelter Shorts. This offer is gratefully accepted as it does take a considerable amount of time each month to mail out approximately 40 envelopes to those members and volunteers who do not have email.

Roy George Foundation Grant – Jill and I attended the meeting and completed the grant application. We just found out that this year we did not receive any funding from them. After such a large grant of $10,000.00 last year, we really did not expect to receive any money this year, but felt that we should still complete the process. One of the reasons we were turned down was because the George Family Foundation hoped that we would use last year’s grant to leverage our credibility with other major funding organizations and businesses. Jill has submitted grant applications to Lady Luck, 3M and the Green Bay Packer Foundation, all to no avail. Most animal shelter grants are not funded for land acquisition. It is still our hope to have land by the end of this year.

CASA, is concerned about the pet overpopulation problem and are dedicated to spaying and neutering our fostered animals before they go to the new homes.

Monti - CASA Dog of the Month

Foster Volunteers:
Not ready to commit to owning a dog or cat but need a companion animal in your life? Consider fostering for CASA. We ask a three month commitment and provide food, vet care and crates.

Treasurer’s Report - Treasurer Jill Cipra reports that RABAS now has approximately $81,212 including $9,224 in our checking account and $71,988 in 4 different CDs. This does not include the deposit from “Cruisin”. Jill did transfer $5000 from the checking account to a CD at Peoples Bank. Basically, once we have an excess of $10,000 in the checking account, that amount is then deposited into a new or an existing CD.

Membership Renewals - Memberships are good for one year from the month the member joined. Jill will send out renewal applications to those whose membership has expired. Please consider renewing your membership as memberships are an important part of our income. There are 5 different levels of membership:

$5.00 student; $15 Individual; $25 Family; $50 Sponsor; $100 Patron; $500 Benefactor. Some members choose to donate a fixed amount every month. Thanks to everyone for your financial support. Watch us grow!!

RABAS Wish List

Wish List Items include:

Land

Gift certificates to either the Courier Press or WPRE Radio Station to pay for ads for upcoming fund raisers

postage stamps, paper, envelopes, labels, napkins, paper towels, hand sanitizer, ketchup, mustard. Contact Bev at 326-2914 or reply to this email if you have any kitchen or paper supplies. If you have information on land, please contact Randy at 262-388-2654 or Bev at the above number.

Donations

Joe Hunzeker - $5.00

Kussmaul Family (Jill’s Family) $100.00

Bob Welsh -$20.00

All donations are recognized in the Shelter Shorts and a thank you note is written.

Current and New Members (Recent renewals and new members are shown in bold type).

Georgia Hutchinson $15 Single Membership – Renewal

Marilu Bintz $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal

Sharon Boylen $15 Single Membership - Renewal

Joe Hunzeker $15 Single Membership – New

Marilyn Crubaugh $15 Single Membership - New

John and Judy Ryan $25 Family Membership – Renewal

Marty Leeman $15 Single Membership – Renewal

Gary and Kathy Koch $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal

Julie & Mollee Whyte $20 Single and Student Membership - Renewal

June Burns $15 Single Membership - Renewal

Janet Lueck $15 Single Membership – Renewal

Paula Gutzmer $15 Single Membership – Renewal

Jane Howe $15 Single Membership – Renewal

Randi Kluesner $25 Family Membership – Renewal

Donna Heilmann $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal

Bonnie Olson $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal

Linda Munson $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal

Donna and Dale Cipra $25 Family Membership – Renewal

Jennifer Clements $25 Family Membership – Renewal

Deb Cross $25 Family Membership – Renewal

Kim Pinkham $15 Single Membership – Renewal

Vicki Mueller $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal

Lynn Moris $15 Single Membership – Renewal

Chris Panka $100 Patron Membership – Renewal

Randy and Linda Bedward $25 Family Membership - Renewal

Sue Rider $15 Single Membership

Peggy Johnson $25 Family Membership

Mary Long $50 Sponsor Membership

Kelly Fishler $15 Family Membership

Lu DeGuzman $100 Patron Membership

Bev Pozega $15 Single Membership

Francis and Laura Nix $100 Patron Membership

Phil and Deb Dwornik $50 Sponsor Membership

LaMarr Kappmeyer $15 Single Membership -

George and Mary Tilley $25 Family Membership

Marjie and Tom Bennett $25 Family Membership

Jan Bernhard $25 Family Membership-

Mike, Shelly and Kaitlin Rider $25 Family Membership

Allison Roberts and Angelica Dayrit $25 Family Membership

Ron Stark $100 Patron Membership

Betty and Eric Frydenlund $25 Family Membership

Mike & Mary Jane Faas $25 Family Membership

Kristin Helgerson Kriegal $15 Single Membership

Randy and Kathy Paske $25 Family Membership

Janice Hein $15 Single Membership

Mr. and Mrs. Jim Powers $25 Family Membership

Shirley Wegmuller $15 Single Membership

Jami & Ken Quick $25 Family Membership

Brian & Jill Cipra $25 Family Membership

Olive Burmeister $50 Sponsor – new

Donna Hamm $15 - Single Membership

Sarah Bartash & Don $25 - Family Membership

Rosemary Reese $15 Single Membership –

Candace Miller $15 Single Membership

Debbie Mason $25 Family Membership

Joe and Susan Van Metre $25 Family Membership

Lisa Parello $15 Family Membership

Alexis Burns Honorary Membership

Ray Wrobel $15 Individual Membership

Reminder: Annual memberships should be renewed 1 year from the month in which you joined.

Continued Monthly Pledges

June Burns $15 Monthly Pledge

Don and Eileen Klatt $25 Monthly Pledge

Sandy Kittle $10 Monthly Pledge

(Paid $50 at April meeting for 5 months) September, October, November, December and January 2012, 2011

Thanks to everyone who volunteered this month in any way. Thanks to everyone who supported us through donations, and memberships. There are many jobs that continue to get done without recognition. Membership and volunteer listings are current through June 16, 2011. If I missed your name, I apologize. Please let me know and I will include it next month.

River and Bluffs Animal Shelter Membership Form

Student - $5.00 ____ Sponsor - $50.00 _____

Individual - $15.00 ____ Patron - $100.00 _____

Family - $25.00 ____ Benefactor - $500.00

I would like to make a monthly pledge of : ________ per month for a total of

$_______ per year.

Name:___________________________________

Address:_________________________________

City/State/Zip_____________________________

Email:____________________________________ Phone Number:______________________

Please mail membership form to: River and Bluffs Animal Shelter

PO Box 421, Prairie du Chien, WI 53821

May, 2011

2011-06-01T06:46:00.010-05:00

A Change in Leadership for RABAS – Due to the needs and concerns of her young and active family as well as the ownership of her vet clinic, Jami recently decided to step down as president of RABAS. She also gave up her position on the board of directors.

Four years ago this July, Jami invited members of the community to meet at the picnic shelter at Fort Fun to talk about organizing an animal shelter for the area. That meeting was not as well attended as she had hoped, with only members of her staff and me present.

Originally named Faith’s Friends (in honor of an unwanted cat Tender Care took in and gave a forever home to) the organization struggled with obtaining nonprofit status and gaining new members. At the suggestion of our lawyer, we changed the name to Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter.

Under Jami’s strong and steady leadership, our volunteers and donors grew and soon Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter became a force to be reckoned with in regard to fund raisers, community events and finding homes for unwanted pets, even without a shelter. What started out as a small meeting with less than a dozen people present has blossomed into a strong organization with more than 50 paid members as well as numerous volunteers who are committed to the dream of an animal shelter for Crawford, Grant and Clayton Counties.

Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter is the great organization we are today because of Jami Quick and her dream for a better future for unwanted pets. Thank you, Jami, for stepping up that evening at Fort Fun. RABAS will always be grateful for your courage and dedication. We will miss your leadership, but we also understand the time and energy it took to be involved in this organization as well as the commitment to your family and business.

We will continue to work towards the dream Jami started, realizing even more that our task is not easy and that we have many more fund raisers ahead of us before this dream becomes reality. Jami, we hope that you will continue to be as involved in RABAS as your time allows.

Jami’s resignation left a huge void as president.

Randy Paske was nominated to fill the office of President of Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter. He accepted the nomination and was unanimously voted in as president at the May Board Meeting.

Peggy Johnson and Donna Heilmann were nominated as board members at the May meeting. Both accepted the nomination. The board had a tough decision to make as both Peggy and Donna are active members of RABAS. Donna was elected to fill the board vacancy. Welcome Donna and thank you to Peggy for accepting the nomination.

Fundraising Update
Phoneraisers
Please continue to save your old cell phones and ink jet cartridges. Drop them off at Tender Care Animal Hospital, or bring them to the monthly meeting. Peggy Johnson has been taking care of collecting the phones and shipping them. Thanks, Peggy

Tee Shirts

We have 4 colors in 3 sizes to pick from – sand, light blue, yellow and pink in medium, large and XL. The RABAS logo will be on the front in color. For an additional $15, individualized pictures or text can be added to the back. Shirts will sell for $14 each with an additional $5 for the personalized pictures or text on the back being donated to RABAS from McGregorville Mall. Tee shirt purchasers will take their shirts to McGregorville Mall for the personalization on the back. If you would like to purchase a tee shirt, please contact Bev and she will bring one for you to the next meeting or make arrangements to get one to you. We also have a number of the original style tee shirts that were purchased at Sports World. These also sell for $14.

Dog Obedience Classes

Dog classes may start in June

USBones

Please continue ordering cat and dog treats from USBones.com. They donate 25% of each order placed to RABAS.

Dr. Donna Higgins’ Wildlife Photo Gallery

The prints can be viewed on line at our website (www.riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org) or at her office.

Cruisin’ Fur Critters Poker Run is close to becoming a reality. Bev and Julie are co-chairing this event, which we hope will be one of our best fund raisers. Randy P and Jill are pitching in with suggestions, poster design, maps and website information. Cruisin’ Fur Critters will be held on Saturday, June 25. Randy P has designed a very attractive logo for this event, featuring a dog and a cat driving a motorcycle side by side, with a paw of each animal on one of the handlebars.

The Poker Run will start at Prairie Motor Sports near Culver’s. Prairie Motor Sports will be the registration location and they will donate a motorcycle helmet which will be used as 4th prize.

The poker run will head west across the Mighty Mississippi River and then north to Waukon, Iowa. The 1st validation stop will be Waukon Power Sports/Waukon Harley Davidson. Participants can stop at either motorcycle store for their card to be validated. Both businesses will provide employees to stamp the cards so our volunteers will not have to be there.

I submitted a request for funds from Waukon Harley Davidson. They will donate a $100 gift card which is good at either Waukon Store – Waukon Harley Davidson or Waukon Power Sports. It will be used as the 2nd place prize.

The 2nd validation stop will be The Wooden Nickel in Ferryville. Halver’s Town Tap in Gays Mills will be the 3rd stop and Carol’s Bar in Wauzeka will be the 4th validation point.

The last stop will be The Depot. I have commitments for $25 from The Wooden Nickel, Carol’s Bar and Halver’s Town Tap.

Julie and I sent out letters to local businesses whom we felt would benefit from the poker run, such as gas stations, restaurants and taverns. To date, we have received $25 from 7 of them – Krachey’s BP South, Huckleberry’s Restaurant, Ziel’s Old Faithful Inn, Marquette Café and Bar, The Other Place in Lansing, Milty’s in Lansing and Ken’s Barber Shop. Crawford County Motorcycles also told me that they would give us $25.

We will provide free brats and hamburgers (left over from Country on the River) to poker run participants at the final destination. Posters, designed by Randy P have been printed free of charge by Preferred Distributing. They printed 60 and most of those have been posted in Lansing, Ferryville, Lynxville, Gays Mills, Dubuque, Waukon, Freeport, Illinois, Rockford, Illinois, Beloit, Wausau, Kieler, Sauk City, Bagley area, LaCrosse, Richland Center and a few in Prairie du Chien.

Randy has requested another 25-35 posters as we need some for Wauzeka, The Rockton Bar, and Prairie du Chien. Howe Printing will donate 200 glossy print route maps/validation cards. In return, if John Howe would like to ride in the poker run, he can do so free of charge.

The event is already listed on a number of motorcycle touring websites and the link to the poker run information is on our website. Julie suggested banners advertising the poker run placed along the highways leading into PdC. Jill contacted Jaaren Riebe who works for a distributing company. His company will donate 3 large banners.

Jill also contacted the city for permission to place these along the highways. Hopefully, these will be up by the end of this week. Each paid participant will receive a can coozie with RABAS logo on. We decided to just use our regular logo instead of the Cruizin’ Fur Critters logo as the design was simpler and if we have any left, we can sell these at upcoming fund raisers.

DJ Gabe Buch will provide entertainment at The Depot from 1-4 for sure and possibly until 5. Cost of the dj is $200. I did not feel as if I could ask him to donate his services as he provided the music for Princess for the Evening free of charge.

Hopefully, Mark Fulcher from The Depot will help pay for the dj for Cruisin’ Fur Critters. My husband and I spent a few hours on Saturday, May 21 delivering posters to cities along the poker run route. When we got to Lansing, I could not believe the number of motorcycles in town on a rainy day.

When I went into The Other Place to hang the poster, I noticed there was a poster for a poker run that day for Toys for Tots. We stopped at The Wooden Nickel for lunch and to hang a poster. I was hoping to talk to Jerry from the Wooden Nickel, as he sponsors two poker runs a year, one in the spring and one in the fall. It just so happened that his poker run was also on Saturday. For the Wooden Nickel’s poker run, all the bikers leave at the same time. They had left at 11 a.m. So even on a rainy day, there were a lot of motorcycles on the roads for both of these poker runs. I asked them to post our poster right away so when the bikers came back in at the end of the ride, they would see it.

I feel that most of the legwork is done for the poker run. We still need posters hung in Prairie du Chien, McGregor and Marquette and locations in Wauzeka. I would have done these in our travels on Saturday, but I went through my 16 posters as well as Linda B’s 8 posters before we got to those locations.

Randy has listed the poker run on Channel 9 Calendar of Events. Allison will post one at the Prairie Street Farmers’ Market and also at Captain’s in Eastman. Jill’s Biker Friend obtained 3 tee shirts from Sauk City Harley Davidson and he donated an additional 2 from Sauk City Harley Davidson. We will spend more on advertising for this event than for others. If you have any questions or comments on the poker run, please contact me.

Kemble’s Greenhouse Open House was held on April 30 and May 1. We sold brats and hot dogs in addition to a very nice selection of baked goods. Thanks to everyone who baked for this event. April 30 and May 1 were not the best days for an open house at a green house. It was cold, windy and rainy and there was not a lot of traffic. I believe we made about $400 in the two days, but am not positive on that amount.

Mother’s Day Bake Sale and Food Stand at True Value was held the next Friday and Saturday, May 6th and 7th. Again, thanks to everyone who helped with this fund raiser in any way. Friday was quite slow with the exception of a rush at noon. Thanks to Peggy who stopped in over the noon hour to grab a brat for lunch and ended helping Brian and I. Saturday we moved the food tent a bit closer to the greenhouse and that seemed to help. Saturday seemed considerably busier than Friday. Total profit at True Value for both days was $675.

Hot Topics

Pounds Off People and Pooches (POPPS)...

... started Tuesday, May 24. The community dog walk is held on Tuesday evenings at 6 p.m. and we meet just east of the Villa Louis and north of the Sculpture Park. Remember to bring “poop” bags and water for your dog. Everyone is welcome, whether you have a dog or not. I usually have an extra dog someone can “borrow for the walk”.

Therapy Dogs
Therapy Dogs International teams remain active in the community. On Tuesdays Kathy and Digger are at Bluff Haven, Deb and Jasmine go to Walter Schmitt Home and Paula and Maggie visit Bluff Haven. Scheduling conflicts have made it difficult to visit Wyalusing Academy in May. In June, Deb and her dogs and Bev and her dogs will visit a group of physically and mentally challenged campers at Wyalusing State Park.

RABAS Fund Raising Gauge – Linda Bedward suggested we place a gauge of the amount we estimate we need and how much we have to date similar to the United Way “thermometer” which is located at the intersection of Marquette and Blackhawk. A design of a dog chasing a cat up a tree was suggested as the design. The tree would be used as the gauge to show how much we have and how much we need to raise. Julie volunteered to have information on a sign by the June meeting.

Volunteer hours – Please keep track of your volunteer hours each month and get them to Jill. Volunteer hours can include any of the following and probably some things that are not mentioned: meetings, baking, working at fund raisers, hanging posters, phone calls and all the things it takes to make this organization as great as it is.

Future Fund Raisers Update – At the May Board Meeting, the Board discussed the number of fund raisers. The general feeling is that we need to eliminate some of the smaller ones as many of our members and volunteers are getting burned out. The fund raisers that we will continue with are as follows:
Tractor Supply – Valentine Bake Sale – Saturday only
March – Pizza Hut Guest Server Night
April – Pasta for Pets, Princess for the Evening, Kembles – Saturday only
May – True Value – Friday and Saturday (if both days are available) – Mother’s Day Weekend
June – Cruzin’ Fur Pets (assuming we decide to do this one again, based on this year’s turnout)
July – possibly another Pasta For Pets and/or Prairie Fest. Both of these will be discussed at the June meeting. We had talked at the April meeting about trying Pasta For Pets again this summer as the turnout for the one we had earlier this year was not well attended due to the fact that there was a similar event held at Jones’ Black Angus for a Little League Baseball Team.
August – Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle
October – McGregor Fall Festival Arts and Craft Show – Bev and Donna will co-chair this event. We may try an assortment of crafted items from our talented volunteers as well as the bake sale, cheese curds, and Rural Route 1 Popcorn. Kathy P mentioned the fact that this is a juried craft show, so any items that we would like to sell will have to be approved prior. So, if you have any crafted item that you would like to donate, please let Donna or me know and if you can, email a picture. Deb Cross makes quilted crayon bags that we are hoping to sell, Kathy P may make a type of mini wall hanging. Deb also has a beautiful hand
made plant stand made and donated by a friend of hers that we could possibly sell at the craft fair. Kathy P’s mom and Deb’s friend also make crocheted and knitted dish cloths that are big sellers at the craft fair. We should have a picture and list of these items by early September.
November – Strikes for Strays – Julie and Allison will take charge of this event. I believe the date has been set for the 1st Saturday in November
December – Wake Up Santa – 1st Saturday in December; Santa Visits – Randy P will set this up as he did this past year; Tractor Supply Gift Wrapping and Bake Sale
The Board decided to not hold the dog wash this year. Profit was only a couple of hundred dollars, and some members felt it was a bit risky dealing with dogs that did not want to be washed and also handling dogs that were literally covered with fleas. We truly appreciate the support from Tractor Supply, and still look forward to the February Valentine Bake Sale and the December Gift Wrapping and Bake Sale. Also, as mentioned above, some of the usual 2 day bakesales/foodstands will only be one day. The Board also decided to not do the Home and Garden Show unless the format somehow changes to target more businesses and traffic.
The Board is trying to do away with some of the smaller bake sales/food stands in the hopes that our annual community events will become more profitable as they become better known. Currently, our bake sales and food stands are our “bread and butter” and we realize that we cannot do without them.

Bev suggested a catfish fillet fry and Julie suggested she contact the bowling alley for a location. She said another group held one at the bowling alley a few weeks ago and they made over $1000.00. Bev will look into this possibility for September..
Another thing that the Board discussed was not asking the same businesses over and over for donations. It was decided that for the dog swim and Strikes for Strays, we will not solicit any businesses. We will use items that we have left over from other events for the silent auctions. We will also ask members to donate items that they make or purchase.

Linda Bedward has offered to address, stamp and put return address labels on envelopes for Shelter Shorts. This offer is gratefully accepted as it does take a considerable amount of time each month to mail out approximately 40 envelopes to those members and volunteers who do not have email.

Monty

Dunkel

Deanna Franzen, a volunteer for CASA (Crawford Area Shelter for Animals) could certainly use our help in fostering or finding forever homes for a number of animals. CASA is overwhelmed with dogs and cats in need of foster or permanent homes. Effective in June, the regulations regarding the number of animals a shelter can keep will change. CASA is facing some serious decisions regarding the pets in their foster care. If you can help CASA out, please contact Deanna at casarescue@yahoo.com or dkf@mwt.net if you can help out. Randy P is going to work on communication between CASA, Tender Care Animal Hospital and SW Vet regarding animals in need of rescues or forever homes. For pictures of CASA’s pets in need of fostering or forever homes, please visit www.petfinder.com. I was hoping to have these pictures as an attachment in this newsletter, but after a considerable amount of time, I was not able to figure out how to do it. But if anyone can help CASA out, please contact Deanna. CASA is doing something that RABAS is not able to do at this time – they are fostering unwanted pets and finding homes for them. RABAS is doing something that CASA cannot do at this time – raising money for an animal shelter. Each organization is busy with their own function – that is raising money and fostering.

Treasurer’s Report - Treasurer Jill Cipra reports that RABAS now has approximately $81,000 including $14,483.07 in our checking account and $66,748.36 in 4 different CDs. Basically, once we have an excess of $10,000 in the checking account, that amount is then deposited into a new or an existing CD.
Membership Renewals - Memberships are good for one year from the month the member joined. Jill will send out renewal applications to those whose membership has expired. Please consider renewing your membership as memberships are an important part of our income. There are 5 different levels of membership:
$5.00 student; $15 Individual; $25 Family; $50 Sponsor; $100 Patron; $500 Benefactor. Some members choose to donate a fixed amount every month. Thanks to everyone for your financial support. Watch us grow!!

RABAS Wish List
Wish List Items include:
Land
Gift certificates to either the Courier Press or WPRE Radio Station to pay for ads for upcoming fund raisers
postage stamps, paper, envelopes, labels, napkins, paper towels, hand sanitizer, ketchup, mustard. Contact Bev at 326-2914 or reply to this email if you have any kitchen or paper supplies. If you have information on land, please contact Randy at 262-388-2654 or Bev at the above number.
John and Judy Ryan $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Marty Leeman $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Gary and Kathy Koch $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Julie & Mollee Whyte $20 Single and Student Membership - Renewal
June Burns $15 Single Membership - Renewal
Janet Lueck $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Paula Gutzmer $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Jane Howe $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Randi Kluesner $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Donna Heilmann $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Bonnie Olson $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Linda Munson $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Donna and Dale Cipra $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Jennifer Clements $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Deb Cross $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Kim Pinkham $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Vicki Mueller $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Lynn Moris $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Chris Panka $100 Patron Membership – Renewal
Randy and Linda Bedward $25 Family Membership - Renewal
Sue Rider $15 Single Membership
Peggy Johnson $25 Family Membership
Mary Long $50 Sponsor Membership
Kelly Fishler $15 Family Membership
Lu DeGuzman $100 Patron Membership
Bev Pozega $15 Single Membership
Francis and Laura Nix $100 Patron Membership
Phil and Deb Dwornik $50 Sponsor Membership
LaMarr Kappmeyer $15 Single Membership -
George and Mary Tilley $25 Family Membership
Marjie and Tom Bennett $25 Family Membership
Jan Bernhard $25 Family Membership-
Mike, Shelly and Kaitlin Rider $25 Family Membership
Allison Roberts and Angelica Dayrit $25 Family Membership
Ron Stark $100 Patron Membership
Betty and Eric Frydenlund $25 Family Membership
Mike & Mary Jane Faas $25 Family Membership
Kristin Helgerson Kriegal $15 Single Membership
Randy and Kathy Paske $25 Family Membership
Janice Hein $15 Single Membership
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Powers $25 Family Membership
Georgia Hutchinson $15 Single Membership
Shirley Wegmuller $15 Single Membership
Jami & Ken Quick $25 Family Membership
Brian & Jill Cipra $25 Family Membership
Sharon Boylen - $15 Single Membership
Olive Burmeister $50 Sponsor – new
Marilu Bintz $50 Sponsor - new
Donna Hamm $15 - Single Membership
Saraa Bartash & Don $25 - Family Membership
Rosemary Reese $15 Single Membership –
Jeff Lenhart $15 Single Membership
Tractor Supply $25 Family Membership
Hillary Bark $5 Student Membership
Candace Miller $15 Single Membership
Debbie Mason $25 Family Membership
Joe and Susan Van Metre $25 Family Membership
Lisa Parello $15 Family Membership
Alexis Burns Honorary Membership
Ray Wrobel $15 Individual Membership
Reminder: Annual memberships should be renewed 1 year from the month in which you joined.
June Burns $15 Monthly Pledge
Don and Eileen Klatt $25 Monthly Pledge
Sandy Kittle $10 Monthly Pledge

March and April 2011

2011-04-29T07:06:00.003-05:00

Tee Shirts
We have 4 colors in 3 sizes to pick from – sand, light blue, yellow and pink in medium, large and XL. The RABAS logo will be on the front in color. For an additional $15, individualized pictures or text can be added to the back. Shirts will sell for $14 each with an additional $5 for the personalized pictures or text on the back being donated to RABAS from McGregorville Mall. Tee shirt purchasers will take their shirts to McGregorville Mall for the personalization on the back. If you would like to purchase a tee shirt, please contact Bev and she will bring one for you to the next meeting or make arrangements to get one to you. We also have a number of the original style tee shirts that were purchased at Sports World. These also sell for $14.

Dog Obedience Classes
Dog classes may start in June

.
USBones
Please continue ordering cat and dog treats from USBones.com. They donate 25% of each order placed to RABAS. Randy Paske contacted them and they donated 150 gift packs to RABAS. Randy printed stickers with RABAS information on and attached them to the gift packs. We gave them away at the PdC Chamber of Commerce Home and Garden Show in April.

Dr. Donna Higgins’ Wildlife Photo Gallery
Dr. Donna Higgins continues to support RABAS through her beautiful wildlife prints on display at her office downtown PdC. The framed and matted prints, sell for $85, of which Donna donates $50 to RABAS. If you are looking for an attractive addition to your home or office, or a unique gift idea, please consider a print from Donna Higgins. Donna’s wildlife prints range from humming birds to bald eagles, deer, egrets and pelicans.
The prints can be viewed on line at our website (www.riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org) or at her office.

Strikes for Strays bowling fund raiser was canceled due to lack of interest. On Friday, March 11, there were only 2 teams signed up. In retrospect, we feel that the date we picked for this was not the best. It was the same date as the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and was also sandwiched in between two other bowling fund raisers for the skate park. We will try it again in November. Many of the silent auction items that we had for this event were used at Pasta for Pets.

Princess for the Evening –

Princess for the Evening was held on Saturday, March 19 at Huckleberry’s Banquet Hall. Ma’s Bakery donated a beautiful Princess cake, Eunice’s Liquor and Cheese donated a large cheese and sausage tray and QB donated cheese and sausage. Bloomington Floral donated fresh carnations for the event. Again, the room was decorated with 200 pastel pink and lavender balloons, floating from the ceiling with helium donated by Airgas. We had the same number of participants that we had for Princess 2010 (20 tickets sold). We were hoping that this number would double this year. But again, date selection played a part in attendance. Both River Ridge and PdC Girls Basketball teams went to state this year on the weekend that Princess was held. Coordinating the hall, dj, and photographer is no easy feat and that was the date that worked for everyone. Hopefully, we can avoid high school basketball tournaments next year. Even though the event was not as well attended as we had hoped, it was still a very special evening for those present – the girls and their dates and those of us who volunteered. Watching the “couples” celebrate the special relationship between a young girl and her father, grandfather or father figure is something that will not soon be forgotten. Gabe Buch donated his time as a dj, and once again Kembles supplied the silk corsages. Winners of the Country Inn and Suite gift certificate were the Scott Kennedy family. I believe the profit for Princess was about $311.

Cruisin’ Fur Critters Poker Run...

...is close to becoming a reality. Bev and Julie are co-chairing this event, which we hope will be one of our best fund raisers. Randy P and Jill are pitching in with suggestions, poster design, maps and website information.
Cruisin’ Fur Critters will be held on Saturday, June 25. Randy P has designed a very attractive logo for this event, featuring a dog and a cat driving a motorcycle side by side, with a paw of each animal on one of the handlebars.
The name was originally going to be changed by Julie and Bev to reflect the scenic area, but Randy P. came up with Cruisin’ Fur Critters and it just seemed to fit. So the name was changed from Pet Poker Run to Cruisin’ Fur Pets.
The Poker Run will start at Prairie Motor Sports near Culver’s. Prairie Motor Sports will be the registration location and they will donate a motorcycle helmet which will be used as 3rd prize.
The poker run (interactive map)will head west across the Mighty Mississippi River and then north to Waukon, Iowa. The 1st validation stop will be Waukon Power Sports/Waukon Harley Davidson. Participants can stop at either motorcycle store for their card to be validated. Both businesses will provide employees to stamp the cards so our volunteers will not have to be there. I submitted a request for funds from Waukon Harley Davidson. I am hoping that they will donate $100 which would be used as the 1st place prize.
The 2nd validation stop will be The Wooden Nickel in Ferryville. Halver’s Town Tap in Gays Mills will be the 3rd stop and Carol’s Bar in Wauzeka will be the 4th validation point.
Hopefully, the ride will end at The Depot. I called Mark Fulcher today. Mark is the owner of The Depot. Mark works nights for the PdC Police Dept. so he sleeps during the day. The Depot reopened on Wednesday, April 27. I am waiting for Mark to let me know if The Depot is booked for June 25th. If it is, I will contact either The Winnishiek or The Sawmill.
I have commitments for $25 from The Wooden Nickel, Carol’s Bar and Halver’s Town Tap. Julie and I sent out letters to local businesses whom we felt would benefit from the poker run, such as gas stations, restaurants and taverns. To date, we have received $25 from 3 of them – Krachey’s BP South, Huckleberry’s Restaurant and Ziel’s Old Faithful Inn. We sent out approximately between 50 – 60 letters.
We will provide free brats to poker run participants at the final destination. Randy P has posters and route maps/validation cards just about ready for printing.
We are waiting for Waukon Power Sports and The Depot to get back to us as far as prize money and final card stop. Once we have our answers from those two businesses we will proceed with printing of large posters which will be distributed to all motorcycle shops within and a 1-2 hour radius of PdC. Ken will check with Preferred Distributing about printing the posters. (See Flyer)
The event is already listed on a number of motorcycle touring websites and the link to the poker run information on the website is ready to go once we hear from Waukon HD and The Depot. Cost of the poker run will be $25 for each participant in the poker run. We are also hoping to give away some type of small token to participants – at this point we are pricing motorcycle kickstand coasters and can coozies. Each would have the poker run logo on. We will probably go with whichever is cheaper for this year and if we hold this event again next year, we could use the other item.

Pizza Hut Guest Server Night – was held on Tuesday, April 5. Guest servers were Ken and Jami Quick, Peggy Johnson and Bev Pozega. Mollee Whyte was responsible for keeping the breadsticks going. We made about $425 in tips and Pizza Hut will match that. So in 3 easy, fun-filled hours we made $850. This is by far the easiest fund raiser that we do. Thanks to all of you who supported us by coming to Pizza Hut on April 5.

Pasta for Pets – Our 3rd Annual Pasta for Pets was held at Huckleberry’s on Wednesday, March 23. This is another fund raiser that did not require too much effort on our part. Thanks to Bird Skemp for offering Huckleberry’s once again and for Bird’s hard work that evening. Once again, the timing of this event played a part in a lower attendance than in previous years. Jones Black Angus also hosted an Italian Night to benefit a local little league team. We served 70 people this year, compared to 170 last year. We had a silent auction and used many of the items that we had collected for Strikes for Strays. Thanks to everyone who provided desserts for Pasta for Pets, volunteered that night, or had dinner there with your friends and family. We made approximately $886 that night, with $209 from meal tickets, $102 from donations, and $575 from the silent auction.

Prairie du Chien Chamber of Commerce Home and Garden Show Food Stand...

...was held on Saturday and Sunday, April 9 and 10. The Home and Garden Show was not as well attended as in the past, thus we did not do as well this year as we have done before. We made $440 at this event. Thanks to everyone who baked for this, worked at the food stand or helped in anyway.

Kemble’s Greenhouse Open House – April 30 and May 1.
We will have a brat and hot dog stand and bake sale at Kemble’s Greenhouse this Saturday and Sunday, April 30 and May 1. Thanks to everyone who replied my plea for help by offering to bake or to help. I believe we have enough bakers and enough help. If you contacted me and told me you would bake or help, please do so. The response to both Kembles and True Value was overwhelming and greatly appreciated.

Mother’s Day Bake Sale and Food Stand at True Value...

...will be held next Friday and Saturday, May 6th and 7th. Again, thanks to everyone who responded to my email. The focus on this bake sale will be pies, but if you are not a pie baker, we are happy to take anything you want to bake. Please have your baked goods priced and ready to sell. We discovered at the Home and Garden Show that 6 or 8 bars, brownies, etc. placed on paper plates and covered with saran wrap or placed in a large plastic Ziploc bag sell better than 2 items in a baggie. I think we will have enough people to help with set up and throughout the day, but if you are free and wanted to stop by and see if we need help because we will be overwhelmed with customers, know that we will never turn down any offers to help. Baked good can be dropped off at 9 a.m. on Saturday at our stand. We will start at 9 a.m. and close at 2 p.m.

Hot Topics
Pounds Off People and Pooches (POPPS)...
...will start as soon as the Mississippi River drops enough to permit walking on the bike trail. Watch the website – www.riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org for details on when we will start walking this spring. The community dog walk is held on Tuesday evenings at 6 p.m. and we meet just east of the Villa Louis and north of the Sculpture Park. Remember to bring “poop” bags and water for your dog.

Dog Rescues –
RABAS continues to make a difference in the lives of pets, even though we do not have a building. Jami and Ken recently rescued and adopted a small dog who was in dire need of a new home. Liberty, their lab has accepted this new addition to the family. We also helped find a home for a Morkie puppy whose original owner realized the young puppy was “too much” for her. There were actually 4 people who would have given “Daisy” a good home. Keep up the good work. RABAS rocks.

Property and Building Committee and Board of Directors Meeting...
...will meet on the 2nd Thursday of each month. Property and Building Committee will meet at 6 p.m. and Board of Directors will follow at 7 p.m. The next meeting will be held on Thursday, May 12.

Honor Cards are currently tabled for a while.
Please take the time to check out our website – riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org. Information on it changes sometimes daily. This website is awesome!!! Thanks, Randy for constantly updating our website.

Therapy Dogs
Therapy Dogs International teams remain active in the community. On Tuesdays Kathy and Digger are at Bluff Haven, Deb and Jasmine go to Walter Schmitt Home and Paula and Maggie visit Bluff Haven.
Deb Cross and her goldens Jasmine and Sami and my dogs Vegas and Nicki and I finished up the Vertical Reading Program on Monday, April 18. We had a “Dog Fun Hour”. The kids got to hang out with the dogs, Bev and Vegas jumped rope, Nicki performed an obedience demo and Bev read a dog story that no one listened to. Deb and I feel that this program was beneficial to the kids.

Deb took a picture of all 4 dogs (no easy feat) and each child in our program got a picture of the dogs they read to as well as coupons from Culvers, Hardees and McDonalds.
Twice a month, Deb and I and our dogs visit Wyalusing Academy. We had been visiting with 3 or 4 girls, just spending time with them and letting them interact with our dogs. We were asked to provide therapy dogs at Wyalusing Academy because one girl’s suggested treatment involved therapy dogs. This week we started with a group of 5 boys. We did get to spend about 20 minutes with the girl whose treatment involved therapy dogs. She told us tonight that tomorrow she would be leaving Wyalusing Academy for a foster home. It was a bittersweet moment for Deb and me and the girl. She truly left an impression on both Deb and me. She is as “dog crazy” as we are. She is very knowledgeable about dogs and her foster home has two small dogs. I did give her my email as well as RABAS website, so I hope that she will contact me and we will stay in touch.

Spending time at Wyalusing Academy is very enjoyable for the dogs, the residents and Deb and me. Sami fetches a tennis ball non-stop and the boys enjoyed hiding her tennis ball and watching her find it. Vegas has a big ball that she will bounce back to whoever throws it to her. Nicki and Jas are content to just find someone willing to pet them. We are hoping at some point in the near future to be able to get a few foster dogs to stay at the Academy. Residents would learn proper pet care and would train the dogs to make them more adoptable. This would be a win win situation for both the residents and the dogs.
Kelly Fishler and her cat Romeo have been visiting Prairie Mason/Bluff Haven on a regular basis. Their visits are also enjoyed by the residents.

Volunteer hours...
– Please keep track of your volunteer hours each month and get them to Jill. Volunteer hours can include any of the following and probably some things that are not mentioned: meetings, baking, working at fund raisers, hanging posters, phone calls and all the things it takes to make this organization as great as it is.

Membership Renewals
- Memberships are good for one year from the month the member joined. Jill will send out renewal applications to those whose membership has expired. Please consider renewing your membership as memberships are an important part of our income. There are 5 different levels of membership:
$5.00 student; $15 Individual;   $25 Family; $50 Sponsor; $100 Patron; $500 Benefactor. Some members choose to donate a fixed amount every month. Thanks to everyone for your financial support. Watch us grow!!

RABAS Wish List
Wish List Items include:
Land
Gift certificates to either the Courier Press or WPRE Radio Station to pay for ads for upcoming fund raisers
postage stamps, paper, envelopes, labels, napkins, paper towels, hand sanitizer, ketchup, mustard. Contact Bev at 326-2914 or reply to this email if you have any kitchen or paper supplies. If you have information on land, please contact Jami at 412-0052 or Bev at the above number.

Donations
Dave & Joan Skemp - $25
Irma Koonce - $25
Bonnie Olson - $10
Kembles Donation Jar - $26
Kathy Paske - $20
Ray Wrobel - $5
Sherry Cavanaugh - $10 Donation in appreciation for finding a home for her puppy
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church Girl Power - $65.50
3 little girl’s bake sale at school - $21.26
All donations are recognized in the Shelter Shorts and a thank you note is written.

Current and New Members (Recent renewals and new members are shown in bold type).(Online membership link)
June Burns       $15 Single Membership - Renewal
Janet Lueck       $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Paula Gutzmer       $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Jane Howe       $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Randi Kluesner       $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Donna Heilmann       $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Bonnie Olson       $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Linda Munson       $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Donna and Dale Cipra       $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Jennifer Clements        $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Deb Cross       $25 Family Membership – Renewal
Kim Pinkham       $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Vicki Mueller       $50 Sponsor Membership – Renewal
Lynn Moris       $15 Single Membership – Renewal
Chris Panka       $100 Patron Membership – Renewal
Randy and Linda Bedward       $25 Family Membership - Renewal
Sue Rider       $15 Single Membership
Peggy Johnson       $25 Family Membership
Mary Long        $50 Sponsor Membership
Kelly Fishler       $15 Family Membership
Lu DeGuzman       $100 Patron Membership
Bev Pozega       $15 Single Membership
Francis and Laura Nix       $100 Patron Membership
Phil and Deb Dwornik       $50 Sponsor Membership
LaMarr Kappmeyer       $15 Single Membership -
George and Mary Tilley       $25 Family Membership
Marjie and Tom Bennett       $25 Family Membership
Jan Bernhard       $25 Family Membership-
Mike, Shelly and Kaitlin Rider       $25 Family Membership
Allison Roberts and Angelica Dayrit    $25 Family Membership
Ron Stark       $100 Patron Membership
Betty and Eric Frydenlund       $25 Family Membership
Mike & Mary Jane Faas       $25 Family Membership
Kristin Helgerson Kriegal       $15 Single Membership
Randy and Kathy Paske       $25 Family Membership
Janice Hein        $15 Single Membership
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Powers       $25 Family Membership
Georgia Hutchinson       $15 Single Membership
Shirley Wegmuller        $15 Single Membership
Jami & Ken Quick       $25 Family Membership
Marty Leeman       $15 Single Membership
Brian & Jill Cipra       $25 Family Membership
Sharon Boylen -       $15 Single Membership
Julie and Mollee White       $15 Single Membership; $5 Student Membership
Olive Burmeister       $50 Sponsor – new
Marilu Bintz       $50 Sponsor - new
John & Judy Ryan       $25 Family Membership
Gary & Kathy Koch        $50 Sponsor Membership
Donna Hamm        $15 - Single Membership
Sarah Bartash & Don       $25 - Family Membership
Rosemary Reese       $15 Single Membership –
Jeff Lenhart       $15 Single Membership
Tractor Supply       $25 Family Membership
Hillary Bark        $5 Student Membership
Candace Miller       $15 Single Membership
Debbie Mason       $25 Family Membership
Joe and Susan Van Metre       $25 Family Membership
Lisa Parello       $15 Family Membership
Alexis Burns       Honorary Membership
Ray Wrobel       $15 Individual Membership
Reminder: Annual memberships should be renewed 1 year from the month in which you joined.
Continued Monthly Pledges
Don and Eileen Klatt       $25 Monthly Pledge
Sandy Kittle        $10 Monthly Pledge
   (Paid $50 at January meeting for 5 months) April, May, June, July and August, 2011

Thanks to everyone who volunteered this month in any way. Thanks to everyone who supported us through donations, and memberships. There are many jobs that continue to get done without recognition. Membership and volunteer listings are current through April 21, 2011. There are some significant donations that are not listed on this report, because they were not received by Treasurer Jill until the April meeting. If I missed your name, I apologize. Please let me know and I will include it next month.
River and Bluffs Animal Shelter Membership Form
Student - $5.00 ____                               Sponsor - $50.00 _____
Individual - $15.00 ____                         Patron -   $100.00 _____
Family - $25.00 ____                              Benefactor - $500.00
I would like to make a monthly pledge of : ________   per month for a total of
$_______ per year.

Name:___________________________________
Address:_________________________________
City/State/Zip_____________________________
Email:____________________________________ Phone Number:______________________

Please mail membership form to: River and Bluffs Animal Shelter
                                                            PO Box 421, Prairie du Chien, WI 53821

February, 2011

2011-02-24T14:14:00.009-06:00

SHELTER SHORTS

February, 2011

Shelter Shorts is a monthly newsletter intended to keep Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter volunteers and supporters connected. With everyone’s hectic schedules, we know it is often difficult, if not impossible to attend monthly meetings or to work at all of our fundraisers.

Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter likes to stay in touch with our friends and let them know about new fundraising plans, review successful ones, and meet fellow volunteers. We're reviewing our email list and would love to include you on our list of subscribers. If you're up for it, just click the link below to go to Rivers and Bluffs Web Page. Fill-in your email, first name and zip code. Thank you for your time. We hope to hear from you.
Here is the link to Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter Web Page. http://riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org/

Everyone is invited to submit articles for the newsletter. To do so, please call Bev at 608-326-2914 or email her at lilnicki@live.com.

Monthly meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of every month at the Prairie du Chien City Hall. Meetings begin at 6:00 p.m. Please use the back door. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. The next meeting is Thursday, March 17. (Map)

Fundraising Update

Phoneraisers
Please continue to save your old cell phones and ink jet cartridges. Drop them off at Tender Care Animal Hospital, or bring them to the monthly meeting.

Tee Shirts
We have 4 colors in 3 sizes to pick from – sand, light blue, yellow and pink in medium, large and XL. The RABAS logo will be on the front in color. For an additional $15, individualized pictures or text can be added to the back. Shirts will sell for $14 each with an additional $5 for the personalized pictures or text on the back being donated to RABAS from McGregorville Mall. Tee shirt purchasers will take their shirts to McGregorville Mall for the personalization on the back. If you would like to purchase a tee shirt, please contact Bev and she will bring one for you to the next meeting or make arrangements to get one to you.

Dog Obedience Classes
Dog classes are over until this spring.

USBones.com
Please continue ordering cat and dog treats from USBones.com. They donate 25% of each order placed to RABAS. Randy Paske contacted them and they have donated 150 gift packs to RABAS to be used as prizes for upcoming fund raisers.

He brought some of them to the February meeting and everyone in attendance (all 10 of us) got to take one home for our dogs to sample. My dogs loved them!!!

Dr. Donna Higgins’ Wildlife Photo Gallery

Dr. Donna Higgins continues to support RABAS through her beautiful wildlife prints on display at her office downtown PdC. The framed and matted prints, sell for $85, of which Donna donates $50 to RABAS. If you are looking for an attractive addition to your home or office, or a unique gift idea, please consider a print from Donna Higgins. Donna’s wildlife prints range from humming birds to bald eagles, deer, egrets and pelicans.

The prints can be viewed on line at our website (www.riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org) or at her office.

We just received a check for $100 from Donna whose friend Elsie Graczyk from Fox River Grove, Illinois, sold the calendars for $10 each, instead of the $5 they were sold for in this area. Elsie works at a store that caters to wild bird enthusiasts. Thanks to both Donna and Elsie in their efforts to raise funds for RABAS. Elsie is now selling the photo proofs from the 2011 wildlife calendar Donna put together. RABAS will get 100% of those sales.

Tractor Supply Valentine Bake Sale was held on Saturday, February 12 from 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Thanks to all who baked for this fund raiser. We had an excellent assortment of cookies, cakes, and candy. Profit from this sale was $461.00. Thanks also to Jill, Peggy, Deb and Bev for volunteering to work at the bake sale. Again, a big thanks to Tractor Supply for their continued support of RABAS. (See Photo album.)

Strikes for Strays...(More Information on Web Page.)
...bowling fund raiser will take place on Saturday, March 12 at Timber Lanes.

A sign up sheet was passed around at the January and February meetings. As stated before, this event will not require a lot of manpower on the day of the event. If anyone would still like to volunteer, your help would be greatly appreciated. One or two more people are all that we really need. If you can help, please reply to this email or call me at 326-2914.

We will need a few people to run the silent auction, one or two people to sell 50/50 raffle tickets, and 3 or 4 others just to make sure everything runs smoothly and to promote RABAS.

Timber Lanes will take care of registration and collection of fees.

We have a nice assortment of silent auction items. At this time, we do not need anymore. If you committed to an item for the silent auction, please confirm with me that the item will be ready for March 12. I have talked to a few of you about picking up your item. If I told you that I will pick it up, I will be calling or emailing you in the next few days to arrange pickup. If you feel that your item will not be ready for March 12, please let me know. We would still like your item, but we can use it at another fund raiser in March – Pasta For Pets.

A few of the larger prizes include:

an autographed Green Bay Packer football, that was shipped to Jill’s house just days after the team returned from winning the Super Bowl,
a night stay at AmericInn and Windsor Place Inn,
2 – Culver’s Quart a Month for a Year Certificates valued at $70 each,
a large platter of Jill’s famous cookies
many other items too numerous to mention in this newsletter.

If I have time, I will send out a separate list of auction items. Please consider getting a team together and spreading the word to your friends, families and co-workers. I hope RABAS members will challenge fellow members to put together teams to see which RABAS team will have the highest score. (View flyer)

Princess for the Evening –(View additional information.)

Princess for the Evening is coming together as well it should as it is less than a month away. The date is Saturday, March 19.

This year’s event will be held at Huckleberry’s Restaurant and Banquet Hall. Bird and Andy Skemp are donating the use of the reception hall.

Brian Cipra will once again be the photographer and the DJ will be Gabe Bush from WPRE.

Lynn Rider has agreed to teach a group ballroom dance lesson again. This was very popular last year.

We will also promote Huckleberry’s in all advertising as an excellent choice for “couples” to dine at before attending the dance. Huckleberry’s will offer a special dessert free of charge with the meal for the “princesses”. They offer an excellent children’s menu as well as a number of items priced at $4.99.

Donations for this event to date include:

Kembles’s Greenhouse – 30 silk corsages
Ma’s Bakery in Bloomington – large, Princess themed decorated cake
Eunice’s Liquor and Cheese – large cheese and sausage tray
Airgas – 1 tank helium
Country Inn and Suites – 1 night stay
Country Inn and Suites – 1 month waterpark pass for a family of 4
Bloomington Floral – 25 carnations for the tables.

I think we have a gift card from Wal-Mart for this event also, but will double check at the end of February. I am still hoping to get a few more donations yet this week.

We will decorate the hall at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 19.

The dance itself will start at 6:30 p.m. and end at 9:00 p.m. Cost of Princess for the Evening is $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Advance tickets will be available at:

Tender Care Animal Hospital
Dr. Donna Higgins
Monkeys Tale. Anyone purchasing a ticket at PDC's Monkey Tales receives 10% off any "princess" merchandise, including dresses.
Tractor Supply.

(Advance tickets can also be purchased online.)
If you can help decorate or help at the event, please reply to this email or call me at 326-2914. We may also need a few more, white, twinkling lights. I believe we still have some from last year, but if you have any we can borrow, please make sure your name is on them. They can be dropped of at Huckleberry’s on Saturday morning or call me to make arrangements for pick up.

We also need bud vases for the tables. There are 15 round tables in the ball room and four oblong sets of tables made up of three or four tables each. I have four or five bud vases, but we will need at least 15 additional clear or white vases.

If you can bake some desserts for Princess, or donate ingredients for punch, that would be greatly appreciated.

Poker Run –
It was decided at the January meeting to move forward with the poker run. Sandy K. suggested that we do not limit it only to motorcyclists, but to open it up to 4 wheeled vehicles also.

We chose June 25th as the date for the poker run. The name for this event was decided at the February meeting – Poker Pet Ride.

I am meeting with Linda Kuhn from Country Inn and Suites on Thursday to talk about setting aside a block of rooms for out of town participants who may want to spend the night in Prairie du Chien. Linda will offer them a special rate if they book by a certain date.

We talked again about the charge for participants in this event as a number of people expressed opinions that the price we talked about at the January meeting was not high enough compared to other poker runs. The price will be $25 per poker player.

This event is in the very early planning stages and as always will come together as we get closer to the date of the event. We need to get through March before putting too much time on a June event. I will post the event on a number of motorcycle touring websites.

Pizza Hut Guest Server Night –
will be held on Tuesday, April 5. Guest servers will be Ken and Jami Quick, Peggy Johnson and Bev Pozega. Mollee Whyte will be responsible for keeping the breadsticks going. Please spread the word to friends, family and co-workers and join us for another successful Pizza Hut Guest Server Night. Pizza Hut will match up to $500 in tips.

Pasta for Pets –
Our 3rd Annual Pasta for Pets will be held at Huckleberry’s on Wednesday, March 23.

This is another fund raiser that does not require too much effort on our part. We will need a number of bakers to provide desserts and maybe 8 or 9 people to bus tables and serve beverages.

A sign up sheet was passed around for this event. If you would like to bake or to help at the event, please reply to this email or call me at 326-2914.

Again, please promote this event to friends, family, and co-workers and join us for a delicious all you can eat salad bar, pasta buffet and dessert bar. The buffet will start at 4:30 and continue until 7:00 p.m.

We decided that we will not sell advance tickets this year. Tickets will be $8 for ages 11 to adult, $6 for children aged 4-10, and 3 and under are free.

As mentioned earlier, we will also have a silent auction at this event. We do not need to solicit any more silent auction items. We have a number of things that we will use at Pasta for Pets instead of Strikes for Strays.

Read all about the event here.

Prairie du Chien Chamber of Commerce Home and Garden Show Food Stand will be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 9 and 10. A sign up sheet for this event was passed around at the January and February meetings. We need people to help set up, take down, bake and volunteer at the food stand for both days, but on Sunday we are desperate for help. If we do not get a few more volunteers, we may have to cancel. This has been a fairly successful event in past years and I would hate to give it up. If you can help, please reply to this email or call me at 326-2914.

Kemble’s Greenhouse Open House –

Kembles Greenhouse called me last week to ask if we would consider having a bake sale and or food stand for their open house. Kembles Greenhouse Open House is April 30 and May 1. They also asked about doing some type of food stand for Mother’s Day on May 7.

I told them we would discuss it at the February meeting and that I would get back to them.

All 10 RABAS members present at the February meeting felt we should commit to April 30 and May 1, but that we would be taking on too much to do a stand at both True Value and Kembles.

I confirmed with Kembles the April 30 and May 1 dates and thanked them for the opportunity to raise funds for RABAS. Kembles has been very generous to RABAS.

Mother’s Day Bake Sale and Food Stand at True Value – Members also decided to commit to both the Friday and Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend, May 6 and 7. This is True Value’s busiest 2 days because of Mother’s Day. We need to commit from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., but we can start earlier and go later if we want. There will be a sign up sheet for workers and bakers at upcoming meetings.

Other Hot Topics
Pounds Off People and Pooches (POPPS) is over until spring. I hope to see all of you back this spring for our weekly dog walk.

Property and Building Committee and Board of Directors Meeting will meet on the 2nd Thursday of each month. Property and Building Committee will meet at 6 p.m. and Board of Directors will follow at 7 p.m. It was decided to cancel the February meeting and meet again in March. Property and Building Committee members were assigned the task of contacting different local officials to assess interest of an animal shelter. The Board of Directors is focusing on ways to involve more members in fund raisers. A phone tree was suggested.
(Note: Due to a schedule conflict for the chair of the Property and Building Committee the meeting may be postponed or canceled depending on the will of the members. Check email.)

The Animal Lovers Club contacted our website about fund raising to help RABAS. This is a group of 4 nine and ten year old girls who would like to promote RABAS in their own fund raisers as well as helping us with some of our own. Kamryn Tesar, Emily Groom and Ana Martin and their moms came to the January meeting. Madison Boxrucker was not able to attend. This group of girls will be an excellent addition to our organization on a younger level. They were very excited and their excitement was contagious.

Honor Cards (Read more here.)were suggested by Randy P as a way of raising funds for RABAS. Honor cards will be cards that people use to donate money to RABAS in memory or in honor of (hence the name Honor Cards) a loved one who has died, a pet who has passed on, a birthday, anniversary or any special occasion that they would like to recognize. The Animal Lovers Club will be very involved with this and will take the lead in the design of the cards. They will design a number of cards and possibly involve their friends and their school. Randy has worked up rules and entry sheet for the design contest.

Please take the time to check out our website –www.riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org. Information on it changes sometimes daily. This website is awesome!!! Thanks, Randy for constantly updating our website. Thanks to Randy for the new look of Shelter Shorts.

Randy asked permission to use RABAS name and nonprofit status to attend a FaceBook Workshop sponsored by the PdC Chamber of Commerce. Participants from a non-profit group get a special rate of $30 for the workshop. The group decided that RABAS should pay for Randy to take this course. He will pay for the registration and Jill will reimburse him when he gives her a registration receipt.

Therapy Dogs
Therapy Dogs International teams remain active in the community. On Tuesdays Kathy and Digger are at Bluff Haven, Deb and Jasmine go to Walter Schmitt Home and Paula and Maggie visit Bluff Haven. Deb Cross and her golden retrievers Jasmine and Sami and Nicki and Vegas and I continue the Vertical Reading program at Bluff View.

This is an excellent program and we feel we will soon start to see a difference in the reading skills of many of our students. Again, we do not know who enjoys this program more – the dogs, Deb or I, or the students who get personal contact with these dogs. Many will spend a portion of their reading time telling me about pets they have at home or have had in the past.

Twice a month, Deb and I and our dogs visit Wyalusing Academy. We spend time talking with the girls and letting them play with the dogs. This is a great time for all involved. Wyalusing Academy may join our fund raising efforts by baking items for our upcoming bake sales and possibly bird houses for silent auctions.

Volunteer hours – Please keep track of your volunteer hours each month and get them to Jill. Volunteer hours can include any of the following and probably some things that are not mentioned: meetings, baking, working at fund raisers, hanging posters, phone calls and all the things it takes to make this organization as great as it is.

Phone Tree –We are planning to use a phone tree to contact members who may not wish to attend meetings or volunteer at fund raisers. We are hoping that by personally contacting these members who continue to support us financially through their memberships, they will offer to bake for one of our fund raisers. John, Julie and Jamie offered to call members to ask if they can bake for upcoming events. I will bring a member list to the next meeting for them.

2nd Annual Winter Fun Fest for Dogs and Their People was canceled due to the forecasted ice storm. I hope to have a cookout/dog walk this spring or early summer.

QR Code – will soon be seen on RABAS posters and announcements. You ask “What is a QR Code?” Randy made a short presentation on this matrix bar code that contains whatever information we want it to. People will need a “Smart Phone” to access the QR Code. Randy also provided those present with information on what type of advertising seems successful as well as information on what kind of format people like to receive RABAS information through, such as Blog, Facebook, Twitter etc..

Membership Renewals - Memberships are good for one year from the month the member joined. Jill will send out renewal applications to those whose membership has expired. Please consider renewing your membership as memberships are an important part of our income. There are 5 different levels of membership:

$5.00 student
$15 Individual
$25 Family
$50 Sponsor
$100 Patron
$500 Benefactor

Some members choose to donate a fixed amount every month. Thanks to everyone for your financial support. Watch us grow!! Why not sign up online? You can even use a credit card to renew. Sign up a friend.

RABAS Wish List
Wish List Items include:

Land
Gift certificates to either the Courier Press or WPRE Radio Station to pay for ads for upcoming fund raisers
postage stamps, paper, envelopes, labels, napkins, paper towels, hand sanitizer, ketchup, mustard.

Contact Bev at 326-2914 or reply to this email if you have any kitchen or paper supplies. If you have information on land, please contact Jami at 412-0052 or Bev at the above number. (See additional information.)

Donations

Ray Wrobel - $5
Lynn Moris - $10 donation for bake sale at Tractor Supply in lieu of baking
Wal-Mart - $250 donation for volunteer hours submitted by Julie Whyte.
Donna Higgins & Elsie Graczyk – sale of calendars at $10 each _ $100
Jill Cipra - $18 Lemonade

All donations are recognized in the Shelter Shorts and a thank you note is written.
Current and New Members (Recent renewals and new members are shown in bold type). (View PDF Document)

Thanks to everyone who volunteered this month in any way. Thanks to everyone who supported us through donations, and memberships. There are many jobs that continue to get done without recognition. Membership and volunteer listings are current through February 16, 2011. If I missed your name, I apologize. Please let me know and I will include it next month. We appreciate your support.

January, 2011

2011-01-31T08:25:00.000-06:00

SHELTER SHORTS
January, 2011

SHELTER SHORTS
is a monthly newsletter intended to keep Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter volunteers and supporters connected. With everyone’s hectic schedules, we know it is often difficult, if not impossible to attend monthly meetings or to work at all of our fundraisers.

Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter likes to stay in touch with our friends and let them know about new fundraising plans, review successful ones, and meet fellow volunteers. We're reviewing our email list and would love to include you on our list of subscribers. If you're up for it, just click the link below to go to Rivers and Bluffs Web Page. Fill-in your email, first name and zip code. Thank you for your time. We hope to hear from you.
Here is the link to Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter Web Page. http://riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org/

Everyone is invited to submit articles for the newsletter. To do so, please call Bev at 608-326-2914 or email her at lilnicki@live.com.

Monthly meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of every month at the Prairie du Chien City Hall. Meetings begin at 6:00 p.m. Please use the back door. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. The next meeting is Thursday, February 17. (Map)

Fundraising Update

Phoneraisers
Please continue to save your old cell phones and ink jet cartridges. Drop them off at Tender Care Animal Hospital, or bring them to the monthly meeting.

Tee Shirts
We have 4 colors in 3 sizes to pick from – sand, light blue, yellow and pink in medium, large and XL. The RABAS logo will be on the front in color. For an additional $15, individualized pictures or text can be added to the back. Shirts will sell for $14 each with an additional $5 for the personalized pictures or text on the back being donated to RABAS from McGregorville Mall. Tee shirt purchasers will take their shirts to McGregorville Mall for the personalization on the back. If you would like to purchase a tee shirt, please contact Bev and she will bring one for you to the next meeting or make arrangements to get one to you.

Dog Obedience Classes
Dog classes are over until this spring.

USBones.com
Please continue ordering cat and dog treats from USBones.com. They donate 25% of each order placed to RABAS. Randy Paske contacted them and they are donating 150 gift packs to RABAS to be used as prizes for upcoming fund raisers.

Dr. Donna Higgins’ Wildlife Photo Gallery

A sign up sheet was passed around at the January meeting. There is still time to sign up on line. Follow this link. We have decided to do this event only on Saturday for 4 hours. So again, not many volunteers are needed for the day of the event, but we will need a number of bakers to provide a variety of baked goods. Baked goods should be priced and packaged for sale. Randy P suggested attaching the recipe to the baked goods so purchasers will know if the items contain any ingredients they may be allergic to. If you can volunteer to set up, work a two hour shift, take down or bake, please reply to this email or call Bev at 326-2914. (Follow this link for sign up sheet)

Strikes for Strays bowling

fund raiser will take place on Saturday, March 12 at Timber Lanes. A sign up sheet was passed around at the January meeting. As stated before, this event will not need require a lot of manpower on the day of the event. We will need a few people to run the silent auction, one or two people to sell 50/50 raffle tickets, and 3 or 4 others just to make sure everything runs smoothly and to promote RABAS. (Be sure to sign up for the online newsletter. Receive the latest news.)

Timber Lanes will take care of registration and collection of fees.

The one thing we are asking of our volunteers is to donate some type of prize for the silent auction. It can be a craft item you have made, a donation you have received, an item purchased from a local business, or a donation of cash to be used toward a cash prize for the top bowling team. We have some very nice silent auction items so far, but we feel to make this event a success, we need more.

If you can donate anything, please reply to this email or call me at 326-2914 so I can add your item to the list. Ken Quick contacted Preferred Distributors. They will donate 75 posters which will be printed as soon as the poster design is complete. Randy P has the design almost finished, but we may want to list a few of the larger silent auction prizes. Please consider getting a team together and spreading the word to your friends, families and co-workers.

Princess for the Evening –
Princess for the Evening will be held on Saturday, March 19 at Huckleberry’s Restaurant. Bird and Andy Skemp are donating the use of the reception hall.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we will not have the biggest snowstorm of the entire year that evening.

Brian Cipra will once again be the photographer and the DJ will be Gabe Bush from WPRE. Lynn Rider has agreed to teach a group ballroom dance lesson again.

This was very popular last year. We will also promote Huckleberry’s in all advertising as an excellent choice for “couples” to dine at before attending the dance. Huckleberry’s will offer a special dessert free of charge with the meal for the “princesses”. They offer an excellent children’s menu as well as a number of items priced at $4.99.

Princess for the Evening is one of my favorite events (but I say that about all of our events). Huckleberry’s is the perfect place for Princess for the Evening. Thanks to Bird and Andy for the use of their reception area.

We will decorate the hall at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 19. Once again, Airgas will donate a tank of helium for the balloons. The dance itself will start at 6:00 p.m. and end at 9:00 p.m. If you can help decorate or help at the event, please reply to this email or call me at 326-2914. A sign up sheet was passed around at the January meeting. (Read all about Princess for an Evening. Even purchase tickets online!)

Poker Run –
It was decided at the January meeting to move forward with the poker run.

Sandy K. suggested that we do not limit it only to motorcyclists, but to open it up to 4 wheeled vehicles also. We chose June 25th as the date for the poker run.

We did not decide on a name at the January meeting, but will do so at the February meeting. If you can come up with a catchy name for the poker run, please reply to this email or call me at 326-2914.

Once we have a name, the event will be posted on a number of free motorcycle touring websites. This event is in the very early planning stages and as always will come together as we get closer to the date of the event. I would also like to add a motorcycle rodeo at the destination.

Pizza Hut Guest Server Night –
will be held on Tuesday, April 5. Guest servers will be Ken and Jami Quick, Peggy Johnson and Bev Pozega. Mollee Whyte will be responsible for keeping the breadsticks going.

Please spread the word to friends, family and co-workers and join us for another successful Pizza Hut Guest Server Night. Pizza Hut will match up to $500 in tips.

Pasta for Pets –
Our 3rd Annual Pasta for Pets will be held at Huckleberry’s on Wednesday, March 23.

This is another fund raiser that does not require too much effort on our part. We will need a number of bakers to provide desserts and maybe 5 or 6 people to bus tables and serve beverages.

I believe a sign up sheet was passed around for this event also at the January meeting. Again, please promote this event to friends, family, and co-workers and join us for a delicious all you can eat pasta buffet. The buffet will start at 4:30 and continue until 7:00 p.m. (Read all about the event and even purchase tickets online!)

Prairie du Chien Chamber of Commerce Home and Garden Show Food Stand
will be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 9 and 10. I believe a sign up sheet for this event was also passed around at the January meeting. We will need people to help set up, take down, bake and volunteer at the food stand. If you can help, please reply to this email or call me at 326-2914. This event requires a large quantity of baked goods.

Mother’s Day Bake Sale and Food Stand at True Value –

I have signed RABAS up for both Friday and Saturday, May 6 and 7 based on the interest for this and the number of volunteers who will commit to either baking or working. If there is not enough interest, we will cancel either one or both days.

This is True Value’s busiest 2 days because of Mother’s Day. We need to commit from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., but we can start earlier and go later if we want. We will discuss this fund raiser at the February meeting. If you can volunteer to bake or work but cannot make it to the February meeting, please let me know by email or phone – 326-2914. We will need 2 people per shift plus people to help set up and take down.

Pies for Pops/Rummage Sale –
I talked to Sue Rider recently. She told me that she has rented River City Roller Rink out for Rendezvous Weekend. If we want to do the rummage sale again, she said we could possibly pick another date. We already have another fund raiser for June – the poker run, so we will most likely not pick an alternate date for this. Jami is checking with the JC’s about helping with their food stand at the Rendezvous.

Other Hot Topics

Pounds Off People and Pooches (POPPS)
is over until 2011. I hope to see all of you back next spring for our weekly dog walk.

Property and Building Committee and Board of Directors Meeting
will meet on the 2nd Thursday of each month. Property and Building Committee will meet at 6 p.m. and Board of Directors will follow at 7 p.m.
It was decided to cancel the February meeting and meet again in March. Property and Building Committee members were assigned the task of contacting different local officials to assess interest of an animal shelter. The Board of Directors is focusing on ways to involve more members in fund raisers. A phone tree was suggested.

The Animal Lovers Club
contacted our website about fund raising to help RABAS. This is a group of 4 nine and ten year old girls who would like to promote RABAS in their own fund raisers as well as helping us with some of our own. I invited them to the January meeting. Kamryn Tesar, Emily Groom and Ana Martin and their moms came to the meeting. Madison Boxrucker was not able to attend. This group of girls will be an excellent addition to our organization on a younger level. They were very excited and their excitement was contagious.

Honor Cards
were suggested by Randy P as a way of raising funds for RABAS. Honor cards will be cards that people use to donate money to RABAS in memory or in honor of (hence the name Honor Cards) a loved one who has died, a pet who has passed on, a birthday, anniversary or any special occasion that they would like to recognize. The Animal Lovers Club will be very involved with this and will take the lead in the design of the cards. They will design a number of cards and possibly involve their friends and their school. A design contest will be held featuring the cards. Cards will be on display at a fund raiser and the public will be offered the opportunity to vote for their favorite card through monetary donations.

Please take the time to check out our website – riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org. Information on it changes sometimes daily. This website is awesome!!! Thanks, Randy for constantly updating our website.

Therapy Dogs

Therapy Dogs International teams remain active in the community. On Tuesdays Kathy and Digger are at Bluff Haven, Deb and Jasmine go to Walter Schmitt Home and Paula and Maggie visit Bluff Haven. Deb Cross and her golden retrievers Jasmine and Sami and Nicki and Vegas and I continue the Vertical Reading program at Bluff View. This is an excellent program and we feel we will soon start to see a difference in the reading skills of many of our students. Again, we do not know who enjoys this program more – the dogs, Deb or I, or the students who get personal contact with these dogs. Many will spend a portion of their reading time telling me about pets they have at home or have had in the past. Twice a month, Deb and I and our dogs visit Wyalusing Academy. The last time we were there Deb showed the girls grooming techniques with Jasmine, Vegas played basket ball and Nicki was available for petting and cuddling.

Volunteer hours –
Please keep track of your volunteer hours each month and get them to Jill. Volunteer hours can include any of the following and probably some things that are not mentioned: meetings, baking, working at fund raisers, hanging posters, phone calls and all the things it takes to make this organization as great as it is.

Phone Tree – As mentioned above, we are planning to use a phone tree to contact members who may not wish to attend meetings or volunteer at fund raisers. We are hoping that by personally contacting these members who continue to support us financially through their memberships, they will offer to bake for one of our fund raisers. If you could volunteer to call a few members once or twice a year, please let me know by replying to this email or calling me at 326-2914.

RABAS Christmas Party\December Meeting was fun and we had a nice turnout. The food and service was excellent. Thanks to Bird Skemp and Huckleberry’s for the nice party and good food.

2nd Annual Winter Fun Fest for Dogs and Their People (Map link)
will once again be held at my house (32398 Gran Grae Road, PdC) on Sunday, February 20. All well behaved dogs are welcome. Those who attended last year had a great time. I will provide hot dogs, German Potato Salad, marshmallows, and hot chocolate. If you would like to bring a dish to pass, that would be great. If you would like something other than hot chocolate to drink, please bring your own beverage.

Please RSVP by replying to this email or by phone – 326-2914 by February 18 if you can come so I know how many hot dogs to purchase. We will start the walk at 1:00 p.m. The walk begins with a steep hill, but then levels off for the rest of the walk. Children are invited and there are a number of places that sleds can be used. Bring your own sled. If you trust your dogs, they are welcome to be off leash. The walk is on a private road and will have no vehicles on it. You are welcome to walk as long or as short of a walk as you would like. We will conclude the Winter Fun Fest with a roaring bonfire and food.

(Map link)Directions to my house: Take Hwy. 27 North out of PdC – past True Value. Continue north on Hwy. 27 until you come to Gran Grae Road. Gran Grae Road is the first and only road to the right after you pass the old PdC Town Hall and former one room school house. If you come to County Hwy. N, you have gone too far. Gran Grae is between the old town hall and Co. Highway N. Take a right on Gran Grae Road and continue on it for about a mile. We are the 3rd place on Gran Grae. The 1st place is a farm house on the left; the 2nd place is immediately after the farm house and is on the left quite a ways off the road. The road will then straighten out for a short ways and you will then have one more curve. You will drop down a steep hill and see a yellow house on the left. Our house is located right across the road from a big plastic shed. You cannot miss it. Hope to see you there. If the weather is questionable, please check your email for cancellation or postponement. If you do not have email, please call me. I will have the cancellation posted by 10 a.m.

Membership Renewals -
Memberships are good for one year from the month the member joined. Jill will send out renewal applications to those whose membership has expired. Please consider renewing your membership as memberships are an important part of our income. There are 5 different levels of membership:

$5.00 student; $15 Individual; $25 Family; $50 Sponsor; $100 Patron; $500 Benefactor. Some members choose to donate a fixed amount every month. Thanks to everyone for your financial support. Watch us grow!! Why not sign up online? You can even use a credit card to renew. Sign up a friend.

RABAS Wish List
Wish List Items include:
Land
Gift certificates to either the Courier Press or WPRE Radio Station to pay for ads for upcoming fund raisers
postage stamps, paper, envelopes, labels, napkins, paper towels, hand sanitizer, ketchup, mustard. Contact Bev at 326-2914 or reply to this email if you have any kitchen or paper supplies. If you have information on land, please contact Jami at 412-0052 or Bev at the above number.

Current and New Members and Donations(
Donna Heilmann and family - $50 collected during their family Christmas celebration
Dr. Donna Higgins - $122 – sale of calendars by RABAS and Tender Care Animal Hospital
Roy George - $30 – donation for a large platter of Jill’s famous home-made cookies
Francis and Laura Nix - $100 donation
John and Lorna Davis - $25 in memory of their friend David Kelly
Recent renewals and new members are shown in bold type (View PDF Documen t)

November 2010

2010-11-26T12:40:00.004-06:00

SHELTER SHORTS
November 2010
SHELTER SHORTS is a monthly newsletter intended to keep Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter volunteers and supporters connected. With everyone’s hectic schedules, we know it is often difficult, if not impossible to attend monthly meetings or to work at all of our fundraisers.
Everyone is invited to submit articles for the newsletter. To do so, please call Bev at 608-326-2914 or email her at lilnicki@live.com.
Monthly meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of every month at the Prairie du Chien City Hall. Meetings begin at 6:00 p.m. Please use the back door. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. The next meeting is Thursday, December 16 and will be held at Huckleberry’s Restaurant. It is our annual Christmas Party. More info is found later in this newsletter.
===============

Fundraising Update
Phoneraisers

Please continue to save your old cell phones and ink jet cartridges. Drop them off at Tender Care Animal Hospital, or bring them to the monthly meeting. Peggy has volunteered to take over the responsibility of collecting and shipping the phones and ink jet cartridges. Thanks, Peggy. I just received an email from Phoneraisers.com. We will soon receive a check for $141.00. Thanks to Jill for sending these in.

Tee Shirts and Sweatshirts
We have 4 colors in 3 sizes to pick from – sand, light blue, yellow and pink in medium, large and XL. The RABAS logo will be on the front in color. For an additional $15, individualized pictures or text can be added to the back. Shirts will sell for $14 each with an additional $5 for the personalized pictures or text on the back being donated to RABAS from McGregorville Mall. Tee shirt purchasers will take their shirts to McGregorville Mall for the personalization on the back. If you would like to purchase a tee shirt, please contact Bev and she will bring one for you to the next meeting or make arrangements to get one to you.

Dog Obedience Classes
The last dog class was held this past Sunday, November 21. I feel that this class did an excellent job and I am hoping to add an advanced class for those who have taken the basic class and who feel they are ready for the challenge. The advanced class will possibly include heeling off leash, long sits and downs with the handler out of sight, retrieving on flat, retrieving over the high jump and jumping the broad jump. Spring classes will start sometime in March. Previous students will be offered a reduced rate of $50 for 8 classes.
Thanks again to Ken Quick – Eagle Electric for the use of his parking lot and shop. It is an excellent place to work dogs. Additional Photos Click Here

USBones.com
Please continue ordering cat and dog treats from USBones.com. They donate 25% of each order placed to RABAS. We recently received another check from USBones.com for approximately $4.

Dr. Donna Higgins’ Wildlife Photo Gallery
Dr. Donna Higgins continues to support RABAS through her beautiful wildlife prints on display at her office downtown PdC. The framed and matted prints, sell for $85, of which Donna donates $50 to RABAS. If you are looking for an attractive addition to your home or office, or a unique gift idea, please consider a print from Donna Higgins. Donna’s wildlife prints range from humming birds to bald eagles, deer, egrets and pelicans.
The prints can be viewed on line at our website (www.riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org) or at her office on Blackhawk Avenue (next to Stark’s). Donna recently sold another print. To date, Donna has sold 9 prints,.
Donna’s beautiful and always popular wildlife calendars have returned for 2011. Calendars sell for $5 each and for each calendar that RABAS sells, Donna donates $2.50 to the shelter. Calendars are available at Tender Care Animal Hospital. We will have them for sale at our final fund raiser for the year – our Christmas bake sale and gift wrapping at Tractor Supply. These beautiful calendars prints will make an excellent Christmas present.

Halloween Pet/Owner Costume Contest – The Halloween Costume Contest was held on Sunday, October 31 from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. at Tractor Supply. Everyone in attendance had a good time. The storage room at Tractor Supply was transformed into a spooktacular party room thanks to the efforts of Jill, Paskes, Angelica, Allison Phil, and Bev. While we may not have had a lot of entries or made a lot of money, the event was fun and I think if we do it again next year, this event will grow in size. We heard many favorable comments. RABAS members who rose to the occasion and came in costume included: Peggy and Dexter, Randy P and Digger, Tristan Pozega and Vegas, Mollee and her cocker (I apologize, I can’t remember her name, but she was the cutest pig I have ever seen) and Jill’s Scooter and Bev’s Nicki.
Thanks to Dave at Tractor Supply for suggesting this event and also for the use of the back room. (Additional Photos click here)

Raffle –(See Photos and read more...)Raffle prizes are: Anchor Bank: $25 gift bag, Tractor Supply - $50 gift card, Peoples’ State Bank – 3 piece knife set, Halpin Tire – 1 free oil change, Bill Batson – wishing well planter, Kemble’s Green House - $20 gift cert that will go with the wishing well planter. Tickets are not selling as well as we hoped. If you can take any to sell or would like to purchase any, please contact Bev at 326-2914 or reply to this email. Tickets are $1 each for 6 for $5. The drawing will take place on December 19 at TSC, bake sale and gift wrapping. Please bring your raffle ticket money and sold and unsold tickets to the Christmas Party/December meeting on December 16. We will need to “push” these tickets at Tractor Supply next month at the gift wrapping/bake sale.

Wake Up Santa (More Information....) will be held on Saturday, December 4th. Many of the preparations have been completed. By the time you read this, an article should be in the Courier Press, registration forms have been delivered to local schools and businesses – Tractor Supply, Tender Care Animal Hospital, LA Fashions, Dr. Donna Higgins, Optometrist, and Monkey’s Tale; shopping for bingo prizes and gifts for Santa’s Secret Gift Shop has been done as well as for some breakfast items. Radio and Courier Press ads will be out next week as well as a spot on People, Places and Things with Jami, Bev and Norb. Windy Mezera’s Girl Scout Troop will also help with this event. Randy and Kathy have a large sign in their front yard, which just happens to be on the way to Bluff View School advertising this event and Randy placed the event on Channel 6. Randy has placed posters in local businesses advertising this event. Kathy has made a number of small coin purses and tissue holders for gifts for Santa’s Secret Gift Shop as well as picking up “good buys” when she sees them for both the gift shop and bingo prizes. We have a nice selection of Christmas ornaments for Santa’s Workshop, including some featuring dogs and cats. Wake Up Santa will also be advertised in the December issue of Scenic Rivers Energy Magazine Upcoming Events which should be mailed to their customers by the end of this week. Santa’s Secret Gift Shop will have a new location this year. It will be in the storage room inside the Community Room. We will have tables filled with gifts to purchase along each wall and a wrapping area at the end. This will free up additional space that we need in the landing at the top of the stairs. It will also eliminate the need for the tent and cloth walls. Randi K. will take care of decorating the door for Santa’s Secret Gift Shop. Linda will once again be Chance. We still need help for this event. We will need people for Santa’s Secret Gift Shop, Santa’s Workshop, Santa Bingo, bussing tables, registration, kitchen area – food prep and serving, and cleanup. If you can help with set up and/or the event itself, please contact Bev via email or phone. We will decorate the Community Room at City Hall on Thursday, December 2. We will start decorating at 5 p.m., which is a change from what we said at the meeting. If you have any Christmas decorations, please bring them when you come to decorate the room, or drop them off at Tender Care, prior to next Thursday. On Saturday, we will meet at 7 a.m. for final preparations before the families arrive. AMPI has donated 12 pounds of cheese and 6 tubs of butter; Kwik Trip has donated a $20 gift card that we will use to purchase milk, orange juice, and fruit. Wal-Mart has donated a $25 gift card which will be used to purchase additional milk and juice that we will still need in addition to the Kwik Trip gift card as well as pancake mix and syrup. Sausages will be purchased through Bird Skemp and Huckleberry’s Restaurant. If anyone is willing to donate pancake mix and syrup, please drop it off at Tender Care Animal Hospital by Wednesday, December 1.
We are hoping that our generous members will donate enough syrup and pancake mix so that we will not have to purchase any, thus increasing the profit of this event.

Tractor Supply Gift Wrapping and Bake Sale
is set for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, December 17, 18, and 19. A sign up sheet was passed around at the November meeting. There are still a few slots that need to be filled on the volunteer sheet which is found at the end of this newsletter. We “revisited” the suggestion of a cupcake war or cookie contest bake off at the November meeting. Members decided to pass on both ideas and to just go with the Christmas Bake Sale and gift wrapping. We will need a large amount of your favorite Christmas baked goods. Please have them wrapped and priced when you drop them off. They can be dropped off at Tractor Supply on Friday afternoon – after 4 or on Saturday morning – after 9. If you can help with baking or the gift wrapping, please call Bev at 326-2914 or reply to this email.

Santa Visits –(More Information...) I believe Santa has 4 visits scheduled so far. Hopefully as we get closer to Christmas, he will get a bit busier. The ad should still be in the paper. Santa will be available for hire for Christmas parties at private residences or restaurants, businesses, nursing homes, etc. For more info, contact the Santa Hotline at 1-262-388-2654 or Mrs. Santa at 1 – 262-388-2649.

November Fund Raiser – I hope everyone enjoyed the brief vacation from fund raising this month and will have renewed energy for the new year’s activities and events.

Princess for the Evening – will be held on Saturday, April 30. The location is still a bit tentative – it will either be the Community Room at City Hall or Huckleberry’s. We will wait until mid January to decide on the location based on the availability of Huckleberry’s Restaurant. By mid January, we should also know whether Brian Cipra can be the photographer for this event. I will contact Riverland DJ after Christmas to see if he is available, if not, the search will be on for someone else. I think everyone who attended last year thoroughly enjoyed the DJ. Lynn Rider will not be available for the group ballroom dancing lesson, but I will contact Donna Lund to see if she will help us out.

Strikes for Strays – will take place on Saturday, March 12. This will be a bowling event which will take place at Timber Lanes. Jill and I talked to Craig Atkinson, the manager of Timber Lanes a few weeks ago. This event will not require too much work on our part. We will charge a set amount for each person who wishes to bowl (this has not been decided yet and we will discuss it at an upcoming meeting). We will pay Timber Lanes $6 per bowler. This price will include 3 games of bowling and shoe rental. Craig suggested 5 bowlers per team and also an 8 pin tap rather than a 10 pin tap. For those of you as unfamiliar with bowling as I am, an 8 pin tap means that if the bowler knocks down 8 pins, that counts as a strike. Craig will take care of registrations. Craig will take care of all registrations. Anyone interested in bowling for this worthy cause, can contact Craig. People can have their own 5 member teams or Craig will assign those interested but not already on a 5 person team to a team. We will bowl in 2 hour shifts, as one shift fills, he will start another shift. We will also have a raffle. We will sell raffle tickets similar to how Vicki sold them at the Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle. All of the prizes will be displayed on a table. We will draw tickets throughout the day and the winning ticket owners will be able to select whatever prize they want from the table. Jami suggested that by the December meeting, each RABAS member should come up with a prize for the raffle. The prize can be something home-made, a donation from an area business, or something purchased. We do not need nor do we really want these prizes at the December meeting, but we just want members to start thinking about raffle prizes so that when the event arrives, we will have a nice selection. We will also offer cash prizes for the top bowler or bowling teams. The cash prizes will be based on the number of participants. As always, this event will come together as we get a bit closer to the date. For now, save the date and work on raffle prizes.

Biking for Barks (and Meows) or Riding for Rescues – For a number of years Phil has always wanted RABAS to sponsor a motorcycle poker run. Being a former biker in my younger years, I have always thought that poker runs are a lot of fun. Bikers are always looking for a new destination and a reason to ride. What better destination than this beautiful rivers and bluffs country and what better reason to ride than to support an animal shelter. Please note: I mentioned this idea at the November meeting as a topic of discussion to see if there was any interest in sponsoring a poker run as a fund raiser. We did not decide at the November meeting to do it. The name – Biking for Barks or Riding for Rescues is not definite if we even sponsor the poker run– it is what I call it in my mind when planning. Many people at the meeting did not know what a poker run is. A poker run will start at a certain location with bikers arriving anytime between a set time such as 10:00 a.m and noon. They are given a route with 5 stops on it. Each stop will have a deck of cards, each card in a sealed envelope. Each participant will pick an envelope with a card in it and then travel on to the next stop. After the 5th card is drawn, they will continue to the final destination, possibly the Island where we will have some type of food and refreshments. The last bike would have to be in by a certain time, possibly 2 or 3 p.m. Bikers open their envelopes at the destination or they open them at each stop and the cards are recorded at each stop. It can be done either way. It is stressed that this is not a race – there is no prize for the fastest time or the first bike in. I have done quite a bit of research on poker runs. Most will charge between $15-$20 per bike with a passenger paying an additional $5-$10. I have a tentative route planned that would travel along the Wisconsin River on Hwy. 60, then pick up Hwy 131 out of Wauzeka to the apple country of Gays Mills. From there the route will take Hwy. 171 through Mt. Sterling and down to the Mighty Mississippi. We will head north through Ferryville and then cross the Lansing Bridge on Highway 9. Follow Highway 9 through Waukon where there just happens to be a Harley Davidson and a Yamaha dealer, both of which will be approached to be card stops and also asked to donate something to the poker run. The route would then take Hwy. 76 past Effigy Mounds National Monument and back across the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien. I want to include the scenic drives along both rivers, as well as the Lansing Bridge. While volunteering at the Villa Louis Carriage Classic this past September, I met a lady who mentioned her husband was at the Davis Motorcycle Rally in New Hampton, Iowa. My husband was also there. She told me that she and her husband belong to God’s Country Motorcycle Touring Club from this area. I called her a few weeks ago to see if the club would be willing to help RABAS with a poker run if we chose to do one. It was brought up at their November meeting and they decided that they would help us if we choose to do a poker run. I contacted the ride leader and he said he will help set up the route. I told him that if he would help with the route and the selection of good restaurants/taverns along the route that would be great. I have contacted Prairie Motor Sports to see if they would be the registration station. The manager said that they would be happy to be the registration station for this event and will also donate a new helmet as a prize.
Hopefully, we will have further discussion on this event at the December meeting. Jill has contacted our insurance company to see if we will need any special insurance.
I feel that this could be a very profitable event. Again, response to this event, much like the dog walk and the PPPP will be weather dependent. But I also feel that the poker run would bring participants from the tri-state area who will be spending money in the PdC area – restaurants, motels, local bike shops and merchants. Proving to area businesses that RABAS is good for the community and business is one of the goals of the property committee. Advertising will be done through area motorcycle shops and various riding and touring clubs.

Holiday Parade
The Prairie du Chien Chamber of Commerce Holiday Parade is scheduled for Friday, December 3. The parade will start at 5:30 p.m. We will decorate the RABAS float starting at 2:30 p.m. at Eagle Electric Shop. The shop is located behind and to the northeast of the Bridgeport Inn. If you have any decorations that we can use for the float, please take them to Eagle Electric by 2:30 on Friday or contact Bev at 326-2914 or Jill at 326-4870 and we will make arrangements to pick them up. If you would like to be in the parade, but can’t help decorate, we will be on the island just prior to 5:30 p.m. Just look for the prettiest float of all or you can try to call me on my cell phone at 608-306-1260 for our location..

Christmastime Donations – Please remember to include Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter in your holiday giving. Donations can be mailed to PO Box 421 Prairie du Chien, WI 53821
Other Hot Topics
Pounds Off People and Pooches (POPPS) is over until 2011. I hope to see all of you back next spring for our weekly dog walk.
Property and Building Committee and Board of Directors Meeting will meet on the 2nd Thursday of each month. Property and Building Committee will meet at 6 p.m. and Board of Directors will follow at 7 p.m. Meetings will take place at the City Hall. Meetings were canceled for November and December. We will meet in January..

RABAS Merchandise – It was suggested at the April meeting that we sell some smaller items with our logo on. Jami, Julie and Peggy are narrowing these items down. I am not sure where this group is at with selection of the items.
Please take the time to check out our website – riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org. Information on it changes sometimes daily. This website is awesome!!! Thanks, Randy for constantly updating our website.

Therapy Dogs
Therapy Dogs International teams remain active in the community. Kathy and Digger visit Bluff Haven every Tuesday. Deb and Jasmine visit the Walter Schmitt Home every Tuesday. Paula Gutzmer and Maggie plan to visit Bluff Haven and the Opportunity Center. Deb Cross and her golden retrievers Jasmine and Sami and Nicki and Vegas and I have started the reading program at Bluff View. We will work with students in Mrs. Rohde’s and Mrs. Krachey’s 2nd grade classes who are identified as being at risk for reading. I have committed to visiting one day per week through March and Deb will visit twice a week. Both Deb and I are excited about this program as we will each work with the same students each time and feel that we will actually get to know these students and establish a relationship with them. We also feel that we will make and see a difference in the reading progress of these students. I will work with Mrs. Rohde’s students and Deb will take care of Mrs. Krachey’s class. We met with these students last week Wednesday they are very excited about this program. I was also contacted by a counselor from Wyalusing Academy about visiting a resident there whose therapy program involves the use of a therapy dog. Nothing has been set up yet, but I would love to work with this girl and share my dogs with her to hopefully make a difference in her life. At this time, the director of Wyalusing Academy is working on permission to allow dogs inside the building. The resident in need of a therapy dog has to make do with a toy, stuffed dog until this permission is gained.
Congratulations to Mike and Shelly Rider on the adoption of their daughter, Kaitlin.
Volunteer hours – Please keep track of your volunteer hours each month and get them to Jill. Volunteer hours can include any of the following and probably some things that are not mentioned: meetings, baking, working at fund raisers, hanging posters, phone calls and all the things it takes to make this organization as great as it is.

RABAS Christmas Party\December Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 16. This year’s party is at Huckleberry’s Restaurant. Social hour will start at 5 p.m. We will order off the menu at 6 p.m. The December meeting will take place while our food is being prepared. Everyone is responsible for their own meal and beverages. There will also be a gift exchange. Gifts should cost approximately $10. If you bring a gift, you will go home with a gift. I hope to see many of you at the party. Please bring your raffle ticket money to this meeting.
Gourds as a fund raiser? We never really finished this topic as far as I can tell. Jean Titlebach did give me some gourds from this year’s crop. I am waiting for them to dry. I think this fund raiser will be revisited as we get closer to planting season.

Membership Renewals
(Online Renewal) Memberships are good for one year from the month the member joined. Jill will send out renewal applications to those whose membership has expired. Please consider renewing your membership as memberships are an important part of our income. There are 5 different levels of membership:
$5.00 student; $15 Individual; $25 Family; $50 Sponsor; $100 Patron; $500 Benefactor. Some members choose to donate a fixed amount every month. Thanks to everyone for your financial support. Watch us grow!!

RABAS Wish List (Link)
Wish List Items include:
Land
Gift certificates to either the Courier Press or WPRE Radio Station to pay for ads for upcoming fund raisers
postage stamps, paper, envelopes, labels, napkins, paper towels, hand sanitizer, ketchup, mustard. Contact Bev at 326-2914 or reply to this email if you have any kitchen or paper supplies. If you have information on land, please contact Jami at 412-0052 or Bev at the above number.

Donations and Memberships
Lund Chiropractic - $75
Rod Sawvell - $200.00
Dennis and Debbie Leeser - Camping friend of Bev’s- $25
All donations are recognized in the Shelter Shorts and a thank you note is written.
Current and New Members
Mike and Shelly Rider $25 Family Membership
Allison Roberts and Angelica Dayrit $25 Family Membership
Ron Stark $100 Patron Membership
Betty and Eric Frydenlund $25 Family Membership
Mike & Mary Jane Faas $25 Family Membership
Kristin Helgerson Kriegal $15 Single Membership
Randy and Kathy Paske $25 Family Membership - renewal
Jennifer Clements $50 Sponsor Membership
Janice Hein $15 Single Membership
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Powers $25 Family Membership – renewal
Georgia Hutchinson $15 Single Membership – new
Shirley Wegmuller $15 Single Membership – renewal
Jami & Ken Quick $25 Family Membership – renewal
Donna & Dale Cipra $25 Family Membership – renewal
Marty Leeman $15 Single Membership – renewal
June Burns $15 Single Membership – new
Brian & Jill Cipra $25 Family Membership – renewal
Sharon Boylen - $15 Single Membership – renewql
Lynn Moris $15 Single Membership – renewal
Julie and Mollee White $15 Single Membership; $5 Student Membership - renewal
Olive Burmeister $50 Sponsor – new
Jeff & Christine Panka $25 Family Membership –w
Marilu Bintz $50 Sponsor - new
Linda & Randy Bedward $25 Family Membership – renewal
John & Judy Ryan $25 Family Membership - renewal
Gary & Kathy Koch $50 Sponsor Membership – renewal
Randi Kluesner $25 Family Membership – renewal
Sue Rider $15 Single Membership – renewal
Bonnie Olson $50 Sponsor Membership - renewal
Janet Lueck $15 Single Membership – new
Peggy Johnson $25 Family Membership –
Paula Gutzmer $15 – Single Membership
Jane Howe $15 - Single Membership
Kim Pinkham $15 – Single Membership
Donna Heilmann $15 – Single Membership
Donna Hamm $15 - Single Membership
Deb Cross $25 – Family Membership
Sarah Bartash & Don $25 - Family Membership
Linda Munson $50 – Sponsor Membership -
Lu De Guzman $100 Patron Membership
Vicki Mueller $50 Sponsor Membership -
L LaMarr Kappmeyer $15 Single Membership –
Kelly Fishler $15 Single Membership –
Rosemary Reese $15 Single Membership –
Jeff Lenhart $15 Single Membership
Tractor Supply $25 Family Membership
Hillary Bark $5 Student Membership
Jan Burnhard $15 Single Membership
Candace Miller $15 Single Membership
Debbie Mason $25 Family Membership
Phil & Deb Dwornik $50 Sponsor Membership
Sharon Boylen $15 Individual Membership
Joe and Susan Van Metre $25 Family Membership
Lisa Parello $15 Family Membership
Alexis Burns Honorary Membership
Ray Wrobel $15 Individual Membership
Reminder: Annual memberships should be renewed 1 year from the month in which you joined.
Continued Monthly Pledges
Don and Eileen Klatt $25 Monthly Pledge
Bev Pozega $25 Monthly Pledge
Sandy Kittle $10 Monthly Pledge
(Paid $60 at August meeting for 6 months) October, November, December, Jan. Feb. March 2011
Thanks to everyone who volunteered this month in any way. Thanks to everyone who supported us through donations, and memberships. There are many jobs that continue to get done without recognition. Membership and volunteer listings are current through September 2. If I missed your name, I apologize. Please let me know and I will include it next month. We appreciate your support.

River and Bluffs Animal Shelter Membership Form

Student - $5.00 ____ Sponsor - $50.00 _____
Individual - $15.00 ____ Patron - $100.00 _____
Family - $25.00 ____ Benefactor - $500.00
I would like to make a monthly pledge of : ________ per month for a total of
$_______ per year.

Name:___________________________________
Address:_________________________________
City/State/Zip_____________________________
Email:____________________________________ Phone Number:______________________

Please mail membership form to: River and Bluffs Animal Shelter
PO Box 421, Prairie du Chien, WI 53821

Reminders/Volunteer Sign up sheets

Thursday, December 2
Wake Up Santa Decorating
Time: 5 p.m. – PdC City Hall – Community Room
Please bring decorations, lights, tree ornaments. Make sure everything is labeled if you want to be sure of its return.

Friday, December 3
PdC Chamber of Commerce Holiday Parade
We will decorate starting at 2:30 p.m. at Eagle Electric
Parade starts at 5:30 p.m. – meet us on the Island

Saturday, December 4
Wake Up Santa
7 a.m. Final preparations

Thursday, December 16
RABAS Christmast Party and December meeting
Huckleberry’s Restaurant
Social Hour – 5 p.m. Order off the menu – 6 p.m. Meeting starts at 6 p.m.
$10 gift exchange
Bring raffle ticket money.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, December 17, 18 and 19
Gift wrapping at Tractor Supply
Christmas baked good needed.
Bring any raffle tickets that you still may have.

Wake Up Santa Sign Up Sheet

Registration:
Jami, Jill, Bev – need about 2 more for this

Kitchen Staff:
Ken Quick – Chief Pancake Maker
Jean Bula, Kay Schmitz, Peggy Johnson
John and Judy – bussing, coffee servers, garbage

Secret Santa Gift Shop
3 Girl Scouts
1 or 2 more people still needed

Santa’s Secret Work Shop
Shirley, Julie W. – more help needed
Bingo Parent/Children Interactive Coloring
Need volunteers No volunteer needed other than checking on
Supplies – coloring sheets and colors.

Santa – Randy
Mrs. Santa – Kathy
Chance - Linda

Photographer – Brian and Jill Cipra

Santa Visits – on deck
Girl scout or Bev

Tractor Supply Gift Wrapping/Bake Sale

Friday December 17 – 4-8
If it is extremely slow, please know that you can leave earlier.
1. Randi K.
2. need someone
Saturday, December 18 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
1. Jill
2. Bev
3. Deb Cross ?
Saturday, December 18 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
1. Sandy
2. Julie W
3. Mollee W
We will close at 4 p.m.

Randy and Kathy, you were down from 4-8 – can you take a different shift as needed?
Sunday – 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
1. Jami – on call
2. need someone

Bakers – we need a nice selection of baked goods.
Jami, Jill, Bev

October 2010

2010-09-26T19:57:00.009-05:00

Shelter Shorts October 2010

August 2010

2010-09-05T08:28:00.002-05:00

Kathy, Peggy and I traveled across the river to McGregor to order tee shirts from the McGregorville Mall. We ordered 4 colors of tee shirts – sand, light green, yellow, and pink in 3 sizes, medium, large and XL. The logo will be on the front in color. Our cost of these shirts is $8 each. The shirts are done and I will pick them up on Tuesday, Sept. 7.

Dog Obedience Classes

View RABAS Dog Classes in a larger map

The fall dog obedience class will start on Sunday evening, Sept. 19 at 7:00 p.m. The location is Eagle Electric. We will use the parking lot as long as weather permits and as it gets colder and we steadily lose daylight, we will move classes to 6 p.m. and/or move inside the Eagle Electric Shop. Thanks to Ken Quick for the use of his shop for dog classes. At this time, I have 6 dogs/humans registered with a few return calls to be made. I hope to do only one class with no more than 8-10 dogs per session. Cost of the class is $80 for 8 lessons, with all proceeds going to RABAS. Dogs must be current on all vaccinations, including kennel cough and also need to be on a topical flea and tick treatment, such as Frontline. A recent negative fecal test is also required. For more information, please call me at 326-2914.

USBones.com

Please continue ordering cat and dog treats from USBones.com. They donate 25% of each order placed to RABAS.

Dr. Donna Higgins’ Wildlife Photo Gallery

Dr. Donna Higgins continues to support RABAS through her beautiful wildlife prints on display at her office downtown PdC. The framed and matted prints, sell for $85, of which Donna donates $50 to RABAS. If you are looking for an attractive addition to your home or office, or a unique gift idea, please consider a print from Donna Higgins. Donna’s wildlife prints range from humming birds to bald eagles, deer, egrets and pelicans.

The prints can be viewed on line at our website (www.riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org) or at her office on Blackhawk Avenue (next to Stark’s). To date, Donna has sold 8 prints, including 2 of the 3 that we took to the wine tasting. One sold for $85 and the other for $100, with a profit of $115.

Donna’s beautiful and always popular wildlife calendars have returned for 2011. Calendars sell for $5 each and for each calendar that RABAS sells, Donna donates $2.50 to the shelter. Calendars are available at Tender Care Animal Hospital and at all upcoming fund raisers.

Pies for POPS Bake Sale and Rummage Sale

The check from Thrivent Financial for $750 was received last week and deposited. The amount we actually received from them was $250. I wrote them a check for $500 and we were reimbursed that much plus the $250 for a total check of $750.

Country on the River is now history. It was a lot of work, but again we all pulled together and got the job done. Thanks to Jami and Ken for organizing this huge fund raiser and going the extra miles (many miles actually) to make it all come together. My personal feelings about COTR are that it was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of fun. Even though we did not make as much money as we had hoped to, I hope that we can and will do it again next year. What we learned from this year’s COTR will be very valuable in planning for next year if we are involved. We ordered more food than we actually needed, but no one knew what to expect as far as crowd size. We did not realize that as soon as the gates opened at noon that people would not be lining up to purchase food. They wanted to get good seats close to the stage. I hope to have the final figures by next week – we are still in the process of selling and collecting for some left over Kwik Trip Lemonade and Kwik Ade. Once all monies are collected, a report will be completed. As many of you who read the local Courier Press know, we did receive some bad press from Jack Cooper in the Letter to the Editor. In his letter, Jack stated that we did not comply with health regulations regarding food stands. For those of you who were not involved with COTR, please know that we were inspected by the health inspector. She told us that there were 2 things we were not in compliance with: a screened in work area to protect food being prepared from dust and insects and some type of ground cover. Both of these issues were not included in the information that Jami received prior to COTR. The health inspector told us that we would be ok this year because of the changes not being in the regulations, but we will have to comply if we wish to have a stand at COTR next year. We told her that we were willing to purchase the screening and put mats down for flooring. She specifically told us we did not need to. Jami’s response in her Letter to the Editor was quick, honest, and to the point. Many of us have received very positive comments about Jami’s letter. Our organization and our members have a good reputation in the area and many people in the community are aware of the good we do for this area. COTR is now history and enough has been said about it. Again, I hope we can do it again next year.

I did call the health inspector to ask if we need to comply with the above issues at all of the food stands we do in the course of a year. The answer is yes. We need to have screening on 3 sides of the food prep area as well as some type of flooring to cover the ground. If we are working on pavement or cement, the flooring is not required. We recently purchased a screen that attaches to our awning. We also have matting that we can use for ground cover at any food stands that are on dirt or grass. Thanks to everyone who has helped in anyway with this event.

Green Bay Packer Tickets – Thanks to everyone who sold the Green Bay Packer/Detroit Lions raffle tickets. Thanks to your sales, RABAS netted $2000.00 in clear profit with no expenses. There were a number of you who went above and beyond in selling those tickets. You are great and your hard work is truly appreciated. Brenda Wilson is the happy winner of the two tickets to the October 3 game. Congratulations to Brenda. A big thank you goes out to Jim Hutchinson for donating the tickets and also to Jami for organizing this profitable fund raiser.

Go Pack Go!!!

Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle – Saturday, August 28th dawned warm and sunny – a perfect day for the 3rd Annual Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle. We could not have asked for better weather for the dog swim. This event came together almost by itself (well maybe not by itself) but there was very little preplanning that went into it this year. All involved had worked on this event before, and we all knew what had to be done and we did it. Food was simple as we sold hamburgers and walking tacos as well as lemonade and Kwik Ade left over from COTR. Jami and Bev contacted local businesses for donations for prizes and silent auction items and also met with Norb for an interview on People Places and Things on WPRE. Bev was responsible for ads on the radio and in the paper. Randi K contacted a life guard and made original arrangements for a microphone. Randy P did posters, advance tickets, and website info, Jill contacted the people in charge of the signs at the edge of town and was also responsible for submitting an application for and receiving an autographed Green Bay Packer football which brought in $85 on the silent auction table.. On the morning of the dog swim, Peggy, Paskes, Jami, Jill, Vicki, Ryans, Phil and Bev met at 7 a.m. to set up and put the finishing touches on our plans. Jill enlisted the help of her mom, Kay in the food stand. Jami and Peggy manned the registration table. John and Judy, Phil, Kathy P and her mom took care of the silent auction and the many raffle prizes, Vicki sold raffle tickets, Randy P was in charge of recording it all on film, Randi K kept an eagle eye out for anything that need attending to as well as rounding up a new life guard at the last minute when the one she had scheduled did not show up. She also kept people from going in deeper than knee depth and Bev got to make a fool of herself on the microphone trying to come up with exciting dog games. Thanks to all who helped in any way – making beautiful items for the silent auction, bringing your dogs to swim, purchasing food from us and as always supporting RABAS volunteers in our efforts. Again, we heard many favorable comments about this event. Thanks to Mike Ulrich and the PdC Park and Rec Dept. for cosponsoring this event. We made $1,365.29 after expenses on the Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle. Thanks again to everyone who helped in any way with this event.

Yappy Hour –Yappy Hour has been tabled until next summer.

Opportunity Center Farmers Market Food Stand will be held on Saturday, September 11. Hours are from 7:30-noon. Jill and Bev are signed up to work it. We will sell breakfast items – rolls, muffins, turnovers, etc. We will need some breakfast baked goods. Please let me know if you can bring some breakfast items. I do not think we will need more than a few dozen items at the most.

Crawford County Fair – Slushies for the Shelter – I was contacted by the Crawford County Fair Association to see if we would be interested in a Slushie stand at the fair. We would not need to supply anything or do anything other than show up. Angelica and Allison volunteered to work on Thursday from 4 p.m. – 9 p.m. At 6 p.m., the Slushie machine was still not set up. They decided it was not worth staying much longer as it would take time to find someone to set it up and at least an hour for the Slushie mix to get icy. Jill and Bev were scheduled for Friday and Saturday nights from 4-9. Bev had talked to Heather from the Fair Association on Friday to make sure that the Slushie stand would be set up and ready to go when they arrived. When we arrived, we checked in at the office and were told everything was set. We were told it was near the beer stand by the grand stand entrance. We did find it, finally. To say the least, the location chosen for the Slushie stand was not ideal. It was located next to the beer stand, but a fence between the beer stand and the Slushie stand prevented easy access to the stand. We were also behind a permanent food stand, which prevented people from even seeing the stand. The stand was very difficult to get to as you had to walk between tent stakes and ropes of the beer stand. By 7 p.m., Jill and I had not sold 1 Slushie. So we had a discussion with Heather and told her we were leaving and would not be back on Saturday. It was disappointing to say the least. Heather did apologize to us for the location and asked if we would be interested in doing it next year. I told her to contact me and we will talk about it.

Halloween Pet/Owner Costume Contest – Dave, the manager of Tractor Supply approached me a few months ago about sponsoring a Halloween Costume Contest for pets and/or pets and their owners. It will be on Sunday, October 31. It will start at noon or maybe 1 p.m. More details on this will follow. When Dave and I first talked about it, he said that Tractor Supply would provide prizes for the top 3 winners voted on by Tractor Supply Employees. I do not think this event will require too much work on our part.

Pals and Paws for a Cause Dog Walk – we decided not to have it this year due to the amount of work and lack of interest. At the last meeting, we talked about doing both weekends in October at McGregor. We never decided anything.

McGregor Arts and Craft Fair – As mentioned above, we did not decide at the August meeting if we will do one or both weekends in McGregor. Bev suggested ordering popcorn from Iowa Popcorn Co. This was suggested for a number of reasons: The owner donated $100 to RABAS in the past. We have ordered popcorn from Rural Route 1 for 3 years and they have never donated a dime to us. Many of the people who attend the McGregor Arts and Craft Fair are from Iowa and they are familiar with Iowa Popcorn Co, but not with Rural Route 1 Popcorn. The products are similar. I will contact them to get a price list. I will also take care of getting a booth at McGregor. Unless, Iowa Popcorn is more expensive than Rural Route 1, we will order form them.

I do need to know very soon which weekend or if both weekends will work for RABAS volunteers. Please reply to this email or call me at 326-2914 if you can work and if so, which weekend you can. Based on the response, I will decide one weekend or both. Which ever weekend has the best response, I will go with. If both weekends have good response, I will book two. Please, if you say that you can work, know that I am expecting you to be there on that weekend. It will also determine how much popcorn to order. I need to get the order placed soon to receive it in time for the 1st weekend in October. Reminder, the craft fair is the first two weekends in October.

Quilts Raffle – We have two beautiful quilts which we had originally thought about using as silent auction items for the Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle. But we learned at the wine tasting in LaCrosse, that quilts do not bring in enough money on silent auctions to justify the cost of the material and the amount of time it takes to make the quilt. So we decided to do another long-standing raffle for both quilts which will start as soon as Sandy can make the raffle tickets. We hope to sell them at McGregor’s Arts and Craft Fair, in local stores and through our members and volunteers. The drawing will be on December 19 at Tractor Supply. Hopefully, this will be the date we wrap gifts and have a Christmas bake sale there. Dave, I will be in to talk to you about this in the next couple of days. Kathy P. made a Green Bay Packer Quilt and the lady who runs Frenchman’s Landing Campground made the other quilt. I believe we said at the meeting that the tickets will sell for $1 each or 6 for $5. (See Additional Photos)

Pounds Off People and Pooches (POPPS) continues. As always, we meet east of the Villa Louis and north of the Sculpture Park. The walk starts at 6:00 p.m. Remember to bring water for your dogs (and yourself if you would like), poop bags, dog leashes (flexie leads not recommended) and comfortable walking shoes. Hope to see you there.

Property and Building Committee – The 3rd meeting of this committee was postponed due to a schedule conflict. An alternate date has not yet been decided as far as I know. Please contact repaske (at) gmail (dot) com.

RABAS Merchandise – It was suggested at the April meeting that we sell some smaller items with our logo on. Items may include can coolers, magnets for vehicles, coffee mugs, and insulated mugs. The McGregorville Mall may be able to help with these items. No activity on this matter to date.

Please take the time to check out our website – riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org. Information on it changes sometimes daily. Thanks, Randy for constantly updating our website.

Therapy Dogs

Therapy Dogs International teams remain active in the community. Kathy and Digger visit Bluff Haven every Tuesday. Deb and Jasmine visit the Walter Schmitt Home every Tuesday. In late July, Donna and her dogs, Sadie and Molly, Jill and Scooter, Kathy and Digger and Bev and Vegas and Nicki as well as Bev’s 8 month old grandson, Tristan, visited Bluff Haven. As always, this was a lot of fun and was enjoyed by staff, residents, dog owners and the dogs. The residents enjoyed Tristan and vice versa. I would like to set something up regularly at Bluff Haven.

Deb and her goldens, Jas and Sammy and Bev and Vegas and Nicki will start the reading program at B A Kennedy and Bluff View the middle or end of next month. Paula will soon be retired and then she and Maggie will join the therapy dog teams.

Volunteer hours – Please keep track of your volunteer hours each month and get them to Jill. Volunteer hours can include any of the following and probably some things that are not mentioned: meetings, baking, working at fund raisers, hanging posters, phone calls and all the things it takes to make this organization as great as it is.

Membership Renewals

Memberships are good for one year from the month the member joined. Donna regularly sends out renewal applications to those whose membership has expired. Please consider renewing your membership as memberships are an important part of our income. There are 5 different levels of membership:(Link)

$5.00 student; $15 Individual; $25 Family; $50 Sponsor; $100 Patron; $500 Benefactor. Some members choose to donate a fixed amount every month. Thanks to everyone for your financial support. Watch us grow!!

RABAS Wish List

Wish List Items include:

Land
Gift certificates to either the Courier Press or WPRE Radio Station to pay for ads for upcoming fund raisers
postage stamps, paper, envelopes, labels, napkins, paper towels, hand sanitizer, ketchup, mustard. Contact Bev at 326-2914 or reply to this email if you have any kitchen or paper supplies. If you have information on land, please contact Jami at 412-0052 or Bev at the above number.

Shelter Spotlight will focus on one member, business or organization each month to recognize that member/business/organization for their dedication and support of Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter. If you know someone you would like featured in “Shelter Spotlight”, please let Bev know.

Many months it is difficult to shine the spotlight on one individual or business because there could be a number of people very active the previous month. So it is with August.

The August Spotlight shines on a number of people: Jami and Ken Quick for all of the work they both put into Country on the River. Most of us do not even have an idea of the number of phone calls Jami made to make sure this event would come off without a hitch. Without Ken’s help and the use of his truck and trailer, this event would not have been possible. Just watching Ken and Jami load all of the lemonade and Kwik Ade into Ken’s truck on the Thursday prior to COTR was indeed a feat in itself. I can’t even count how many times Ken’s truck, trailer and the refrigerated trailer were loaded and then unloaded with various items including a chest freezer, 3,500 hamburger paddies, the fixings for 2,000 tacos, 500 pounds of cheese curds, tables and all the supplies necessary for that event. They took everything in stride and set an example for all of us as how to work together as a team. There was no one more deserving than Ken and Jami to win the free tickets to COTR from Sawmill; Paula Gutzmer for selling the number of Packer raffle tickets that she did. I do not know exactly how many she sold, but I do know that any time it looked like there might be some extra tickets that might go unsold, Paula would stop at Tender Care and pick up an extra 20 or so and in no time have them sold; Jim Hutchinson for donating the Packer tickets to RABAS. This was in my opinion the easiest and one of the most profitable fund raisers yet.

REMINDER – THE SEPTEMBER MEETING IS A POTLUCK AT THE JAYCEE SHELTER ON ST. FERIOLE ISLAND. BRING A DISH TO PASS AND YOUR OWN TABLEWARE. FOR MORE INFO., PLEASE CALL 326-2914 AFTER 9 P.M.

Donations and Memberships

Bev Pozega – In memory of John and Judy’s dog, Buddy - $25

John and Judy Ryan – In memory of their dog, Buddy - $100

Dwayne and Jan Koecke – In memory of John and Judy’s Buddy - $20

Girl Scout Troop 244, Marshfield, Wis. – Bev’s nephew’s daughters’ GST $300

Carol and Gary Gross - $30

Donna and Dale Cipra in memory of Jill’s birthday $25

Irma Koonce - $25

All donations are recognized in the Shelter Shorts and a thank you note is written.

Current and New Members

Kristin Helgerson Kriegal $15 Single Membership

Randy and Kathy Paske $25 Family Membership - renewal

Jennifer Clements $50 Sponsor Membership

Janice Hein (missed in last month’s $15 Single membership - new

Mr. and Mrs. Jim Powers $25 Family Membership – renewal

Georgia Hutchinson $15 Single Membership – new

Shirley Wegmuller $15 Single Membership – renewal

Jami & Ken Quick $25 Family Membership – renewal

Donna & Dale Cipra $25 Family Membership – renewal

Marty Leeman $15 Single Membership – renewal

June Burns $15 Single Membership – new

Brian & Jill Cipra $25 Family Membership – renewal

Sharon Boylen - $15 Single Membership – renewql

Lynn Moris $15 Single Membership – renewal

Julie and Mollee White $15 Single Membership; $5 Student Membership - renewal

Olive Burmeister $50 Sponsor – new

Jeff & Christine Panka $25 Family Membership –w

Marilu Bintz $50 Sponsor - new

Linda & Randy Bedward $25 Family Membership – renewal

John & Judy Ryan $25 Family Membership - renewal

Gary & Kathy Koch $50 Sponsor Membership – renewal

Randi Kluesner $25 Family Membership – renewal

Sue Rider $15 Single Membership – renewal

Bonnie Olson $50 Sponsor Membership - renewal

Janet Lueck $15 Single Membership – new

Peggy Johnson $25 Family Membership –

Paula Gutzmer $15 – Single Membership

Jane Howe $15 - Single Membership

Kim Pinkham $15 – Single Membership

Donna Hamm $15 - Single Membership

Deb Cross $25 – Family Membership

Sarah Bartash & Don $25 - Family Membership

Linda Munson $50 – Sponsor Membership -

Lu De Guzman $100 Patron Membership

Vicki Mueller $50 Sponsor Membership -

L LaMarr Kappmeyer $15 Single Membership –

Kelly Fishler $15 Single Membership –

Rosemary Reese $15 Single Membership –

Jeff Lenhart $15 Single Membership

Tractor Supply $25 Family Membership

Hillary Bark $5 Student Membership

Jan Burnhard $15 Single Membership

Candace Miller $15 Single Membership

Debbie Mason $25 Family Membership

Phil & Deb Dwornik $50 Sponsor Membership

Betty & Eric Frydenlund $25 Family Membership -

Ron Stark $100 Patron Membership

Mike and Shelly Rider $25 Family Membership

Bill Hamm $15 Single Membership

Mike and Mary Jane Faas $25 Family Membership –

Allison Roberts/Angelica Tablizo $25 Family Membership

Sharon Boylen $15 Individual Membership

Joe and Susan Van Metre $25 Family Membership

Lisa Parello $15 Family Membership

Alexis Burns Honorary Membership

Ray Wrobel $15 Individual Membership

Reminder: Annual memberships should be renewed 1 year from the month in which you joined.

Continued Monthly Pledges

Don and Eileen Klatt $25 Monthly Pledge

Bev Pozega $25 Monthly Pledge

Sandy Kittle $10 Monthly Pledge

(Paid $60 at August meeting for 6 months) October, November, December, Jan. Feb. March 2011

June Burns $30 Monthly Pledge – paid for 2 months.

Thanks to everyone who volunteered this month in any way. Thanks to everyone who supported us through donations, and memberships. There are many jobs that continue to get done without recognition. Membership and volunteer listings are current through September 2. If I missed your name, I apologize. Please let me know and I will include it next month. We appreciate your support.

River and Bluffs Animal Shelter Membership Form

Student - $5.00 ____ Sponsor - $50.00 _____

Individual - $15.00 ____ Patron - $100.00 _____

Family - $25.00 ____ Benefactor - $500.00

I would like to make a monthly pledge of : ________ per month for a total of

$_______ per year.

Name:___________________________________

Address:_________________________________

City/State/Zip_____________________________

Email:____________________________________ Phone Number:______________________

Please mail membership form to: River and Bluffs Animal Shelter

PO Box 421, Prairie du Chien, WI 53821

July 2010

2010-07-23T08:33:00.002-05:00

SHELTER SHORTS
July 2010
SHELTER SHORTS is a monthly newsletter intended to keep Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter volunteers and supporters connected. With everyone’s hectic schedules, we know it is often difficult, if not impossible to attend monthly meetings or to work at all of our fundraisers.

Everyone is invited to submit articles for the newsletter. To do so, please call Bev at 608-326-2914 or email her at lilnicki@live.com.

Monthly meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of every month at the Prairie du Chien City Hall. Meetings begin at 6:00 p.m. Please use the back door. (Link to Map) Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. The next meeting is Thursday, August 19. I hope to see you there.

Fundraising Update

Phoneraisers
A check was received last week from Phoneraisers for $163. Thanks to Donna for sending them in and also to Jill, Julie and Donna for picking them up at the dropoff places.
Please continue to save your old cell phones and ink jet cartridges. Drop them off at Tender Care Animal Hospital, or bring them to the monthly meeting. A representative from Phoneraiser called me this week and said that we are one of their top earners. She said that they have paid us over $900 this year and she wanted to know how we get so many old phones and used cartridges. I told her that we have boxes up at various stores in the area.

Tee Shirts and Sweatshirts
At July’s meeting, Randy and Kathy reported that the McGregorville Mall will not be printing tee shirts as the machine is very expensive and he felt that with the end of the tourist season fast approaching, it would not be profitable to start the tee shirt printing business any more this year. But the owner of McGregorville Mall must have reconsidered, as Randy just emailed me that the man called him and said it would be a go. So hopefully by the August meeting, Randy will have some information and a price list.

Dog Obedience Classes
New classes will start in early September. The August session was postponed due to the heat.

USBones.com (Link to USBones)
Please continue ordering cat and dog treats from USBones.com. They donate 25% of each order placed to RABAS.

Dr. Donna Higgins’ Wildlife Photo Gallery (Link to Gallery)
Dr. Donna Higgins continues to support RABAS through her beautiful wildlife prints on display at her office downtown PdC. The framed and matted prints, sell for $85, of which Donna donates $50 to RABAS. If you are looking for an attractive addition to your home or office, or a unique gift idea, please consider a print from Donna Higgins. Donna’s wildlife prints range from humming birds to bald eagles, deer, egrets and pelicans.
The prints can be viewed on line at our website (www.riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org) or at her office on Blackhawk Avenue (next to Stark’s). To date, Donna has sold 8 prints, including 2 of the 3 that we took to the wine tasting. One sold for $85 and the other for $100, with a profit of $115.

Pies for POPS Bake Sale and Rummage Sale
Because we did not make $1,000.00 at Pies for Pops, Thrivent Financial will donate $250 to RABAS as part of their Care Abounds in Communities Program. In years past, we received $500 from Thrivent because our profit was $1000.00 or more.

Country on the River will soon be history. Loose ends are being tied up, or at least tightened. We are ordering 3,200 hamburger patties from Bloomington meats, 500 pounds of cheese curds from Mr. Mouse and the fixings for 2000 walking tacos from Lonnie Achenbach who owns 2 Subways in Iowa. Hamburger buns will be purchased from Sunbeam – they are donating a number of hamburger buns (I can’t remember how many – sorry). Tractor Supply will donate the LP for the gas grill and a big tub for the beverages. We are renting the large grill from Nelson True Value – cost is $74 per day, but they will give us one day free, so cost is $74. They are also donating one day of tent rental. We will also sell KwikAde (Kwik Trip is also donating a number of bottles of Kwik Ade – again the number escapes me). The walking taco supplies will arrive at the Elkader Subway on Wednesday, Aug. 4. Hamburger patties and cheese curds will be picked up on Thursday. It was decided at the July meeting not to sell cheeseburgers. We couldn’t decide on the cost of a cheeseburger vs. hamburger and handling cheese slices when it is 90 degrees out did not sound appealing to us. John and Ken suggested early this week that we have onions for the hamburgers. Subway will also provide the onions. They come whole, but Nicki and her staff at the Elkader Subway will slice them and put them in bags. Kelly Fishler will pick the onions up on Thursday afternoon. Shelf life for the onions is about 2 days, so the onions will still be ok to serve on Saturday. Nicki at Subway suggested we have pickle slices for the hamburgers. We will order one case of pickle slices, which will serve at least 1,000 hamburgers. She will also let us borrow a scoop for dishing up the taco meat and suggested we get another one or two of the same size - #12 dipper. She said I could probably borrow another one from PdC Subway, but when I stopped in there to check, I think they thought I was crazy and did not have any idea what a #12 dipper was. We will look at the one she sends and will find one the same size. Nicki will also provide additional squeeze bottles for the sour cream. I have 6 or 7 in the food bins. If we could fill these on Thursday evening, they would be set to go for Friday. We are bagging cheese curds on Thursday, Aug. 5 at 6 p.m. at the PdC City Hall – Community Room (same place we have our meetings). Remember to use the back door if you signed up to help. We may do some set up on the island on Thursday night. That has not yet been decided. Jami has contacted Rockweilers – they will donate a chest freezer to keep the burgers and taco meat frozen. We received a $50 gift card from Wal-Mart that will be used to purchase supplies such as napkins, forks, baggies, etc. Preferred Distributing is donating a refrigerated trailer. We also have an extra on reserve in case we need more than one for all of the food that will need to be refrigerated. If anyone can donate a few packages of plastic forks, baggies or napkins, that would be great. Baggies should be either the pint or sandwich size and should be Ziploc. You can drop them off at Tender Care Animal Hospital or bring them to the Community Room at City Hall on Thursday night at 6 p.m. Angelica and Allison have donations of ice from just about every business in the area that deals in ice. This means we will not need much if any ice from our members as mentioned at the July meeting. If a few wanted to make ice and bring it when you work your shift that will most likely be enough. The large containers of ice will stay frozen longer than the cubes, but Allison and Angelica do have hundreds of pounds of ice coming for free We will also sell our Green Bay Packer Raffle tickets at Country on the River.
We can have 6 workers per shift. There will be 2 shifts each day. We are still in need of 1 person to work Saturday evening. If you can work it, please call Jami at 608-412-0052. If you did sign up to work, please plan on working. If you cannot work, please find a replacement. At this time, we do not have an exact location of our stand. Jami will get the needed information (location, passes, parking, etc) to those working when the information becomes available. We may have a short meeting for those working COTR sometime prior to the event (wouldn’t do much good to have it after, I guess). This will finalize all of our unanswered questions. There have been a number of RABAS members involved with this event, but Jami has put in many hours with the planning of this event. Next time you see her, please let her know how much we appreciate all of the leg work and behind the scenes work she has done for what will undoubtedly be our biggest fund raiser to date. Ken has volunteered to haul the freezer, pickup the taco fixings from Subway in Elkader, haul the refrigerated trailer, supply generators if needed, set up the lighting needed for after sunset, and many other countless things for an event this size. John will pick up the grill from True Value. Thanks to everyone who has helped in anyway with this event.
We will clean up on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. Help is still needed. So here is your chance to volunteer if you are not able to help at the event itself. If everyone pitches in, we can be done by noon.

2nd Annual Pamper Your Pooch Dog Wash was held on Saturday, July 10 at Tractor Supply. The weather cooperated this time with temps in the mid 80s and sunny skies. We washed 50 dogs @ $5 each, ranging from toy poodles to a St. Bernard, Great Pyrenees and a Bernese Mountain Dog. Next year we will raise the price to $10 per dog. The donation jar netted $141. We also sold a few Packer raffle tickets.

Alan Schefsky – AlanPetArt (Link) – was on hand to take dog portraits. Most portraits were by appointment, but he did take a few that did not have appointments. There were a total of 14 dog portraits taken at $15 per portrait. Alan is a very talented pet photographer. It was fun watching him work with the dogs to get the pose he wanted. I look forward to working with him with future fund raisers.

Green Bay Packer Tickets – The date of the Packer Game raffle is October 3 – Green Bay Packers vs. the Detroit Lions. The seats are on the 10 yard line, 15 rows up on the Green Bay side. There are 200 tickets to be sold at $10 each. If we can sell all 200 tickets, we will make $2,000. Please consider buying some for yourself or taking some to sell to friends and family. The drawing will be held at the Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle at 1:00 p.m. Top sellers to date are: Jami, Paula, Jane, Angelica and Allison, Deb and Peggy. They have sold at least 10 tickets each. So that is over 60 sold, which means at the most there are only 140 left to sell. If you would like to purchase tickets or would be willing to take some to sell, please contact Jami at 412-0052. Remember, if we can sell all 200 tickets, we will make $2.000.00 clear.

Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle – The date for the 3rd Annual Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle is Saturday, August 28. Since this is our 3rd dog swim, organization and planning will be similar to previous years. We will need a number of volunteers to help with registration, scoop the poop raffle, food stand, raffle, silent auction, “policing the area” to make sure people do not go past their knees in the water and that dogs are well behaved. We also need to secure at least 1 life guard. We are also looking for Silent Auction items. If we could get a few things similar to the silent auction items we had for the wine tasting in LaCrosse that would be great. If you can donate anything – either home-made, or something you asked an area merchant for, please reply to this email. We had talked about possibly 15 silent auction items for the PPPP. Jill submitted an application to the Green Bay Packer Foundation and 4 days later was rewarded with an autographed football of this year’s GB Packers. If you are going to ask a business to donate, I wonder if you should let me know first. I would hate for one business to be hit up by a number of RABAS members. We will finalize plans for this at the August meeting. We need to get through Country on the River first.

Yappy Hour – Date still has not been set, but it will most likely be on a Thursday evening in September. Yappy hour will be a “Happy Hour” for dogs and their owners in the outdoor patio next to Sawmill Saloon. Bonnie Fuller, the owner of The Sawmill was very supportive of the idea and will donate snacks to go with the drinks. She will have a drink special for “Yappy Hour”. We will have a donation jar which will be our only means of fund raising for this event. I tried setting this up this week, but every time I called Bonnie was not it. Will try one more time on Friday and if not successful, will do it next week.

Pet Photos – As mentioned above, Alan Schefsky took 14 dog portraits at a profit of $15 per portrait to RABAS. Thanks, Alan, for offering your time and talent to our organization. Thanks, also to Windy Mezera, for donating a room at The Delta Motel for Alan to stay over in on Friday night. Thanks also to all the businesses that sold advance portrait sessions: Tractor Supply, LA Fashions, Dr. Donna A. Higgins, Optometrist, Tender Care Animal Hospital, Southwest Vet, and Anchor Bank.

Opportunity Center Farmers Market Food Stand will be held on Saturday, September 11. Hours are from 7:30-noon (I believe). We can sell anything we want. Some of the recent food stands have been very busy. We can also have some of our dogs there to help draw a crowd. A sing up sheet will be available at the August meeting.

Crawford County Fair – Slushies for the Shelter – I was contacted by the Crawford County Fair Association to see if we would be interested in a Slushie stand at the fair. We do not need to supply anything, other than a few volunteers. We are required to be there on Friday and Saturday, August 13th and 14th from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Additional dates are Thursday, August 12 and Sunday, August 15. Randy P, Jill and Bev will work on Friday and Saturday. Angelica and Allison will cover Thursday. Jill and Bev had signed up to work on Sunday, but after further discussion, they have decided not to. If anyone else would like to work the Slushie stand at the fair, let me know. I am working on free parking passes. The fair closes on Sunday. RABAS will receive all profits after expenses.

Halloween Pet/Owner Costume Contest – Dave, the manager of Tractor Supply had asked me a couple of months ago about the possibility of a Halloween Costume Contest. I had forgotten about it until this past weekend when I went in there to ask about LP for the tank for the grill. Angelica and Allison were in Tractor Supply at the same time. Dave mentioned it again to us. So we picked the date for the Halloween Pet/Owner Costume Contest. It is set for Sunday, October 31 from noon – 3. This will give families plenty of time to get the kids ready for trick or treating, yet still be able to drop by for the contest. Dave suggested that pets and their owners, both in costumes or pets in costumes drop in anytime from 12-3. They will have their picture taken. At 3 p.m., TSC employees will vote on the top 3 costumes. TSC will supply the prizes. Allison suggested in addition to the contest, we have a bake sale featuring Halloween/fall baked goods – pumpkin bread, etc. We could ask for donations for those interested or charge a fee for contest entry. Makes for a good topic for the next meeting. Again, thanks to Dave and the staff at TSC for always being so supportive of RABAS!

Future fundraiser yet to be discussed – We need to talk about Pals and Paws for a Cause – do we want to do it again, if so, when?

OTHER HOT TOPICS
Pounds Off People and Pooches (POPPS) continues. As always, we meet east of the Villa Louis and north of the Sculpture Park. The walk starts at 6:00 p.m. Remember to bring water for your dogs (and yourself if you would like), poop bags, dog leashes (flexie leads not recommended) and comfortable walking shoes. Hope to see you there.

Property and Building Committee met for the 2nd time at Eagle Electric. The group now has a “conceptual floor plan” of the shelter and may be subject to change as we actually approach land acquisition in what we hope will be the not too distant future. The plan includes a training/banquet room in which dog obedience and therapy dog classes could be taught. In addition to dog classes, this room could also be used to hold birthday parties for dogs, host some of our events such as Wake Up Santa and Princess for the Evening, and possibly even be used as a rental hall for weddings, family reunions, etc. as a way of raising funds for operating expenses. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, August 11 at Allison and Angelica’s Ranch on Wall Ridge. The meeting will start at 6 p.m. and will include a discussion of a 5 point business plan. If you are interested in attending, please contact Allison or Randy Paske for directions. Randy will get a map out via email to those who have internet and would like to attend. (Image is not the plan....But it is a great idea!)

RABAS Merchandize – It was suggested at the April meeting that we sell some smaller items with our logo on. Items may include can coolers, magnets for vehicles, coffee mugs, and insulated mugs. The McGregorville Mall may be able to help with these items.
Please take the time to check out our website – riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org. Information on it changes sometimes daily. I am sure Randy will have posters for the next events posted on the website. That way everyone has access to them to print and to post in the area. If you have anything you would like to put on the website, please let him know. A variety of items, including mugs, canvas bags, mouse pads, tee shirts, and dog tee shirts sporting our Rivers and Bluffs logo can be purchased on our website through Café Press. Randy has set up RABAS with Paypal. People are now able to donate to RABAS online using their credit card. Thanks, Randy for constantly updating our website.

Therapy Dogs
Therapy Dogs International teams remain active in the community. Kathy and Digger visit Bluff Haven every Tuesday. Deb and Jasmine visit the Walter Schmitt Home every Tuesday. Bev and her dogs, Vegas and Nicki were invited to the Family Resource Picnic last week. This was very well attended and the Family Resource Center did a great job in providing activities for the children. I did a short presentation on Dog Safety, Nicki performed some of her obedience exercises, and both dogs showed the captive audience (they were in a fenced in yard) how they can sneeze on command.
I would like to set up an appointment with Shelly at Bluff Haven for a number of dogs and owners to visit within the next week or so. I know we are busy, but it would only take an hour or less of our times. If you are interested, please reply to this email which night would work best for you. I am hoping to do visit this next week. Otherwise, it will need to wait until after COTR.

Volunteer hours – Please keep track of your volunteer hours each month and get them to Jill. Volunteer hours can include any of the following and probably some things that are not mentioned: meetings, baking, working at fund raisers, hanging posters, phone calls and all the things it takes to make this organization as great as it is.
Membership Renewals (Online Membership)
Memberships are good for one year from the month the member joined. Donna regularly sends out renewal applications to those whose membership has expired. Please consider renewing your membership as memberships are an important part of our income. There are 5 different levels of membership:
$5.00 student; $15 Individual; $25 Family; $50 Sponsor; $100 Patron; $500 Benefactor. Some members choose to donate a fixed amount every month. Thanks to everyone for your financial support. Watch us grow!!

RABAS Wish List
Wish List Items include:
Land
Gift certificates to either the Courier Press or WPRE Radio Station to pay for ads for upcoming fund raisers
postage stamps, paper, envelopes, labels, napkins, paper towels, hand sanitizer, ketchup, mustard. Contact Bev at 326-2914 or reply to this email if you have any kitchen or paper supplies. If you have information on land, please contact Jami at 412-0052 or Bev at the above number.

Last But Certainly Not Least – I am a believer of keeping the best to last and this bit of information is certainly the best news RABAS has received in the past 3 years. This spring, the George Family Foundation held a grant workshop for any non-profit groups in Crawford County. Jill and I attended. Attending the workshop was the first step in the grant process. Jill and I took the application with us and tried to complete the questions the best we could. But it was too difficult for us to handle by ourselves. So we contacted Sarah B, who now lives in Mazomanie. Sarah is an excellent writer and knows quite a bit about grants. We faxed Sarah the application and she helped get us started. After receiving Sarah’s input, Jami, Jill and I met at Culver’s and after about 2 hours, we finished the grant application. Jill typed it up the next day and hand delivered it to Roy George to make sure it arrived before the deadline. On Friday, July 9, we were notified that we were the recipients of a $10,000.00 grant!!!! Yes, count the zeros!! Everyone in this organization knows how important this money is to us. Many of us are still pinching ourselves to make sure we are not dreaming.
Because of the confidence we now have after receiving this grant, Jill is actively pursuing other grant opportunities. She has completed or is close to completing 2 additional grant requests – Green Bay Packer Foundation and Mississippi River Gaming Commission (Lady Luck Casino).

Shelter Spotlight will focus on one member, business or organization each month to recognize that member/business/organization for their dedication and support of Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter. If you know someone you would like featured in “Shelter Spotlight”, please let Bev know.

The July Spotlight shines on The George Family Foundation. The $10,000.00 grant that we received is important to us obviously because it is a large amount of money. But, I also think it is important because it means that there is someone else out there, other than RABAS members, who actually believe in what we are doing and know as we know that someday our dream will come true. We will have an animal shelter for the PdC area that will care for and find forever homes for unwanted pets. The George Family Foundation designated 3 nonprofit groups as recipients of this year’s grants. RABAS was awarded the largest grant. I asked the George Family why they chose RABAS. They told me that they know how hard we work at raising money through the number of fund raisers that we have. The George Family is also very supportive of the therapy dog program and very appreciative of the visits Roy George receives each week from Digger and Kathy.

Financial Information
We now have 4 CD’s with a total of more than $40,000.00. An additional $5,000 was added to the CD at Peoples’ State Bank. Watch us grow!
Donations and Memberships
Kemble’s Greenhouse – Donation Jar - $60
Tender Care Animal Hospital – Donation Jar $30
Ray Wrobel - $2

Grants
George Family Foundation - $10,000.00
All donations are recognized in the Shelter Shorts and a thank you note is written.
Current and New Members
Janice Hein (missed in last month’s $15 Single membership - new
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Powers $25 Family Membership – renewal
Georgia Hutchinson $15 Single Membership – new
Shirley Wegmuller $15 Single Membership – renewal
Jami & Ken Quick $25 Family Membership – renewal
Donna & Dale Cipra $25 Family Membership – renewal
Marty Leeman $15 Single Membership – renewal
June Burns $15 Single Membership – new
Brian & Jill Cipra $25 Family Membership – renewal
Sharon Boylen - $15 Single Membership – renewql
Lynn Moris $15 Single Membership – renewal
Julie and Mollee White $15 Single Membership; $5 Student Membership - renewal
Olive Burmeister $50 Sponsor – new
Jeff & Christine Panka $25 Family Membership –w
Marilu Bintz $50 Sponsor - new
Linda & Randy Bedward $25 Family Membership – renewal
John & Judy Ryan $25 Family Membership - renewal
Gary & Kathy Koch $50 Sponsor Membership – renewal
Randi Kluesner $25 Family Membership – renewal
Sue Rider $15 Single Membership – renewal
Bonnie Olson $50 Sponsor Membership - renewal
Janet Lueck $15 Single Membership – new
Peggy Johnson $25 Family Membership –
Paula Gutzmer $15 – Single Membership
Jane Howe $15 - Single Membership
Kim Pinkham $15 – Single Membership
Donna Hamm $15 - Single Membership
Deb Cross $25 – Family Membership
Sarah Bartash & Don $25 - Family Membership
Linda Munson $50 – Sponsor Membership -
Lu De Guzman $100 Patron Membership
Vicki Mueller $50 Sponsor Membership -
L LaMarr Kappmeyer $15 Single Membership –
Kelly Fishler $15 Single Membership –
Rosemary Reese $15 Single Membership –
Jeff Lenhart $15 Single Membership
Tractor Supply $25 Family Membership
Hillary Bark $5 Student Membership
Jan Burnhard $15 Single Membership
Candace Miller $15 Single Membership
Debbie Mason $25 Family Membership
Phil & Deb Dwornik $50 Sponsor Membership
Betty & Eric Frydenlund $25 Family Membership -
Ron Stark $100 Patron Membership
Mike and Shelly Rider $25 Family Membership
Bill Hamm $15 Single Membership
Mike and Mary Jane Faas $25 Family Membership –
Allison Roberts/Angelica Tablizo $25 Family Membership
Kristin Helgerson-Kriegl $15 Single Membership
Randy and Kathy Paske – $25 Family Membership -
Jennifer Clements $25 Family Membership
Sharon Boylen $15 Individual Membership
Joe and Susan Van Metre $25 Family Membership
Lisa Parello $15 Family Membership
Alexis Burns Honorary Membership
Ray Wrobel $15 Individual Membership
Reminder: Annual memberships should be renewed 1 year from the month in which you joined.
Continued Monthly Pledges
Don and Eileen Klatt $25 Monthly Pledge
Bev Pozega $25 Monthly Pledge
Sandy Kittle $10 Monthly Pledge
(Paid $50 at May meeting for the next 5 months)
June Burns $15 Monthly Pledge
Thanks to everyone who volunteered this month in any way. Thanks to everyone who supported us through donations, and memberships. There are many jobs that continue to get done without recognition. Membership and volunteer listings are current through July 22. If I missed your name, I apologize. Please let me know and I will include it next month. We appreciate your support.

River and Bluffs Animal Shelter Membership Form

Student - $5.00 ____ Sponsor - $50.00 _____
Individual - $15.00 ____ Patron - $100.00 _____
Family - $25.00 ____ Benefactor - $500.00
I would like to make a monthly pledge of : ________ per month for a total of
$_______ per year.

Name:___________________________________
Address:_________________________________
City/State/Zip_____________________________
Email:____________________________________ Phone Number:______________________

Please mail membership form to: River and Bluffs Animal Shelter
PO Box 421, Prairie du Chien, WI 53821

June 2010

2010-06-28T19:39:00.001-05:00

SHELTER SHORTS
June 2010
SHELTER SHORTS is a monthly newsletter intended to keep Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter volunteers and supporters connected. With everyone’s hectic schedules, we know it is often difficult, if not impossible to attend monthly meetings or to work at all of our fundraisers.
Everyone is invited to submit articles for the newsletter. To do so, please call Bev at 608-326-2914 or email her at lilnicki@live.com.
Monthly meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of every month at the Prairie du Chien City Hall. Meetings begin at 6:00 p.m. Please use the back door. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. The next meeting is Thursday, July 15. I hope to see you there.
Fundraising Update

Phoneraisers
Donna has recently sent in a large box of phones and cartridges. We should be hearing from Phoneraisers how much our next check will be. Please continue to save your old cell phones and ink jet cartridges. Drop them off at Tender Care Animal Hospital, or bring them to the monthly meeting.

Tee Shirts and Sweatshirts
Randy and Kathy P talked to the owner of McGregorville Mall in McGregor. He is in the process of setting up a tee shirt printing business. He told Randy and Kathy that he would “work with us”. Future orders are tabled until we see the pricing and shirt quality from McGregorville.

Dog Obedience Classes
The last dog class was held on Sunday, June 20. I can only say that this class was a joy to work with. The owners were very dedicated and committed. I feel that both dogs and owners came away from the class with a better understanding of the communication possible between dogs and people. Our last class reviewed what had been learned earlier in the program and Rally Obedience was also introduced. Rally Obedience is an AKC Dog Competition that is more fun than basic obedience. I had planned to start another class this fall, but this class was so much fun that I have decided to start another one in mid July. I will offer an advanced class for those who have completed and done well at the first class. This will be a small class – possibly 3 or 4 dogs – and we will focus on off leash work, retrieving on flat, retrieving over a jump, the broad jump and the sit and down stays with the handler out of sight. We will also practice Rally Obedience as well as work on Therapy Dog International Certification for those interested. A beginner obedience class will also be offered. Class size for this class will be limited to 8. I plan to start the class on Sunday, July 18. Classes will again be held out doors at Eagle Electric. This is an excellent place to work dogs. For more information or to register, please call Bev at 608-326-2914. See this link.
Once again, thanks to Ken Quick – Eagle Electric – for the use of his parking lot and shop for dog classes.

USBones.com
Please continue ordering cat and dog treats from USBones.com. They donate 25% of each order placed to RABAS.

Dr. Donna Higgins’ Wildlife Photo Gallery (Link)
Dr. Donna Higgins continues to support RABAS through her beautiful wildlife prints on display at her office downtown PdC. The framed and matted prints, sell for $85, of which Donna donates $50 to RABAS. If you are looking for an attractive addition to your home or office, or a unique gift idea, please consider a print from Donna Higgins. Donna’s wildlife prints range from humming birds to bald eagles, deer, egrets and pelicans.
The prints can be viewed on line at our website (www.riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org) or at her office on Blackhawk Avenue (next to Stark’s). To date, Donna has sold 8 prints, including 2 of the 3 that we took to the wine tasting. One sold for $85 and the other for $100, with a profit of $115.

Pies for POPS Bake Sale and Rummage Sale was held on Saturday, June 19. We had more items to sell this year than any of the previous sales, thanks to Jami and Ken Quick. There were many area garages sales on the same day. I personally felt that this was fund raiser was a lot of work this year. Total profit from Pies for Pops was $633. We should also receive $500 from Thrivent Financial. I will submit the paperwork for Thrivent this weekend, hopefully. Thanks to everyone who baked, brought rummage items, helped with set up and take down. A big thank you to Alexis for baking 10 delicious pies, one of which sold as it was being unloaded from her car; to Randy and Kathy for doing the posters, table pickup, picking up numerous boxes of others’ items and redoing last year’s banner and finding a way to hang it from the existing sign; to Jami, Ken, and their two children for spending most of Friday unloading and pricing an entire trailer filled with rummage items held on Saturday, June 19th. Thanks also to Sue Rider for the use of the rink. Thanks to everyone who baked, help set up and take down, volunteered the day off or helped in any way.

Country on the River will be held on August 6 and 7 at St. Feriole Island. This country music fest will offer a number of big name country music bands. After some deliberation, we have decided to drop the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from the menu. A number of members have been getting prices on cheese curds, hamburger patties, taco meat and walking taco fixings, buns, and other items that we will need. We have a tent reserved from Nelson True Value – they are donating one day’s use of the tent and we will pay for the 2nd day. A refrigerated truck or trailer seemed to be the biggest obstacle to moving forward with this event. But on Tuesday of this week, Jami was able to get a 4x6 refrigerated trailer from Preferred Distributor and Bev also put an 8x8 refrigerated trailer on hold through the Rural Bridgeport Fire Dept. Cost for this one is $100 per day. If the smaller one will be large enough, the one from Rural Bridgeport Fire Dept will be canceled. Better to have one too many refrigerated trailers than none. John Ryan had talked to the JC’s at the Rendezvous about number of grills necessary to handle a large crowd. They recommended that we rent a large commercial grill as they felt small family grills will not be able to keep up with the number of burgers necessary. John has put the grill at True Value on hold in case we need it. This grill rents for $76 per day, which will seriously cut into our profits from this event if we rent it. Jami feels that 4 family grills will suffice and we won’t have the expense of renting a large one. The one at True Value could grill approximately 80-90 burgers. Grills and refrigerated trailers will need to be discussed. But no matter which we decide to use, we can now move on with the rest of the planning. This event will require the largest number of volunteers that we have ever needed for a fund raiser. But likewise, this should be our most profitable of all fund raisers to date. We will need help on Thursday evening, all day and night on Friday and Saturday, and then on Sunday to help take down the stand. If you can donate even a few hours, it would help greatly. A sign up sheet will be available at the next meeting. We will bag 500 pounds of cheese curds on Thursday, August 5. in the Community Room of City Hall (the same place we have our meetings). I do not know if we have set a time, but I would think we should start around 6 or so. There may be other jobs to be done that evening also. The gates at Country on the River will open at noon on both Friday and Saturday, with the last act scheduled for 10 p.m. or 10:30 p.m. We should plan to set up about 9 a.m. on Friday morning. We hope to clean up on Sunday morning as I doubt if anyone will feel like cleaning up on Saturday night (or early Sunday morning). There will be a sign up sheet at the next meeting. If you can donate a few hours or more to this fund raiser, please reply to this email or call me at 326-2914 or sign up at the July meeting. All workers will need a pass to get in the gate. If you can work, we will need to add your name to the list to receive the entry pass

2nd Annual Pamper Your Pooch Dog Wash will be held on Saturday, July 10 at Tractor Supply. We will start at 10:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. We will not serve food this year as we felt it was not worth the effort last year. Windy Mezera’s Girl Scout Troop will help us again this year. If you have any old towels that you can spare, please reply to this email or call me at 326-2914 to arrange pickup if you cannot be there on the 10th. Please be sure your towels are labeled if you would like them back. We may also need several hoses.

Green Bay Packer Tickets – The date of the Packer Game raffle is October 3 – Green Bay Packers vs. the Detroit Lions. The seats are on the 10 yard line, 15 rows up on the Green Bay side. Sandy Kittle has printed 200 tickets. They will sell for $10 each. Tickets were assigned at the June meeting. If you would like to purchase tickets or would be willing to take some to sell, please contact Jami at 412-0052. These tickets should be an easy sell and will net us $2,000 in profit with no expense to RABAS.

Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle – The date for the 3rd Annual Prairie Pool Puppy Paddle is Saturday, August 28. Since this is our 3rd dog swim, organization and planning will be similar to previous years. We will need a number of volunteers to help with registration, scoop the poop raffle, food stand, raffle, silent auction, “policing the area” to make sure people do not go past their knees in the water and that dogs are well behaved. We also need to secure at least 1 life guard.

Yappy Hour – The date has not yet been set, but I hope to set it up this week. It will hopefully be on a Thursday night in July. Yappy hour will be a “Happy Hour” for dogs and their owners in the outdoor patio next to Sawmill Saloon. Bonnie Fuller, the owner of The Sawmill was very supportive of the idea and will donate snacks to go with the drinks. She will have a drink special for “Yappy Hour”. We will have a donation jar which will be our only means of fund raising for this event. Maybe we can sell some Packer tickets at Yappy Hour.

Pet Photos –(Download Poster here) The date has been set for the photo sessions by Alan Schefsky. The pet (dogs only) photography sessions will take place at Tractor Supply on Friday and Saturday, July 9 and 10. Certificates will be available for sale at the following businesses: Tractor Supply, LA Fashions, Dr. Donna A. Higgins, Optometrist, Tender Care Animal Hospital, Southwest Vet, and Anchor Bank. Certificates will be paid for in advance and appointments will be set up by contacting Alan prior to July 9. The cost of an 11”x14” portrait is $30. For each certificate that is sold, RABAS will make $15. We will combine advertising with Pamper Your Pooch. Randy has the posters ready to go. Certificates will be delivered to the stores by early this coming week. Alan Schefsky is a pet photographer from Sheboygan, originally from LaCrosse. He photographs the Family Dog Center’s Agility Trials and also does photographs by appointment at the FDC. He and his wife would like to relocate back to the LaCrosse Area. To views samples of his work, please go to www.alanpetart.com. Click on photographic portrait. The background he will use for this time of year will be the first one you see – with the wooden fence. Jami has generously offered Tender Care Animal Hospital as a pickup point for the pictures when they are done. If the first shoot goes over well, we could plan another one. I feel that once people have their pet’s portrait taken and they show it to their friends, coworkers and family, the next session will be very popular.

Opportunity Center Farmers Market Food Stand will be held on Saturday, September 11. Hours are from 7:30-noon (I believe). We can sell anything we want. Some of the recent food stands have been very busy. We can also have some of our dogs there to help draw a crowd.
Future fundraiser yet to be discussed – We need to talk about Pals and Paws for a Cause – do we want to do it again, if so, when?

OTHER HOT TOPICS
Pounds Off People and Pooches (POPPS) continues. It seems to rain almost every Tuesday. Attendance has been low at the dog walks, but I feel that is because of the “iffy” weather. We did walk this past Tuesday, even though it was very hot and rain was in the forecast. Those of us who braved the heat had a good time as always. As always, we meet east of the Villa Louis and north of the Sculpture Park. The walk starts at 6:00 p.m. Remember to bring water for your dogs (and yourself if you would like), poop bags, dog leashes (flexie leads not recommended) and comfortable walking shoes. Hope to see you there.

Property and BuildingCommittee – Randy gave a brief report summarizing the 1st meeting of this committee. The next meeting will be on July 7 at Eagle Electric at 6:30 p.m.. Eagle Electric was chosen because the committee members felt that the Eagle Electric building is about the size of the building we will need. Committee members hope to “pace off” different areas to get an idea a layout for the shelter. Eagle Electric is located northeast of the Bridgeport Inn. Turn into the Bridgeport Inn’s parking lot, but continue past the Bridgeport Inn, keeping it on your right. You will pass the USDA office on the right and then continue, veering to the left. You will see a number of warehouses, including Eagle Electric. This meeting is open to anyone who is interested in the shelter design.

RABAS Merchandize – It was suggested at the April meeting that we sell some smaller items with our logo on. Items may include can coolers, magnets for vehicles, coffee mugs, insulated mugs. This item is also tabled until we find out more about McGregorville Mall and their printing set up.

Please take the time to check out our website – riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org. Information on it changes sometimes daily. I am sure Randy will have posters for the next events posted on the website (No pressure!). That way everyone has access to them to print and to post in the area. If you have anything you would like to put on the website, please let him know. A variety of items, including mugs, canvas bags, mouse pads, tee shirts, and dog tee shirts sporting our Rivers and Bluffs logo can be purchased on our website through Café Press. Randy has set up RABAS with Paypal. People are now able to donate to RABAS online using their credit card. Thanks, Randy for constantly updating our website.

Therapy Dogs
Therapy Dogs International teams remain active in the community. Kathy and Digger visit Bluff Haven every Tuesday. Deb and Jasmine visit the Walter Schmitt Home every Tuesday. Bev and her dogs, Vegas and Nicki did a presentation on Dog Safety at the Family Resource Center on Tuesday, June 15. Volunteer hours – Please keep track of your volunteer hours each month and get them to Jill. Volunteer hours can include any of the following and probably some things that are not mentioned: meetings, baking, working at fund raisers, hanging posters, phone calls and all the things it takes to make this organization as great as it is.

Pet food donations for local food shelters - Susan Van Metre had mentioned to me about collecting pet foods for local food shelters for people who may not be able to feed their pets. She felt that if we could collect pet food donations at our various fund raisers, we could get it to the local food pantry and people in need could keep their pets fed, thus enabling them to keep them, and not having to give them up because they could no longer afford to feed them. I contacted the Bargain Boutique in PdC and was told that they would not have the room to keep even a small amount of pet food. I was also told that they have never been asked about pet food. It was a great idea, and maybe someday we can pursue it further.

Membership Renewals
Memberships are good for one year from the month the member joined. Donna regularly sends out renewal applications to those whose membership has expired. Please consider renewing your membership as memberships are an important part of our income. There are 5 different levels of membership:
$5.00 student; $15 Individual; $25 Family; $50 Sponsor; $100 Patron; $500 Benefactor. Some members choose to donate a fixed amount every month. Thanks to everyone for your financial support. Watch us grow!!

RABAS Wish List
Wish List Items include:
Land
postage stamps, paper, envelopes, labels, napkins, paper towels, hand sanitizer, ketchup, mustard. Contact Donna Heilmann at 326-4235 if you have any kitchen supplies and Bev at 326-2914 if you have paper supplies. If you have information on land, please contact Jami at 412-0052 or Bev at the above number.

Shelter Spotlight will focus on one member, business or organization each month to recognize that member/business/organization for their dedication and support of Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter. If you know someone you would like featured in “Shelter Spotlight”, please let Bev know.

The June Spotlight shines on Ken and Jami Quick and family and Randy and Kathy Paske. Both families went above and beyond with Pies for Pops earlier this month. As mentioned earlier in this newsletter, Ken and Jami worked tirelessly most of the day on Friday loading, unloading and pricing the many items from Ken’s grandma who recently passed away. When we saw that we did not have enough tables, Ken made a quick phone call and and left to get more tables. Randy and Kathy also deserve a pat on the back for the effort they put into Pies for Pops. From printing and posting posters, to getting many of the necessary tables and then picking up rummage items for people who could not get the items to the rink and, all of the behind the scene work is necessary for any fund raiser. And a special thank to Alexis for those 10 delicious pies that she baked for the pie sale.

A thank you to Phil and Deb Dwornik to for the donation to Courier Press which was used to pay for the Pies for Pop ad and the remainder to be used for Pamper Your Pooch Dog Wash/Pet Portraits.

Henry’s Story – Henry is a 3 ½ year old golden retriever owned by Donna Higgins, or maybe I should say Donna is owned by Henry. This is a very interesting story about Henry and what Donna has done to enrich his life and make it as normal as possible for a retriever who loves to retrieve. How lucky for Henry that if he has to have this disability, he has someone who is very knowledgeable about it and is willing to go the extra mile to help him enjoy life to the fullest. Here is their story, according to Donna.

Henry has Progressive Retinal Atrophy. It’s a very rare genetic disease – very similar to Retinitis Pigmentosa in humans. The entire retina (inside of the eye – like the film in a camera) slowly deteriorates.

I have always noticed his vision wasn’t right from the time he was a pup. It turned out he was very myopic (near sighted), which is very unusual in dogs… For a while I thought that was all that was wrong. There was no evidence of the retinal problems yet. (The nearsightedness is part of the disease process). In the past year his vision became much worse as he lost critical parts of his sight – and that’s when I figured out what was going on.
He has almost no vision at all today – just a bit of light perception when he’s outside on a sunny day.

In many respects, it’s been exactly like working with human patients who lose their vision. I always tell those patients that to deal with it successfully they “can’t waste time whining about what they’ve lost – they have to learn to use what they still have.” People who are successful in dealing with loss of sight don’t feel sorry for themselves and can’t stand it when other people feel sorry for them!

The biggest thing with getting Henry started was to get him retrieving again. I put a bell and some scent on his retrieving dummy and he was back to retrieving almost as well as when he was sighted in no time. He seemed to realize he could still do things he wanted to do from that point on. New he’s eager to learn more and really very easy to train.

I’ve also been working on teaching him voice commands like “go right” and “go left” – we’re still practicing that. Another thing we’re working on is getting him better and better at finding things with his nose alone. I toss a few treats around the living room floor and he has to find them with smell alone (his new favorite game).

The water retrieval was something he picked up almost immediately yesterday. He figured out how to swim his head a bit further out of the water so he can hear the beeper.

Most people wouldn’t even guess he’s blind without being told.

Donna, thank you for sharing your story and congrats to both of you! Bev.

Financial Information
We now have 4 CD’s with a total of more than $40,000.00. An additional $5,000 was added to the CD at Peoples’ State Bank. Watch us grow!
Donations and Memberships
Olive Burmeister - $25
All donations are recognized in the Shelter Shorts and a thank you note is written.

Current and New Members
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Powers $25 Family Membership – renewal
Georgia Hutchinson $15 Single Membership – new
Shirley Wegmuller $15 Single Membership – renewal
Jami & Ken Quick $25 Family Membership – renewal
Donna & Dale Cipra $25 Family Membership – renewal
Marty Leeman $15 Single Membership – renewal
June Burns $15 Single Membership – new
Brian & Jill Cipra $25 Family Membership – renewal
Sharon Boylen - $15 Single Membership – renewql
Lynn Moris $15 Single Membership – renewal
Julie and Mollee White $15 Single Membership; $5 Student Membership - renewal
Olive Burmeister $50 Sponsor – new
Jeff & Christine Panka $25 Family Membership –w
Marilu Bintz $50 Sponsor - new
Linda & Randy Bedward $25 Family Membership – renewal
John & Judy Ryan $25 Family Membership - renewal
Gary & Kathy Koch $50 Sponsor Membership – renewal
Randi Kluesner $25 Family Membership – renewal
Sue Rider $15 Single Membership – renewal
Bonnie Olson $50 Sponsor Membership - renewal
Janet Lueck $15 Single Membership – new
Peggy Johnson $25 Family Membership –
Paula Gutzmer $15 – Single Membership
Jane Howe $15 - Single Membership
Kim Pinkham $15 – Single Membership
Donna Hamm $15 - Single Membership
Deb Cross $25 – Family Membership
Sarah Bartash & Don $25 - Family Membership
Linda Munson $50 – Sponsor Membership -
Lu De Guzman $100 Patron Membership
Vicki Mueller $50 Sponsor Membership -
L LaMarr Kappmeyer $15 Single Membership –
Kelly Fishler $15 Single Membership –
Rosemary Reese $15 Single Membership –
Jeff Lenhart $15 Single Membership
Tractor Supply $25 Family Membership
Hillary Bark $5 Student Membership
Jan Burnhard $15 Single Membership
Candace Miller $15 Single Membership
Debbie Mason $25 Family Membership
Phil & Deb Dwornik $50 Sponsor Membership
Betty & Eric Frydenlund $25 Family Membership -
Ron Stark $100 Patron Membership
Mike and Shelly Rider $25 Family Membership
Bill Hamm $15 Single Membership
Mike and Mary Jane Faas $25 Family Membership –
Allison Roberts/Angelica Tablizo $25 Family Membership
Kristin Helgerson-Kriegl $15 Single Membership
Randy and Kathy Paske – $25 Family Membership -
Jennifer Clements $25 Family Membership
Sharon Boylen $15 Individual Membership
Joe and Susan Van Metre $25 Family Membership
Lisa Parello $15 Family Membership
Alexis Burns Honorary Membership
Ray Wrobel $15 Individual Membership
Reminder: Annual memberships should be renewed 1 year from the month in which you joined.
Continued Monthly Pledges
Don and Eileen Klatt $25 Monthly Pledge
Donna Heilmann $25 Monthly Pledge
Bev Pozega $25 Monthly Pledge
Sandy Kittle $10 Monthly Pledge
(Paid $50 at May meeting for the next 5 months)
June Burns $15 Monthly Pledge

Thanks to everyone who volunteered this month in any way. Thanks to everyone who supported us through donations, and memberships. There are many jobs that continue to get done without recognition. Membership and volunteer listings are current through June 26. If I missed your name, I apologize. Please let me know and I will include it next month. We appreciate your support.

River and Bluffs Animal Shelter Membership Form

Student - $5.00 ____ Sponsor - $50.00 _____
Individual - $15.00 ____ Patron - $100.00 _____
Family - $25.00 ____ Benefactor - $500.00

I would like to make a monthly pledge of : ________ per month for a total of
$_______ per year.

Name:___________________________________
Address:_________________________________
City/State/Zip_____________________________
Email:____________________________________
Phone Number: ___________________________

Please mail membership form to: River and Bluffs Animal Shelter
PO Box 421
Prairie du Chien, WI 53821