September & October 2012SHELTER 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 wyalusing2012@gmail.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 will be held on Thursday, November 15th. PhoneraiserPlease 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. According to Donna, we should soon be receiving another check from Phoneraiser. Thanks, Donna for taking the time to collect, sort and send the phones and cartridges in. U.S. BonesPlease continue ordering cat and dog treats from USBones.com. They donate 25% of each order placed to RABAS. Dr. Donna Higgins’ Wildlife Photo GalleryDr. Donna Higgins continues to support RABAS through her beautiful wildlife prints on display at her office downtown PdC. She has recently changed the format to 12”x12” prints in borderless “clip” frames. Donna feels that these may be more affordable at $35 each. She will donate $25 to RABAS for each print she sells. These prints are absolutely beautiful. Please stop in at Dr. Donna Higgin’s office, downtown PdC to see them. You may be able to see them on RABAS facebook page or Donna’s facebook or possibly on our website – www.riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org. Kwik Trip Gas Cards – First of all, thank you to our steady customers who purchase Kwik Trip gas cards from Donna, Jill, Sue Rider and Bev on a regular basis. We appreciate your continued support. You are responsible for contributing almost $6,000.00 to RABAS since October 2011. Please consider buying Kwik Trip cards before filling your tank or buying Kwik Trip products. Just think what we could be doing if more members and volunteers purchased the cards before buying gas. The cards can be used for gasoline or any items sold in Kwik Trip Convenience Stores. Purchasing gas with the cards is easy – you can just swipe the cards at the pump and go, thus saving time and raising money for RABAS at the same time. Other than the $8.60 shipping fee per order, there is no expense involved such as advertising. Cards will be delivered to you with a day’s notice by calling Bev at 326-2914 or Jill at 326-4870 or by replying to this email. If you live out of town and would like to purchase the cards, we will mail them to you upon receipt of your check made payable to RABAS. With the holiday’s fast approaching, remember Kwik Trip cards make excellent stocking stuffers or Christmas gifts, especially for college students or employees. I know people get tired of me trying to convince more people to purchase these cards to benefit RABAS, but it is just so easy compared to most of the fund raisers we do. And gas is something everyone uses – we are not buying our own cookies back from bake sales or purchasing something we really do not need. Remember, we make 10% on each card sold. Cards come in increments of $25, $50 and $100. Please, help RABAS reach our goal through the purchase of these cards. 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 International teams remain active in the community. On Tuesdays Kathy and Digger are at Prairie Maisson. Deb and her dogs Jasmine and Sami visit Walter Schmitt Home and have once again started the reading program at Bluff View School for kids in need of extra reading help. Bev and her dogs Vegas and Nicki will visit Wyalusing Academy twice a month. She is currently waiting for the paperwork to be approved. Paula and her therapy dog Maggie have taken a temporary time off from therapy work due to health issues with Maggie. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers so that she can soon return to what she loves doing – sharing her love with those at Prairie Maisson. Dog Obedience Classes will begin in early January. Classes will be held on Saturday mornings at Tractor Supply. We can use the back storage area which is an excellent place to work dogs. If you or anyone you know are interested in attending, please reply to this email or call me at 326-2914. Volunteer hours will be collected by Randy P at monthly meetings or you can email your hours to Randy at repaske@gmail.com.

Pounds off People and Pooches (Community Dog Walk) has ended for the season. The group had some enjoyable fall walks and looks forward to resuming in spring of 2013. Planning Meetings have been held on 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month. This small, dedicated group has contacted local municipalities to find out what their stray animal policies are. Most if not all of those contacted seem to have taken a “Don’t ask, don’t tell policy”. Some of the municipalities said that they have very few strays, if any. I believe that no one could give us a definite answer regarding what happens to stray animals. Others inferred that we would probably not want to know. When asked if they recognized a need for an animal shelter and would they support one, most said the need is there, but they could not commit to financially help to support one. The group combined a board meeting and property meeting this past Thursday, November 8. Randy had statistics from an animal shelter in Fond du Lac that were very interesting. It is overwhelming to see the operational costs of existing shelters. Pet Food Pantry – The idea to help those in need feed their pets was discussed a few months ago at a property meeting as a way of getting out into the community to help keep pets in their homes. We feel that there is a need for this. The Coulee Cap Food Pantry, located in The Bargain Boutique was contacted to see if they would be receptive to distributing pet food to those meeting the income requirements for the Food Pantry. Peggy at the Food Pantry said that they would try it, but are limited on available space. I told her that we would keep excess pet food in our storage shed and that I would be responsible for collection of pet food from donation boxes and delivering it to the Food Pantry as needed. Peggy seemed to also feel that there is a need for this service. Pet food donation boxes were distributed this past Tuesday, November 6 to the following locations: Tractor Supply, Nelson True Value Hardware, Southwest Vet, Tender Care Animal Hospital, and Zinkle’s Piggly Wiggly. To date, the only food in the boxes was donated by RABAS members. It is our hope that the community will help us help those who need this service by keeping the pet food boxes full. We are hoping that this can be done on a continuous basis, not just for the holidays. Pets, like people do need to eat year around. Diane and Lee Akin, owners of Prairie Cinema, have generously offered to show a movie with admission being a donation of pet food or people food. The movie, “Water Walk” started yesterday (Friday, November 9) and will continue through Thursday, November 15. Showtimes are 3:30 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. It is a movie for the entire family about a father and son who have drifted apart. They decide to retrace the same route Marquette and Joliet took from Upper Michigan to St. Louis, Missouri in a single canoe. They encounter many challenges along the way. Limited shots of Boscobel and Marquette, Iowa are included in “Water Walk”. Chance, our large, furry mascot greeted show-goers last night. Thank you, Diane and Lee for this great opportunity to help the Pet Food Pantry. Those who attended also got to see the on screen ad for Wake Up Santa. What a great way to get the word out about Wake Up Santa. Thanks, also Diane and Lee for this. Sue Rider and River City Roller Rink will provide another way to donate to the Pet Food Pantry. On Saturday, November 24, Sue will open the skating rink from 10 a.m. – noon. Admission for this skate will be a pet food donation. Chance (aka Linda Bedford) will also be on hand to skate with the kids. Bev and her therapy dogs will be available to answer questions about the organization and to meet the dogs. Jackie at Tractor Supply plans to make a large Christmas tree and invite people to put pictures of their pets on the tree. The donation box will be located near the tree. Please help fill the donation boxes with a donation of pet food. This small donation could help keep pets in their homes.Wake Up Santa will take place on Saturday, December 1. Planning is well underway. Wake Up Santa will once again be held in the Community Room at City Hall. We will wake Santa up promptly at 8:30 a.m. Kids are encouraged to bring noise makers to help wake up the slumbering Santa. Registration forms will be available at local businesses and schools including: Monkeys Tale, Tractor Supply, Tender Care Animal Hospital, St. Gabe’s School, Bluff View and B. A. Kennedy Schools in PdC as well as Seneca, MarMac (Monona), Wauzeka and River Ridge. Registration forms are also available on line at www.riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org. Registration forms and payment should be mailed to RABAS PO Box 421 PdC, WI 53821 and need to be received no later than Wed. November 28. For more information, please call Jill at 326-4870 or Bev at 326-2914. If you can volunteer to help at Wake Up Santa, please let Bev or Jill know or reply to this email. We need additional help for this event to make it run smoothly. Wake Up Santa is a fun event to work at. We will start by decorating the Community Room on Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. Saturday morning we will meet between 7: a.m. – 7:30a.m. to finalize the preparations. We are usually done by noon. For those of you new to RABAS, Wake Up Santa begins with kids waking Santa up at 8:30 a.m., followed by breakfast. “Personalized” visits with Santa begin as soon as Santa is awake. Other activities include Santa’s Workshop (make & take Christmas ornament), Santa’s Secret Gift Shop (kids can purchase quality

gifts for parents, caregivers, teachers, pets and siblings with the help of Santa’s elves for selection and gift wrapping), Santa Bingo, Pin the Nose on Rudolph and a coloring table. No adults allowed in Santa’s Secret Gift Shop. Brian Cipra will be on hand to take pictures of Santa and the kids. A 5”x7” photo will cost $10 and be ready for pickup at Tractor Supply on Saturday, December 15. If you can donate a box of pancake mix or bottle of syrup, to help defray costs, please let Jill or Bev know or reply to this email. Tractor Supply Gift Wrapping and Christmas Bake Sale will take place on Saturday, December 15 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Please consider baking your favorite Christmas goodies for this bake sale. We also hope to have some home-made dog treats, dog tugs and dog bandanas available at Tractor Supply. Again, if you can donate any baked goods, please let Jill or Bev know or reply to this email. If anyone is available to help at Tractor Supply, please let Bev know. RABAS Christmas Party will be held on Thursday, December 20 at Huckleberry’s Restaurant. The Christmas party is an excellent time to reconnect with shelter volunteers. We will order off the menu beginning at 6 p.m. with the December meeting to follow while the food is being prepared. Please note, everyone is responsible for their own meal. We will also do some type of gift exchange or donation to the food or pet food pantry. If you would like to attend the Christmas Party, please call Bev or Jill or reply to this email by December 13. We will discuss gift exchange/food/pet food pantry donation at this week’s general meeting and information will be provided to those who RSVPat the time they confirm. This is always a fun gathering and it is nice to get together and enjoy each other’s company without working at a fund raiser. I hope to see many of you there.Bingo Anyone? At this week’s property/board meeting, Randy had information on the Fond du Lac Animal Shelter and how they meet their monthly expenses. One of the ways they raise a lot of money to fund their shelter is through weekly Bingo games. This is something that RABAS had discussed years ago, but never followed through with it. I think at the time, we were struggling with our tax exempt, non profit status. The possibility of Bingo as a fund raiser was briefly discussed at Thursday’s board meeting. Personally, I would like to try it, but it would take some research. Bingo is very popular in this area, and we would first of all have to find a place to have it and to find out which nights if any are available. But before we even pursue it, we would have to have people who would be willing to commit to volunteer possibly once or twice a month. If we were to decide to do Bingo, we would most likely not do it during the warm months – May-October. So we would only be talking November, December, January, February, March and possibly April. So what I am asking is if you feel that you would be willing to help with Bingo, please let me know. If we do not get a good response, it does not pay to put the effort into researching it. If we had enough people who would volunteer, we could come up with a schedule and possibly have each person take one or two bingos for the season. Personally, I would really like to try this, and would be willing to put in the time and effort to research it. Fall Fund Raisers UpdateHuckleberry’s Chicken Dinner – I believe we made about $700 including donations, silent auction and the dinner itself. Thanks to everyone who made desserts or donated to the silent auction. And thanks to Huckleberry’s for their constant support of RABAS. McGregor Arts & Crafts Fair was scheduled for October 6 & 7 and October 13 & 14. Bev, Joe, Donna and Jill worked the first weekend. The weather was quite cool, but dry. Not as many booths or people in attendance as in the past. We sold cheese curds, daffodil bulbs, large take and eat cookies, afghans, Halloween glow in the dark trick or treat bags, dog tugs, apple turnovers, and gourd bird houses. We took in $962.05 in sales and $248.04 in donations. It seemed that once people passing by heard the word “animal shelter”, they would at least either buy a cookie or make a donation. Dog tugs, and trick or treat bags were popular items. I believe we sold 8 gourd bird houses and about 100 daffodil bulbs. The 2 nd

weekend in McGregor was basically a washout. John, Judy and Bev set up in the rain on Saturday and questioned whether we should be there. By late morning, the skies started to look a bit brighter so we decided to stick it out. It was warmer the 2nd weekend than the first. Also, less booths and people in attendance because of the rain. Julie and Todd were scheduled for Sunday morning. The morning started with a steady downpour and it never got any better. Julie made the wide decision to not even set up. It rained until about 3 p.m. We managed to sell most of the cheese curds via email and Bev and Jill delivered them that afternoon. Total income for the 2nd weekend was $315.25 which includes $207 in sales and $108.25 in donations. I think it amazed most of us who worked those weekends how willing people were to put a few bucks in the donation jar. I believe total profit for both weekends, minus expenses of cheese curds, flower bulbs, trick or treat bags, apple turnovers, gourds and booth registration totaled approximately

$1,091.00. Not bad considering the weather. Thanks to everyone who helped in any way – baking, working, making items to sell. Raffle – Thanks to Tori for donating the Ducks Unlimited print for the raffle and to Phil for making a beautiful garden bench for the raffle. Thanks also to Donna Higgins for donating a beautiful eagle print and to Maiden Voyage for Mississippi River Cruise tickets. We had the drawing in mid October at what should have been the fall Yappy Hour. Needless to say it Yappy Hour was a nonevent, most likely due to the rain. We did not do as well on the raffle as we had hoped, but I think that it shows that this organization does not do well at selling tickets. Total profit from the raffle was $163.Treasurer’s Report – Current Balance as of October 18 is $108,337.24 which includes $100,842. 71 in 4 CDs and $7494.53 in the checking account. One thing to note – if we do not have land by spring of 2013, we will need to repay the George Family Foundation back the $10,000.00 that we received from the Foundation 3 years ago. It was given to us with the stipulation that it would be used for land purchase and that we would have 3 years to purchase it. From August 24 through October 5, we made $684 in Kwik Trip Card sales.Membership Renewals - Memberships are good for one year. 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. RABAS Wish ListWish List Items include: Land Gift certificates to either the Courier Press or WPRE Radio Station to pay for ads for upcoming fund raiserspostage 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 All donations are recognized in the Shelter Shorts and a thank you note is written.Violet Welch - $200Tim Cipra Memorial - $100Mike & Shelly Rider – Villa Louis Carriage Classic Wine Tasting Donation - $300 ($200 was donated previously)Jean Titlbach - $100Cheryl Mader $50Marilyn Crubaugh - $15Irma Koonce - $25Paula Gutzmer - $40 donation from chicken dinner for a platter of Jill’s cookiesDonna Higgin’s eagle prints and donation jar - $110Lu DeGuzman - $10Nancy DuCharme in honor of Peggy Smith’s birthday - $150Tanya Johnson $61Tammy O’Brien - $39In memory of Shirley Zenner - $125Donations listed above are from August 17th through October 16th. Current and New Members (Recent renewals and new members are shown in bold type).Mike & Mary Jane Faas $25 Family MembershipBetty & Eric Frydenlund $25 Family MembershipJanis Hein $15 Single MembershipRandy and Linda Bedward $25 Family MembershipJoe Hunzeker $15 Single MembershipJill & Brian Cipra $25 Family MembershipGary & Kathy Koch $50 Sponsor MembershipJulie Whyte $15 Single MembershipMollee Whyte $5 Student MembershipGeorgia Hutchinson $15 Single MembershipMarty Leeman $15 Single Membership

Roberta Spires $25 Family MembershipDawn Eggers $15 Single MembershipBob & Diane Witt $100 Patron MembershipSharon Boylen $25 Family MembershipTrina’s Girl Scout Troop $50 Sponsor MembershipTori Armstrong $15 Single MembershipBrenda Wilson $25 Family MembershipMarilu Bintz $50 Sponsor MembershipKelly Fishler $15 Single MembershipTammy Aldrich $15 Single MembershipDeb Cross $15 Single MembershipKim Pinkham $15 Single MembershipJohn & Judy Ryan $25 Family MembershipJim & Kathy Powers $25 Family MembershipJane Howe $25 Family MembershipBonnie Olson $50 Sponsor MembershipJami & Ken Quick $25 Family MembershipAmy Enlowe $25 Family MembershipDonna Heilmann $15 Single MembershipSue Rider $15 Single MembershipLinda Munson $50 Sponsor MembershipPeggy Johnson $25 Family MembershipDonna Cipra $25 Family MembershipVicki & Bill Mueller $50 Sponsor MembershipShirley Wegmuller $15 Single MembershipPaula Gutzmer $15 Single MembershipRandi & Mike Kluesner $25 Family MembershipLu DeGuzman $100 Patron MembershipJohn & Vicki Howe $100 Patron MembershipRosemary Reese $15 Single MembershipMike, Shelly & Kaitlyn Rider $25 Family MembershipPhil and Deb Dwornik $50 Sponsor MembershipLaura Nix $100 Patron MembershipGeorge and Mary Tilley $25 Family Membership Tractor Supply $25 Family Membership Bev Pozega $15 Single Membership Tom & Marjorie Bennett $25 Family Membership Eric & Betty Frydenlund $25 Family Membership Mike & Mary Jane Faas $25 Family Membership Ron Stark $100 Patron Membership John & Vicki Howe $25 Family Membership Marilyn Crubaugh $15 Single Membership June Burns $15 Single Membership Janet Lueck $15 Single Membership Jennifer Clements $25 Family Membership Lynn Moris $15 Single Membership Jeff and Chris Panka $100 Patron Membership Kristin Helgerson Kriegl $15 Single MembershipRandy and Kathy Paske $25 Family Membership Alexis Burns Honorary MembershipRay Wrobel $15 Individual MembershipMembership renewals are current through October 18th.Reminder: Annual memberships should be renewed 1 year from the month in which you joined. Continued Monthly PledgesDon & Eileen Klatt - $25 monthly pledge

Thanks to everyone who volunteered in September and October in any way. Thanks to everyone who supported us through donations, and memberships. There are many jobs that continue to get done without recognition. .

River and Bluffs Animal Shelter Membership FormStudent - $5.00 ____ Sponsor - $50.00 _____Individual - $15.00 ____ Patron - $100.00 _____Family - $25.00 ____ Benefactor - $500.00I 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