October, 2011 SHELTER SHORTS is a monthly newsletter intended to keep Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter volunteers and

supporters connected. With everyones 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, November 17. 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. Donna Heilmann has taken over the task of packaging and shipping the items to Phoneraisers. 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 have started. We meet every Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Tractor Supply. At this time there are 2 dogs and their owners who come weekly and a team that comes when they can. All dogs and their handlers are doing well and I really enjoy this class and hope the students do also. Tractor Supply is an excellent place to work dogs. If it is nice out, we work in the fenced in area outside and as cold weather and loss of daylight hours approach we will be indoors. We may continue past the 6 weeks just for fun. 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 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. Donnas wildlife prints range from humming birds to bald eagles, deer, egrets and pelicans. The 2012 Wildlife Calendars are on sale now and they are beautiful!!!. This years calendar features eagle prints and I think they will be a very popular item. Donna has also added a note about profits from her wildlife prints being donated to RABAS. The prints can be viewed on line at our website (www.riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org) or at her office. Calendars can be viewed on Donnas Facebook. A 3rd Yappy Hour may possibly be held this winter at the request of Jim Rohde. Stay tuned for further updates on this. A 2nd Culvers Custard for Critters may be held in the near future. Jason has received requests from a few other organizations since we held our fund raiser, and he would like to accommodate them also. He will get back to me if we can do one in the next month or so. Otherwise we will work on setting a date in 2012. McGregor Fall Arts and Craft Shows are now history. The weather was perfect for both weekends and in the 4 years that we have been there I do not recall more people in McGregor. Our total profit for both weekends was about $1,200.00. A big thank you to everyone who helped to make this event a success, including those who made craft items to sell, baked cookies, picked up Rural Route 1 Popcorn and the cheese curds, helped with setup and take down and those who worked the stand. A special thank you does go out to Alexis Burns who baked 160 delicious, large cookies. Kwik Trip Script Gas Cards Thanks to those of you who have purchased the Kwik Trip Cards and have made the commitment to purchase cards from us before you purchase gasoline or any Kwik Trip products. In one month, with just a few people selling these cards, RABAS has realized over $400 profit. If you have purchased the cards from us before, we hope that you will continue to do so. We are hoping to build a regular customer base which will provide RABAS with a steady and reliable income, which will help to

realize our goal of land acquisition in the near future. The gas cards also make excellent gifts for birthdays, Christmas or any other occasion you would like to recognize. The first order of 100 - $25 gift cards was sold out in about 2 weeks. The 2 nd order of $3,150.00 worth of the cards was received on October 13 th and included $25, $50 and $100 increments. Jill will order another shipment of the cards by the end of this week or early next week. The sale of Kwik Trip Gas Cards is an easy and profitable fund raiser. Like it or not, everyone needs gas and we are not asking people to buy things that they may not really want or need. Personally, for me, purchasing the Kwik Trip Gas Cards has taken the sting out of spending so much money on gas in less than 1 month I have donated $30 to RABAS. Selling these cards, or even just purchasing them for your own use requires little effort much less effort than any of the food stands or other fund raisers that we do on a monthly basis. There is no lugging of tables, coolers, grills, cases of popcorn and other food items plus the clean up and returning all of those items back to the shed (typically done by 1-3 people for any given food stand). Other than the $8.60 shipping fee per order, there is no expense involved such as advertising. Cards are available for sale at Merle Norman Cosmetics (downtown PdC) and also at River City Roller Rink on Friday nights and on Saturdays and Sundays. Cards will be delivered to you with a days 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. At the October meeting, Donna asked that the selling procedures for the cards be clarified. We decided that if anyone would like to sell the cards, an individual will be assigned up to $300 worth of cards at a time. Money for the cards should be returned to Jill or Bev in a timely matter (2 weeks) for depositing in the checking account. Unsold cards should also be returned within that time frame. Remember, we make 10% on each card sold. Please, help RABAS reach our goal through the purchase of these cards. Maurices Runways and Rescues Thanks to the staff of Maurices for another easy fund raiser (my favorite kind just show up, do literally nothing) and walk away with $355 for about 2 hours of time. The event was not as well attended as we had hoped, but those who did attend were very generous with their bidding on the silent auction items. Maurices staff outdid themselves in obtaining excellent items for the silent auction. The fashion show was very nice and included our own Julie and Mollee Whyte and my two dogs Nicki and Vegas. Vegas and I entertained the guests by demonstrating our rope jumping skills we surpassed our previous record of 4 rotations with a new record of 14 rotations. Wait to go Vegas!! A local Girl Scout Troop was also there with an exhibit of what they have been working on this year. The Girls Scouts were also in the Oktoberfest Parade on the preceding Saturday in which Runways and Rescues was promoted. A new brochure will soon be in the works. The few we have left are very outdated, so as long as we need to reorder, we will redo them. Strikes for Strays was scheduled for Saturday, November 3 but has been canceled due to lack of planning. Wake Up Santa is scheduled for Saturday, December 3rd. Posters, ads and registration forms are currently being worked on. Advertising will start in mid November. Setup will be on December 1. Event will be held in the Community Room at City Hall. We will have a sign up sheet at the November meeting. Christmas gift wrapping and Christmas bake sale will be held at Tractor Supply on Saturday, December 17. We will need volunteers to bake their favorite Christmas goodies for this event. A Christmas Tree in memory of deceased pets and to celebrate/honor those pets still with us was brought up by Donna. Jill had checked with Kembles to see if we could have a memory tree there and they said yes. Donna will check into other possible locations, with more room and visibility. People would place some type of ornament with a picture of their pet for a small donation (or maybe a large donation if they were in the giving mood for the holidays). More to follow next month. The Christmas Party/December Meeting has been set for Thursday, December 15 at Huckleberrys Restaurant and Banquet Facility. We will have the room in the back as in the past and will order off the menu. Everyone is responsible for their own meal. More on this in November Shelter Shorts. All RABAS members and volunteers are invited. This is a fun night to relax and get to know our fellow members a bit better. Pounds Off People and Pooches (POPPS) is done for this year, but hopefully will resume in the spring. John Ryan was elected to the Board of Directors at the September meeting to replace Allison who stepped down due to time restraints. Welcome aboard John we are thankful for your commitment and look forward to working with you.

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 Bluff Haven, Deb and her dogs Jasmine and Sami go to Walter Schmitt Home and Paula and Maggie visit Bluff Haven. Deb, Sami and Jasmine will resume the reading program this week at Bluff View. Bev will not be available until December or January for the reading program. Deb, Bev and their dogs will start twice a month visits to Wyalusing Academy next week. RABAS Fund Raising Gauge Julie continues to research this project. She provided estimates on the gauge at the September meeting, but no further advancement has been made. Members in attendance felt that this is something that needs to be done soon so the community will become more aware of our organization and also the progress that is being made in our quest for land and a building. We were hoping that this would be in place (providing we have a place) before the ground freezes. Cruzin Fur Critters I hope to attend Gods Country Motorcycle Touring Clubs 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) Mothers Day Weekend June Cruzin Fur Critters (assuming we decide to do this one again, based on this years 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 We may try for November next year as with the cancellation of this event, we do not have a fund raiser for this 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 Mississippi River Cruise to benefit RABAS is in the works for 2012. Randi K. will head up the committee for this event. Watch for more info in early 2012. Treasurers Report - Treasurer Jill Cipra reports that RABAS now has approximately $87,023.74 including $14,626.06 in our checking account and $72,397.68 in 4 different CDs. There is still money to be deposited from sale of Kwik Trip Cards and some Kwik Trip Cards to be sold yet. Animals in Need of Homes Kelly Fishler found a beautiful long-haired white cat by her farm in Bridgeport. She has tried to find the owner as she feels this was an indoor cat and was not just dumped because it was not wanted. She says whoever gets this cat would be hitting the jackpot with this cat. For more info, please contact Kelly Fishler at 608-412-0805 Irma Koonce was made aware of a litter of 4 kittens and their mom from her neighbor. Her neighbor was winterizing his boat and came across the kittens and mom. I believe Irma has caught all of the kittens and the mom and they are now at SW Vet awaiting adoption. She says the kittens are very tame and oh so cute. She thinks that they are about 4 or 5 weeks old. SW Vet will only be able to keep them for a number of days. Irma is willing to pay for spaying and vaccinations on the adult female cat if anyone would be willing to adopt her. Please contact Irma at 326-2202 or SW Vet at 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 Walmart - $250 to encourage volunteerism by employees. Julie Whyte submitted application for her number of RABAS volunteer hours Mike & Mary Jane Faas - $100 in appreciation for RABAS help in Gracies adoption Shirley Baxter - $20 June Burns - $15 Kembles Donation Jar - $18 Tender Care Donation Jar - $50 Lu DeGuzman - $10 Blessing of Pets at St. Peters - $41 collected in donations Sandy Baughman - $20 $10 Tender Care Animal Hospital in memory of Wendy Olsons cat Maurices Runways & Rescues - $355 in silent auction money Dog Class - $170 Marilyn Crubaugh - $15 donation 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). Eric & Betty Frydenlund $25 Family Membership Renewal Mike & Mary Jane Faas $25 Family Membership Renewal Ron Stark $100 Patron Membership - Renewal 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 MembershipMike, Shelly and Kaitlin Rider $25 Family Membership Allison Roberts and Angelica Dayrit $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