First we wish to thank Lisanne Walke of Rockin’ & Ridin’ for Autism for assisting us in this fundraiser.  They created this awesome flier for us and are helping us promote this fundraiser in hopes that we can get our “Crippled Critters” into a larger, safe, private, community accepted, stockade kennel with feline containment netting.

Dixie Thunder of Aiken County SC helped us raise funds to build a small lumber and wire mesh kennel for our special critters.  Unfortunately weather and outside animals trying to get in took it’s toll on the kennel through 2009 and the 2010 South Carolina snowstorm finally destroyed it.  We are spending precious funds on temporary patchups of a collapsing kennel when what we need is to build a new one.  We can’t keep patching the existing one AND buy new fence panels at the same time.  This is where we need help.  We can keep patching the existing damaged kennel as long as someone is willing to help us buy new fence panels.  Once we have all the fence panels we need we can begin erect the new fence, tear down the remains of the old one and recycle whatever we can to finish off the new one.

We run our kennel purely out of pocket and with the annual Crippled Critter Benefit Events held by Dixie Thunder.  This alone helps us care for the animals, providing them high quality grain/gluten free commercial foods such as
Taste of the Wild Roasted Venison and Smoked Salmon dry food,
Dick Van Patten’s  Natural Balance® L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets® Venison & Green Pea Canned Formula,
Honest Kitchen dehydrated raw food for cats as well as raw foods a diet known as BARF

We also use botanical and holistic care and buy items locally at Aiken County’s Herb Store

How you can help

We can accept gift cards for Superpetz as this is the only local store that sells the dry and canned foods we feed our crew.  Helping us with animal food helps us put our funds toward fence panels.

We can accept gift cards for Home Depot which has the lowest price stockade fence panels in our area and they have an E-Gift card program.

We can accept gift cards for The Tractor Supply Company which has the right size wire mesh at the lowest cost in our area.

We can pick up items purchased if you wish to just purchase one or more of the items we need and let the store know Amy Hawkinson will pick up.

The Store addresses are:
Home Depot
Aiken #1117

1785 Whiskey Road
Aiken, SC 29803
(803)648-6291

Superpetz
1589 Whiskey Road
Aiken, SC 29803
803-641-1146

Tractor Supply Company
AIKEN
#724

2655 WHISKEY ROAD – AIKEN, SC 29803
(803) 648-4449

Finally we are accepting Credit/Debit/Paypal donations here:
http://www.chipin.com/contribute/id/e39514f608b80ed7

Truck goes off the road, Kennel implodes, My card numbers are stolen and my bank account emptied out and we went to do laundry to find the washer is dead. Am I having a bad week or is it all just a really horrid dream? Just wondering if it’s ok to scream now?

Hi This is me and my partner Amy.  I love to get out of the house and enjoy nature but like many  others who use a wheelchair…I’m limited in where I can go.  Wheelchair casters don’t travel well over grass, sand, crushed or loose rock, twig or woody areas…well pretty much anywhere that isn’t a paved or dry hard packed surface.

I was considering saving up for an all terrain wheelchair such as the CrossFire or Trekinetic both of which are very expensive.  In searching for less costly all terrain chairs I came across this invention.

He has a few videos about this too, what it is an wheel that attaches to the foot plate of your existing wheelchair  turning it into an all terrain chair.

Rather than  $2000.00 + for a chair, this little invention is $499.99 plus shipping and handling.  Far less costly and can be put on any other future wheelchair.

Check out the Video:

Here is the Website and Info:

http://gofreewheel.blogspot.com/

To get your own FreeWheel and Perch contact: pat@gofreewheel.com
$499 plus shipping & handling, please allow up to 2-4 weeks for delivery.
PayPal accepted.

Money Back Guarantee. One Year Warranty

Of course saving up for one of these is a bit of a challenge.  I still have to open my back yard up and get privacy fencing and we are still plugging away at some home renovation and battling a vehicle that constantly breaks down.  Saving up for this comes dead last on the list and is a hope for somewhere in the distant future.  I’m accepting donations towards this piece of equipment if you would like to help me get it a little faster.  Please know this is a greedy wish…I am able
to get around like any other person….I just really would love to be able to enjoy nature.  I have all my life been the walk in the woods kind of person, I love getting close to the shore of a river just to dip my toes, but as you see…getting close to the edge of the Savannah river is not something I can do on my own.  You can see from this image that my casters are totally sunk below the sand as well as my foot plate!  Amy had to back the truck down as close as she could to help me get to the truck because my chair casters were stuck in the sand and I couldn’t move.

I had a great time!  But I went back not long ago and couldn’t even get to the water, the path was far too eroded from  recent rain and my casters couldn’t roll down.  Amy had to push me down there, but she is not strong enough to push my fat butt back up the hill and helping me walk up is dangerous to both of us.  Usually she winds up backing the truck down so I can hold onto the truck to get back inside.  Only on this day she had to ask people who were fishing to move  their cars from the side of the path so she could back the truck down.  It would be nice to do these things myself and  not have to have Amy or people who don’t know us put themselves out of the way just so I can dip my toes in the Savannah river.

Oh  yeah…and if you haven’t noticed I’m a tad overweight..LOL…it would also be REALLY cool to be able to go outside of my kennel (which is why I need my yard opened up) and get some good all terrain exercise.  My only real exercise is going shopping and we make a full day out if it going lots of places so I can roll miles and get some good exercise but once a week isn’t quite enough to burn off my weight.  I can’t  get my chair down my driveway as it’s just an eroded path…everyone who comes to my house actually parks on the road because my driveway is so bad it’s dangerous to cars.   If they need to bring something to me they actually use my neighbors driveway then cut across the easement to park next to the kennel.   I can’t get up nor down so I can’t even go out and take a stroll about the neighborhood.  I could be exercising if only I could roll over some rough terrain.

Finally one more thing.  Many who know me know I enjoy taking part in charity events.  In August 2009 our local motorcycle rights organization in which I’m a proud member, did the annual back to school run for the Helping Hands Shelter for Abused and Neglected children.  When it came time for group photo, I couldn’t manuver the curb to get to the field, then couldn’t traverse the filed and had to have one of the men push me into position.  Sounds petty….but think about his.   How would you feel if a man had to pick you (a walking person) up and carry you  over a curb in front of a hundred people, then carry you to the photo area just because you were wearing high heels that you couldn’t  remove?  Wouldn’t you…perfectly able to walk feel embarrassed to be assisted in such a way? Ok yeah…you might have simply removed your heels, but work with me here…you are stuck in heels, all your friends are getting ready for a group photo you either can stay out of the pic or get carried to the site..and you really want to be in the pic.

I am perfectly able to wheel my chair, unfortunately chairs are simply not factory designed (unless specially ordered) to be all terrain.  If you can’t do something wearing 4 inch high spike heels…chances are I can’t do it either.  You can take your shoes off though.  I have to buy extra equipment.

So if you wanna help…

My Birthday was August 9th

I had sprained my wrist on Aug 7, it’s my right wrist which is the only part of my body that works 90% correctly. Well anyhow…the plans I had for a free trip out were pretty much shot. I couldn’t use my scooter, walker or wheelchair. I was telling a friend what was going on. I was really depressed as Amy and managed to get my birthday off, we rarely have her home to any holiday, let alone a birthday. Finally by friend got hold of me and asked if Amy would be able to push me in the wheelchair on pavement…yeah…I guess she could, but we can’t do any kind of free outing and have her pushing me all day. It would be no fun for either of us. I HATE, being pushed and I know it’s a wear and tear on her body and that would bother me the whole time. Well my friend didn’t have that idea in mind, she had remembered quite a while back when another friend had wanted Amy and I to have a dinner out and she funded an evening for us to go out to dinner and coffee…we had taken pics of that night. Lori wanted to give Amy and I that same night for my birthday since it wouldn’t require me to propel my own chair and Amy wouldn’t be pushing me very far.

So….My friend Lori send me a birthday gift along with this note, that was for Amy:

DO NOT LET HER worm out of this! Get dressed. Make plans. Get the hell out of there for a little while. . HAPPY BIRTHDAY BECKY! YOU helped me enjoy our wedding anniversary by taking loading those pics off my mind. Now stop arguing and say thanks. . We love ya’ll!

LOL…so Amy promised her cell pics as proof…here was my day:

First we made a trip to a chair accessible part of the Savannah River in SC. I was able to just roll down the hill to the shore, later she was able to bring the truck close enough so I only had to take a few steps to get into the truck so that worked out perfectly.

Course Amy got in and waded…we make it a practice to clean up places we visit, so she was pulling trash out of the water.

We headed out a beautiful scenic dirt road back to town:

Ran outta battery juice so I didn’t get pics at the buffet…but we did go out to dinner and the cell stayed charging in the truck. Next we got our rare treat of Starbucks coffee!!! Now THAT is a Birthday Gift!!

Uh…excuse us…we are goofing around in Starbucks

She stole my whipped cream! Can you believe that! She told them it was my B-day they gave me a size larger and charged us for the regular size and they loaded me up with whipped cream and all that gooey terribly bad for you dark chocolate syrup..and she just reaches over and grabs a fingerful!

I came home to tons of happy birthday wishes on FaceBook and that brought tears. It’s so nice to know you are thought of and remembered. I know some of my FaceBook friends are here….Thank you friends, it really did mean a lot to me.

Since I couldn’t make it to Allendale SC to view the Topper Archaeological dig site like we had hoped, we will plan that as another outing sometime next month, but today was special and perfect…couldn’t ask for better friends & family who made it all happen.