I have not heard back from Amy, but I know she has received the message
she is right in the middle of opening the new Tonga Hut in Palm Springs
And I would guess any further expenses of buying & moving Rufus may beyond Tonga Huts means right now
as they have been struggling to open the new spot for many months now, so unless we hear different
I would say going to the Tonga Hut is not a possibility at this time.

All you L.A. TCers getting in contact with the media, might just be the ticket
to convince the person selling Rufus to "donate" him to a good home instead
as this would broaden the possibility of finding one in the least about of time.

Rufus has been sitting in the dark former shell of the Bahooka, mostly alone now
for over a year, I think he deserves better.

On 2014-02-06 15:28, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
Rufus has been sitting in the dark former shell of the Bahooka, mostly alone now for over a year...

Ugh. Just thinking about that makes me incredibly sad. I realize in the grand scheme of things this doesn't seem terribly important, but I sure hope that this situation gets remedied soon.

:(

My girlfriend spoke with Jorge and here are the details from their conversation (cut and pasted from her gchat with me):

"The owner just wants money - it's about business he has about 2 weeks before they gut the restaurant before the city permits come through but jorge won't let rufus go die he told the owner he would take him last resort... and then jorge won't want money - he just wants rufus to have a loving home...where he can be enjoyed and on display jorge would help take care of him he wants me to take him I said i can't because we rent he can't keep being moved jorge is worried (as I have been) that the one move may shock him and give him a heart attack so he would only want to move him once he is hoping we can find a place to put him on display last resort jorge will keep him"

So according to Jorge (who my girl said is an awesome guy who really cares about Rufus) it sounds like there may only be 2 weeks before Rufus has to be moved unless someone else has different info.

Would anyone else be willing to put up money to get Rufus out of there if there was a proper home willing to take him? If 50 Tiki Centralites put up $20 each that would be enough, and if 20 put up $50 the same. I spend 4X that on one trip to Oceanic Arts. It's just a thought if it comes to that. I'm no expert but it seems like a fish that old shouldn't be moved a lot so if he's going to have to leave the restaurant he should go directly to wherever he will be permanently residing.

Jorge is the guy who needs to be on tv or in any interview for news.

"Ugh. Just thinking about that makes me incredibly sad. I realize in the grand scheme of things this doesn't seem terribly important, but I sure hope that this situation gets remedied soon."

What? This fish has been in a movie!
He has way out lived his 20 year lifespan.
And now many people are working on his behalf to save him.

If he dies tomorrow he will have had a way better life than most fish.
How many other fish do you know by name? Ok Flipper.

AND, A news story about a homeless fish. Could be Awesome!

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2014-02-06 17:48 ]

The guy who wrote the LA Times article back in 2000 just got back to my girlfriend. Here is his reply:

'Hey Marie
I'm ccing Chris Nichols on this as I think it could be a promising web item
Really hope things will work out for Rufus and thanks for being such a strong advocate for him
Best
Ed"

So it looks like we can get a story going here.

Skip - We will definitely put them in touch with Jorge.

:) :) :) and a :drink:
to everyone helping out!

Tom you are always the voice of reason, I am happy to donate to the cause so keep us posted. I agree, getting your artwork in a newspaper would be helpful.

I am not of much help as I am out of the area, but think some of you are being very proactive and it is good to see. No response from my Vet for any networking to an expert.

Nice work everyone, it is like a big puzzle and trying to piece everything together for a good outcome takes great team work.

Awesome!!! Hoping for follow through !!! This is how stuff goes viral potentially. If you want a higher resolution copy of the Rufus cartoon I did to help people visualize and get emotional... I can provide that to the publication. I don't care/Need credit on that...this is 100% for Rufus if it's helpful! I just want this fella to be O.K and SOON! We all are busy and have "important things we are doing"... Restaurant or business owner...I don't care to hear excuses! Time to do something totally for the sake of a humanitarian cause and act from the heart!! Again, if there is a way I can provide any more service personally... Please let me know! I am THERE!

So I think we need a little coordination of our efforts &
consolidation of the facts so far:

The Facts:

The Owner/Fez Moai is currently asking $1000 for Rufus w/Tank.

We are on a two week timetable until Rufus has to be removed from the building for a remodel.

No Tiki establishments so far will take him & it doesn't look like that will change.

Jorge Mastache (626-893-3490), Long time caretaker of the Aquariums & Rufus for the Bahooka
should be included & consulted with finding Rufus a new home.

The situation so far:

All of us have been talking to people, but what has come of this?

SoCal Savage has contacted a L.A. Times online reporter, has anyone else?
The L.A. area TC Ohana,should work on this because they may have to meet any media reporters
to get the story out there, but this can make a big difference.

Do we have any interested "Individuals" who can take & care for Rufus?
This will be a big responsibility!

We should apply friendly pressure to get the owner to "donate" Rufus if possible
I know a $1000 is alot of money for most of us, after all we are doing him a big favor
in relocating Rufus, so he can begin his remodel.

First Priority is locating a new home for Rufus
Second is facilitating it
Third is getting together & having a drink to a job well done.

On 2014-02-06 20:15, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
So I think we need a little coordination of our efforts &
consolidation of the facts so far:

The Facts:

The Owner/Fez Moai is currently asking $1000 for Rufus w/Tank.

We are on a two week timetable until Rufus has to be removed from the building for a remodel.

No Tiki establishments so far will take him & it doesn't look like that will change.

Jorge Mastache (626-893-3490), Long time caretaker of the Aquariums & Rufus for the Bahooka
should be included & consulted with finding Rufus a new home.

The situation so far:

All of us have been talking to people, but what has come of this?

SoCal Savage has contacted a L.A. Times online reporter, has anyone else?
The L.A. area TC Ohana,should work on this because they may have to meet any media reporters
to get the story out there, but this can make a big difference.

Do we have any interested "Individuals" who can take & care for Rufus?
This will be a big responsibility!

We should apply friendly pressure to get the owner to "donate" Rufus if possible
I know a $1000 is alot of money for most of us, after all we are doing him a big favor
in relocating Rufus, so he can begin his remodel.

First Priority is locating a new home for Rufus
Second is facilitating it
Third is getting together & having a drink to a job well done.

As far as any interested "Individuals" who can take & care for Rufus, it sounds like that's possibly covered.

On 2014-02-05 23:03, Fez Moai wrote:
I found private owners here with the space and will to take Rufus. I'm holding out hope that a tiki establishment steps up. ...

On 2014-02-06 20:15, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:

The Facts:

The Owner/Fez Moai is currently asking $1000 for Rufus w/Tank.

Fez is not asking for anything only the owner is asking for the $1000.00.

On 2014-02-05 23:03, Fez Moai wrote:
...I'm still trying to negotiate down the price that the owner is asking.

On 2014-02-06 00:21, Fez Moai wrote:
He's asking for $1000 for Rufus and everything with him.

[ Edited by: El Jefe 2014-02-06 20:47 ]

I tried my limited resources with zoo and marine biologist friends. Didn't pan out yet but I will keep trying. I don't know anyone too well at Sea World, but I would be happy to try talking to them. I am not sure how much freshwater fish they have though.

On 2014-02-05 08:49, tikilongbeach wrote:
Sven posted on Facebook about Rufus needing a new home. There are quite a few people that have asked for help in relocating him.
Polynesiac hasn't posted on TC since December, but I thought he worked at the Cabrillo Aquarium in San Pedro.
Because of the issues with moving Rufus I think the Aquarium of the Pacific or the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium would be the best and most knowledgeable. Moving him will be expensive.

Matt thought that the Cabrillo Aquarium might be the best fit. Has anyone reached out to them? If no one has I will do my best to reach out to them and Sea World tomorrow, but I am busy as well. I am willing to help in any way though, so keep me posted. Thanks SocalSavage for your hard work and everyone else. Thanks Thor for lending your time as well.

[ Edited by: lunavideogames 2014-02-06 21:52 ]

Haven't heard back from Fez. Good news is - the LA Times online reporter has Jorge's info and is working on the story (he followed up with Marie earlier tonight). He said he'll be speaking with Jorge tomorrow after 4:00. So it looks like they are going to run the story, which is great news.

I agree with Atomic Tiki Punk that in the meantime we should all be looking for someone who could take Rufus on. Marie (my GF) is very involved in animal rescue in LA and she will be making calls tomorrow. We should coordinate our efforts so we're not all covering the same ground. If someone finds an interested individual that can provide Rufus with a good home let everyone else know. With a 2 week timeline we should be able to make something happen. Cheers and Mahalo.