Looks like Rufus is very close to receiving a great new home thanks to the hard work of many here on TC. But just in case we need more publicity, a "free publicity" link popped up for me in an online ad this morning:

Free Publicity Tools - helpareporter.com - 30,000 journalists are looking for your story-Submit yours Free today!

I looked at the site, but can't vouch for it. If this is of interest to you, please do the usual checking - there may be other sites like it, or better than it. I am sharing this with the thoughts that Rufus may need it, or that one of our other tiki preservation situations could benefit from this.

Front article page on today's LA Times!

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-c1-tiki-fish-retires-20140217-dto,0,6592769.htmlstory#axzz2tb5zFKfg

Holy carp, Loki-Tiki, it hardly gets better than that! Awesome! Thanks fer sharing.

"Rufus' new owner is leaning toward keeping him to decorate the new restaurant, Zhu said. He doesn't want the fish to die, either."

So like WTF is up with this owner guy?

So if this new owner guy (lan Jiao!) keeps the fish not one dime should go to him.
Jorge should get the money if Rufus stays at the same place.

And how many other fish are there?
Dam, are they just SOL because they do not have the fame Rufus does?

If this flake new owner gets one thin dime of that money send mine back
as I did not give money for that wack job!

Sorry but this is getting stupid.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2014-02-18 08:32 ]

Not having to undertake a move may be the best thing for Rufus, but I agree, why did the new owner wait so long before deciding he might be interested in keeping Rufus around? Sure seems like an opportunist who has realized very late in the game that this animal means a lot to many people and may be a bigger draw than more boring Chinese food.

I would wait for official word from the folks working behind the scenes on this
before jumping to any conclusions, but I am perturbed to say the least.

What is the latest news from Lynn?

In an area with lots of other Chinese restaurants this owner suddenly wakes up and realizes he has something unique which no one else has - and poor Rufus becomes a CELEBRITY PROPERTY instead of a beloved animal to be cared for. I'd follow others advice and see very cautiously how this plays out. Since this may be progressing from "bad" to "better" and back towards "bad" I think I'd like to see Rufus get the hell out of there and into the hands of a true care-minded owner instead of being allowed to live with an opportunist who may eventually skimp on care and shorten the poor fish's life.

Ignore everything I said up there and let's just hope that this is another rumor.

I agree with Skip, I really wouldn't want the money I contributed going to this new owner, it seems really opportunistic if he decides to keep Rufus now, if Rufus does stay there Jorge should definitely get the money to cover his continued care.

Having said that there's been so misinformation over the last few weeks, I'm just hoping this all ends with Rufus in the best situation possible.

UGH! I'd rather see Rufus at Damon's, as long as he can be safely transported.

I'm here at Bahooka, they decided to keep him. Total BS. I'm so f'ing mad right now I told Jorge.

Rufus staying where he is may be the best thing as he would not be moved
and can go on happy where he is.
BUT, This new owner guy is jerking lots o people and fish around, and
should not be able to cash in on it.

A wishy washy guy like this may not last long in this new restaurant
so we may need to move Rufus when this restaurant goes under.

So what about the other fish?
People could take them home to save them.

Bad Karma new restaurant guy.

The owner's son is about to come out in channel 11 Fox news talking about Rufus, which he knows squat about.

Talk about never letting a crisis go to waste.

Hopefully the money that was raised can be given directly to Jorge to help care for Rufus.

It looks like there are more days added to the fund raiser too.(7 days left today)
Am I wrong about that?
Should the fund site stop taking donations now?

Plus the fund is for....
Per fund raising site.2/17/2014

"Poor Rufus the Fish lost his home at Bahooka in 2013... he needs your help to be relocated to a new home that will love him! Our goal: cover fees to purchase, move, and help with Rufus' upkeep. :) - See more at:" http://www.youcaring.com/pet-expenses/help-rufus-the-fish-find-a-forever-home-/136424#sthash.ADHWAuxq.dpuf

Update the fund HAS added days to this fund raiser.
$2,747raised 2/17/2014 of $2,500 goal Last donation 2/17/2014 k&m D (Yay Damon's! Good luck on the move Rufus!)

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2014-02-17 17:18 ]

Hidden Los Angeles (Lynne) just posted on Facebook that the new restaurant has decided to keep Ruffus. I'm on my phone and can't copy and paste the sad and maddening news. Maybe someone else can?

On 2014-02-17 16:53, tikilongbeach wrote:
Hidden Los Angeles (Lynne) just posted on Facebook that the new restaurant has decided to keep Ruffus. I'm on my phone and can't copy and paste the sad and maddening news. Maybe someone else can?

Hidden Los Angeles at Damon's
Hey guys. So, I'm sitting here at Damon's, drinking a sad mai tai. It's sad because we had a meeting with the people leasing Bahooka today, and although a week ago they wanted Rufus The Fish out in a week, the press attention changed their minds. Rufus is safe and will stay in the same place, and we're trying to focus on that.

Basically, the people leasing Bahooka are now planning to keep Rufus because due to the press attention they saw he has value. At first they asked for us to move him to Damon's temporarily and move him back, but we said no. One move alone could kill him, let alone two. The whole point was keeping him alive and not having to move him more than necessary.

I will be honest, it was disappointing to me when they accused me of not caring about Rufus for telling them we couldn't give them the donated money and the donated services we've spent the last two weeks collecting. We recognize that we are accountable for everything you guys gave, and that you donated with sole intention to accomplish an emergency rehoming of a beloved fish that was declared unwanted by its owners... you weren't donating to fix up a Chinese restaurant. We're happy to give them contacts to talk to to move Rufus, but we can't cover costs for their remodeling.

If they change their mind again when the dust settles, we will still be very happy to buy Rufus. We will still be happy to pick up the phone and arrange his move. Also, we ADORE Damon's in Glendale and hope you will support their business for going through all of this brouhaha over a carrot-eating fish. If the opportunity arises, Rufus has a home there.

For people who donated, I will be contacting you to figure out how to proceed. I haven't been paid for a minute of my time on this so I need to focus on making rent again soon too.

For right now, I'm just going to focus on the delicious, but sad Mai tai in front of me.

[ Edited by: lucas vigor 2016-09-01 09:28 ]

On 2014-02-17 17:01, lucas vigor wrote:

On 2014-02-07 12:17, SoCal Savage wrote:

On 2014-02-07 12:14, lucas vigor wrote:
I have posted that article to my FB page, and encourage all to do the same thing.

I do have some concerns, though. This information from all of us may drive up the price. That would suck, because I would hate to see "the right fit" really mean, the highest bidder. I am really hoping this ends up well.

I love animals. The idea of that fish being all alone like this bothers me.

True, human nature often sucks. At the same time maybe the public pressure and "outing" the new owner wanting money may help it become a contribution instead of a profit oriented exercise.

damn.

Looks like you were right on this.

I am still waiting to hear from the folks working on this
and if true I can only imagine how upset they are!

So far I am hearing the same things the rest of you are
My thoughts are not a cent goes to the new owner of the Bahooka, period!
this guy is only motivated by money & does not care a damn about Rufus

I can't believe he asked for the funds raised! (if true) & that is what I heard, but not from a source
close to Hidden LA, This needs to be reported to the Media to out the owner as the opportunistic person
he obviously is.

Fez Moai, why have we only heard from you after several stories have gone live in the news
you are at the center of all this.

From the sound of Christiki's post the Hidden LA people won't be giving the money to the new owner which I hope is accurate. From looking at the contributors page a lot of names are from here and the Tiki community at large (even Smugglers cove gave money). I'm happy to have my money go towards helping Rufus (that's why we all gave in the first place) but this new owner should not be benefiting from the positive spirit that was raised in this community for Rufus.

We need to acknowledge the amazing work of Thor,Kari & Lynn
and everyone of you folks in this Tiki community for the work & support
of this project, regardless of the outcome, we succeeded!

We reached out & found a new home, raised money & sparked media attention
to accomplish this goal & it started right here!

On 2014-02-17 17:59, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
We need to acknowledge the amazing work of Thor,Kari & Lynn
and everyone of you folks in this Tiki community for the work & support
of this project, regardless of the outcome, we succeeded!

We reached out & found a new home, raised money & sparked media attention
to accomplish this goal & it started right here!

Agreed!

On 2014-02-17 17:59, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
We need to acknowledge the amazing work of Thor,Kari & Lynn
and everyone of you folks in this Tiki community for the work & support
of this project, regardless of the outcome, we succeeded!

We reached out & found a new home, raised money & sparked media attention
to accomplish this goal & it started right here!
[/quote

Thanks, I know you intentionally left me out. What happened to all of your tiki connections?