Speaking of pets...

[Tammy]

Wouldn't it be so cool to have an animal thrift store?  I am always on the lookout for items I can use for them, be it horses, dogs or parrots.  Normally I don't see regular pet stuff but once in awhile I'll score big time.   

 I think one of my best pet thrift items was a parrot playstand that I got for $15 which would new cost upwards of $80.  Made me sick because they said there was a huge cage the people had also brought in but it sold the day before.  I tried to find out what it was priced at just to torture myself, but nobody knew.  Actually the clerks all thought this playstand was something to hang clothes on to dry.  LOL 

[ChrisMiss]

I've been to a few thrift stores that the proceeds are to help the local animal shelters.  But I don't think I've ever seen one just for pet stuff. 

Good score on the playstand.

[Mattie]

There's an SPCA thrift store in Sacramento and it's pretty darn good.  I always promise Gromit that I'll look for things for him when I go thrifting, but it's rare to find anything.  I've found a new-in-the-package Nylabone, a Kong (actually I found this at a yard sale; the woman said her old dog had died and she wanted his favorite toy to go to a good home so she gave it to me, free) and a tennis ball on a leather rope.  I also bought a leash for one of Gromit's friends who stays with us when his parent goes away for the weekend.  His own leash is too long for me to handle, so I keep this one here for when he visits.

[Cookie]

Yes, it would be way cool to have a thrift store for pet items.  What a great idea!  We have purchased a few scratching posts and cat carriers at thrift stores and been glad for the savings.  You could even sell used pet clothes and costumes and unopened cans of food, etc.  And imagine the savings for larger and more expensive items for animals like horses, as you mentioned.  The proceeds could benefit different animal charities (obviously, right?).  Your mission is to get this going, Tammy!  This is your future dream job, isn't it?  It would be great to set up an online store for this, too, since it's so specialized, and then people in Montana could buy used horse bridles from people in Colorado or whatever.

My mom and I talked about having a thrift store just for teachers, since she is a retired third grade teacher.  She said she was always looking for stuff for her classroom and it's expensive to buy all that stuff new.  Plus, when you retire from your teaching career, you'd have a place to donate all your stuff where you know it would be put to good use.  The proceeds could benefit a teacher's fund, too.

[Mattie]

I like the idea of specialized thrifts.  There are several thrifts in Sac that sell only children's clothes - Once Upon A Child is the only one I can think of offhand.  The Habitat for Humanity store here specializes in salvaged building materials and fixtures, nothing else. 

Oh, I thrifted a set of dog socks for Gromit once!  They had shorter feet and taller legs than baby socks and there were four of them in the package (plus they had dog faces embroidered on them).  I managed to get all four on Gromit's paws and they stayed there for about five seconds.  He made it very clear he will NOT be embarrassed by such silliness ever again.  The socks now reside in my sock drawer.   

[alexandra]

I am at the point where I'd think twice about buying a "used" pet item -- except for maybe a metal crate or any sort of object that could be completely sterilized.

I wouldn't by a used pet bed -- you could be bringing fleas into your house (a war I am now fighting).  There are many different pathogens that can survive on a variety of surfaces.  Not all pathogens are killed or respond to all cleaning solutions.

The parvo virus can survive for over a year and only a bleach solution can kill it.  Then there is the issue of urine and feces -- even when clean to the eye, if the process wasn't done with an enzymatic cleaner (or if crevices, folds, sections, etc. were missed) -- problems can result.  If the animal picks up on the scent, he might start peeing or pooing on it too. A pathogen comes with many layers, having the actual germ inside. It has a "package" or surrounding protective layer that contains both nourishment and protection.  For each pathogen, you need the right chemical/cleaning agent to destroy the package and the nourishment.  Not all chemicals can penetrate the "package."  That means the germ can survive and nourish itself for sometime, and then invade an unwary subject.

That being said, I donated a bunch of old toys, pillows, etc. to rescue when my dear doggie girl died this past year.  Since she died of cancer and never soiled anything, I knew we weren't handing over a problem to someone else.

Yesterday, I threw out all the cat toys because I feared they were harboring flea eggs.  A pillow or two went out as well.  He won't be getting a new bed for months.

I guess that my thought on pet items being sold used, is that the buyer must be willing to trust that they are safe.   Finally, pets have a very acute sense of smell and not all will react well to an object that smells like another.  A territorial male cat or intact male dog might just decide to spray on/mark an item in order to establish his scent and territory over the original owners.  Now that's not something I'd want in my house!

Thriftily,
Alexandra
www.livingwithoutmoney.blogspot.com

[Tammy]

Alexandra you beat me to this.  I was thinking about that after I posted.  Certain thing like parvo scare the pants off me.  I brought home an abandonded 4 month old lab 2 yrs ago and 4 days later had to have her put down from that.  Ended up costing me about $400 as 2 of my other dogs ended up getting bad colds from it.  So yes, you have to watch what the item is and use bleach or a bleach/water mix if possible.  I have brought home stuffed animals or rubber baby toys for the dogs though and will pick up baby rattles or other type items for the parrots. 

[dukek9]

Good points about being safe with pet items.

We have a thrift that profits the local humane society and they have quite a large animal section, but none of the items that Alexandra mentions such as dog beds for the reasons she mentioned. But lots of other pet items.

My dogs get stuff from the thrift stores but it's mostly clothes (kid clothes) and blankets.  For example, I dress the kids and the dogs for Christmas pictures in sorta matching clothes.  For example, last year they all wore red polo shirts.  My one dog actually enjoys wearing shirts although I suspect he really enjoys the fuss made over him when he's wearing something.  The other one tolerates it/  So that dog will want his shirt off in two seconds, the first dog will want to wear his and the kids--well, sometimes they get one they like and sometimes it is basically only used for Christmas photo.

The big thing I get them is baby blankets and comforters to lay on.  They are cute, comfortable and the dogs really like them.  Good size to wash and eventually when they get all grubby as they tend to do with dogs, well I don't feel too bad since I got them so cheaply.

Dee

[superiorgirl]

I've never seen a ts whose proceeds go to an animal shelter. I have purchased pet stuff at other thrifts, though. Like you, I got a play stand for a parrot, several wire crates, recently a nwt bird tent and I always go through the kids toys for things that I know my feathered and furred kids will enjoy. There has been an abundance of stuffed Christmas toys, so I thought it would be fun to pack all of the regular toys away and buy a bunch of Christmas items! Current favorites are reindeer, a stuffed plush tree and a couple of snowmen. I have little dogs, so they don't shred the stuffed toys like my retriever did. There was canned cat food in one of the ts's in Minneapolis that we were at during Thanksgiving. They obviously had no clue as they were marked at .94 each for a basic can of Friskies, which  sells for half that at the market.

[dukek9]

The executive director of the humane society here was looking in new fund raising ideas and thought of a thrift.  There was an empty store which he managed to talk the owners into letting the humane society use rent free which helps a lot.  They do pay utilities and general upkeep on the building.  The idea was to have it all volunteer, but that proved to not work so well so they now have a paid store manager.

So other than costs of the building and salary for the manager, all proceeds go to the Humane Society and business seems to be very good.  I would say, however, if they had to pay rent, it might not be such a going concern.  Also it's in a very good location, on a main street with parking in front and very close to the main business district.

So there are a lot of factors that have gone into making this a success so far.  I think many people do enjoy giving things to benefit the Humane society.

Another factor for success, I think is the ease of donating.  There's another thrift nearby that has very limited hours for donating and none at all evenings or weekends, while the Humane Society thrift takes items whenever they are open. Also, whoever is there, which is usually the manager is always enthusiastic about donations while at the local Salvation Army the attitude is more like, "oh you brought stuff in, now we're going to have to do something with it."

Dee

[Other People s Junk]

I went to a Humane Society Thrift store once... that particular one wasn't very good at all and it was freaky to shop in as they had cages all around the store (mixed in with the thrifted items) that had actual live animals in them.  It was just creepy!  When I think of getting a pet, it's more like getting another child, so picking them out in a thrift store setting just seems wrong to me.   

[SecondhandSophisticate]

O, OPJ, that is just horrifying!  It sounds like animal torture to me.  I can't even go to zoos or pet stores because of animals in cages. No matter how much "space" they have, they are still caged. But what you witnessed sounds like animal cruelty to me. I totally relate to what you are saying (My cat kids agree!)

[Good Buddy]

There WAS an animal charity thrift near us but it closed. (it was very lame)
In Clermont, about 20 miles from us, there's a BIG very GREAT animal charity thrift that does pet adoptions out of the store on certain days.
Some thrifts actually let the pets have the run of the store when it's closed.
Cookie and I feel very very strongly about pet overpopulation and I actually work through a local program to fix stray cats. I've fixed at least 75 cats in the past few years.
We helped out with a Spay-a-Thon earlier this year and we trapped 17 cats.
This one very driven couple, Sue and Jeff, trapped 37 cats from a trailer park in a real bad area of town. The total for the Sunday of all volunteer work was 168 cats in one day!
If you want to check out more about the program I participate in....
http://www.CareFelineRescue.Org

[ChrisMiss]

There WAS an animal charity thrift near us but it closed. (it was very lame)
In Clermont, about 20 miles from us, there's a BIG very GREAT animal charity thrift that does pet adoptions out of the store on certain days.
Some thrifts actually let the pets have the run of the store when it's closed.
Cookie and I feel very very strongly about pet overpopulation and I actually work through a local program to fix stray cats. I've fixed at least 75 cats in the past few years.
We helped out with a Spay-a-Thon earlier this year and we trapped 17 cats.
This one very driven couple, Sue and Jeff, trapped 37 cats from a trailer park in a real bad area of town. The total for the Sunday of all volunteer work was 168 cats in one day!
If you want to check out more about the program I participate in....
http://www.CareFelineRescue.Org

You catch the cats, spay/neuter them.  Are they then returned to the same location?

[Good Buddy]

CM,

Care Feline Rescue works through Orange County Animal Services. OCAS lets CFR fix 40 cats each week. I trap or catch cats Sunday evenings then at 7:00am I deliver the cats to OCAS. They do their deed and I pick up the cats around 3:30pm the same day. The kitties are in poor shape still from the anesthesia when I pick them up, so I keep them in the carriers until 8:00pm. They are indeed release exactly where I get them from. Trap-Neuter-Return TNR is what they all it.
It's an awesome program and CFR has helped spay and neuter 1000's of stray cats over the past several years.
Pet overpopulation is a true crime as it impacts us all in one way or another.
I personally would like to help get laws past to change things nationwide.

WE LOVE KITTIES!