Speaking of pets...

[SecondhandSophisticate]

GB and Cookie:

The Goddess Bast (Bastest) thanks you. My cat kids thank you. And I thank you.

Cats RULE!

SeSo

[ChrisMiss]

You are doing great work.  I hope that your efforts help reduce the number of feral cats in Orange County.  I read that they also test the cats for diseases and give them vaccinations.  In your estimates how many of the cats you've captured were diseased and had to be euthanized? 

[Good Buddy]

None of mine. But during the Spay Day we participated in 8 cats out of 176 were put down. I always cross my fingers and I always promise the kitties that I'll bring them home.

[alexandra]

You're not only a Good Buddy... you're a Good Boy!

We've got a "hobo kitty" (i.e. formerly stray) -- love him to bits. While I feed him out of stainless steel food dishes (for sanitary reasons), I love finding little thrifted bowls/dishes for his water.  One of my favorite thrifted items, is a metal tin with a kitty that looks like he must have when he was a kitten.  I also like to find thrifted pillows to set on top of the radiators so he has a comfy cushion that is warm.

While I am an avowed dog person, I think kitties suffer the most.  Society sees them as more "throw away" than dogs, they don't understand their behavior, and there isn't as much awareness of them because when they are feral, they aren't as noticable.

Alas, our dear boy got a bad case of fleas this fall -- so almost all of his comfies got tossed.  Next month, I'm going to go on a shopping spree for him and aim to find more pillows and cushions.

While pet-specific stuff is all fine and good, I find it kind of trite -- since I don't decorate my house in kitty or doggie style.  Therefore, I like thrifting vintage style stuff that fits in to the decor, but serves as accessories for my furries.

Yes, I could buy a toile dog bet for thirty bucks at TJ Maxx... or I could thrift a toile settee cushion at Goodwill for five bucks.  The dog bed will likely have cedar chips in it, meaning it can't be washed.  The toile cushion, on the other hand, can be cleaned if the need arises.

Thriftily,
Alexandra
www.livingwithoutmoney.com

[Tammy]

That's so great Good Buddy about helping out that way.  If you want me to get really, really riled up just talk to me about what vets in my area charge for spaying/neutering.  State of IL has cheap programs except for in Central IL which is Peoria (where I am), Tazewell and Fulton County areas.  When I checked into having 2 of my dogs spayed, one a 40# dog, I didn't get a price less than $230.00 for each dog.  We ended up driving 90 minutes away to Champaign County and the total for both dogs was $100.00.  It's a wonderful thought to reduce the animal population but if you don't have reduced state programs or vets that care enough to charge a minimal fee, you'll still have an excess number of animals.  Plus all the stupid people that keep breeding.  Horses are so excessive right now that it's hard to give them away for free. 
OK - I told you I could get riled up.  LOL 

[junquechick]

Just wanted to share my latest thrift store find... polar fleece sports vests repurposed as doggie wear.

My senior dog won't miss her walks for anything but I was worried with the frigid temps. She's  a medium size/trim gal, so I purchased a ladies XS vest with slash zip pockets near the waist that has little bungie type cording attached to the zippers. I untied one, added a toggle, and retied it. To put it on, she steps into it. I zip it up along her back, then loop the pocket cords to cinch it closer to her body. She loves it!

My Mom had been on the lookout for a frufru doggie outfit for her cocker spaniel (who is not the frilly type!) but hadn't been able to find anything to fit. I found a baby pink toddler's fleece vest, added a charm to the zipper pull, and voila! another happy dog! (Because she is a more barrel shaped dog, no cinching was necessary).

At our Christmas gathering when I didn't produce a vest for the oldest (and largest) dog in our extended family, she came over and nudged me with her nose as if to say "And what about me??? I ended up fetching my own vest from the car so that she could dress up too!

Three happy dogs!!!

I'm delighted to have found this website and look forward to reading about your finds! 

[foutchie]

LOVE your doggie winterwear idea!  Our dog is a German Short haired Pointer, so going out to "do his duty" in the winter sends him into shivers - I'll have to scope out some fleecewear for him!

[Femme1]

Or, you could find a thrift shop fur coat and cut it up to make a doggie mink. 

Talk about a stylin' pup!

[oceangurl]

Good Buddy I just want to thank you for the work you do with feral cats! This is one big bone of contention for me! Iam an avid cat lover and have rescued 3 feral cats, two sisies born under my brothers junk car on our property, their parents were feral cats here in the country, and one male cat born in a garbage dumpster in Ocala, about 40 minutes from me, I adopted him (lucky, a one-eyed Himalayian) when he was 4 months old and was living in the Vets office in a cage, he was found in a dumpster and had been compacted, the garbage man heard something crying and found him and brought him to the vets office, he had broken ribs and also had to have his one eye (a beautiful turquoise blue) taken out, they had removed it beautifully though, just stitching it down like a half moon, looks like he is sleeping on one side, lol, and the vet declawed him and then he was just waiting for me to take him home, the two sissies, one lightcolored calico, one jet black and orange calico, light colored one called Little bit, and dark one called Ms CoCo Chanel were bottlefed by me at 3 weeks old and now all three are living in my home, strictly indoor cats and live better then me, eat better then me and go to the doctors more then me! lol! I also had the two girls fixed which cost me 300$ or more but they all have a good home and the two sissies are 3 yrs old now and Lucky is 4 and a half yrs old, they are my children, but the feral cat situation really strikes a nerve with me because of the ignorance of people these little innocent ones have to suffer, it just isnt fair...I have also made a contribution to a feral cat society last yr and plan on making another one in the future, everytime I see a feral cat it just rips my heart out and the society that I support believes in TNR, thats where my contribution went to. so thanx for listening and most of all thanx for being a Kitty Angel to these innocent babies, no matter how old, by the way my alias is "Kitty MaMa!" lol!

[dukek9]

I also get a lot of pet items at the thrifts--especially blankets and throws. After the dogs use something a while, it just looks awful to me--no matter how I scrub and clean it, it still looks scrungy. So I would rather give them a nice clean item rather than wasting a lot of time on an item.

I love the thrifts for clothing dogs-mostly kids shirts.  Not that the dogs wear clothes a lot, but occasionally for special occasions.  We've been dressing the dogs in look alike shirts, generally jsut teh same color and taking their photo for Christmas cards.  It's fun, easy to do and very inexpensive.

My oldest dog, who just died this last September was very old, and did have trouble keeping warm, but still wanted to go out and walk around. I did buy him a couple of dog jackets but honestly the thing he liked the best was an old kids sweatshirt,  I guess it was comfy and jsut kept him warm enough.

I also got a jogging stoller for him which I converted into a dog stroller for him.  There's a small park right across street, but a much larger one a few blocks away.  If he walked there, he would be too pooped to do anything there so I'd stroll him there and he could get out and walk around there.  Or he would go for a walk and I'd have the stolelr salong and when he got tired, he could jsut ride.

Many people asked me about the stroller and were amazed that it came from a thrift store because they were looking for something similiar for their dog.

I'd like to add my gratitude to Good Buddy for his work with the cats.  It's so important.

Dee

[genuineimitation]

hey mattie! where's the spca thrift in sac? there is a GREAT spca thrift in davis - totally rocks! one of my favorite places.

i had a bunch of dog stuff that wasn't working for us - leashes and such - but rather than send them to the thrift, i gave them to the local animal control. they were SO HAPPY to get them. i used to volunteer at a shelter, and they would always appreciate any donations - seemed like a better place for them than a thrift store.