Finding bargains means saving lives

Rummaging for a bargain at Pawsome Treasures allows for a bit of retail therapy while managing to leave inflation at the door.

And purchases go to help a good cause — proceeds from the new Mount Airy thrift store are going to help offset costs of spay and neuter services as well as to help animal rescue and foster groups.

Store co-owner Jodi Prince explained, “We’re a newly created non-profit; the store opened about nine weeks ago. My husband Michael along with Sally and Marty Adams, of Mayberry Antique Mall, partnered together to support local animal rescues for one thing, but our primary objective is creating a low/no cost spay and neuter program in this area.”

One of the issues hindering control of the pet population in Surry County has been access to low or no-cost spay and neuter service. Prince said the store, and its parent 501©3 Pawsome Solutions Inc., have begun helping fund a solution and have found a new partner for a spay/neuter voucher program with Mountain View Veterinary Clinic of Woodlawn, Virginia.

“I was just giving out some vouchers today, it’s the first day,” Prince said Saturday of the new endeavor.

The store is at 729 Worth St., Mount Airy, the location of the former Wood’s T.V. store. She also serves as the treasurer of the Tiny Tigers Rescue (TTR), a feline rescue organization.

The thrift store sets itself apart by earmarking the profits to help local animal charities and sells everything but clothes and shoes at what store manager Stormi Messenger said are prices meant to both move items off the shelf while also offering a savings on items people want. “I enjoy the store and the different impacts it allows us to make,” she said.

“The majority of the money is going to spay and neuter, to pay for those costs. The vets are not doing it for free, we’re basically negotiating a set rate with them, giving them a cash retainer, and then when they get a voucher, they deduct that from the cash retainer so they’re not out anything,” Prince said.

Having that financial aid is great but if there are no providers, or a months-long wait time to see one, then it does little good she said. “We’re trying to get with people who are willing to set aside a few appointments a week for vouchers because it doesn’t do any good to give you a voucher and then wait four months to get in. You’ll have two litters by then.”

This is not the first voucher plan in the area. “As I understand there have been voucher programs in the past that didn’t work well and I’ve said, ‘We’re not that. I’m not asking you to do it for free.’ Some of them expected the vets to cover a lot of the costs. They’re not staffed for that, even if I’m a citizen paying cash full price, it takes a long time to get in.”

Some veterinarian’s offices locally have been bought out by corporations, she said, which can add to the delay of accessing these services. “You still have the same vet, but they’ve been bought by a corporation and that’s another reason it can be slower to get in. I can’t go to a vet and say, ‘Hey, can we work this out.’ They have to go through protocols and such... it can slow things down and I’ve seen prices go up a bit.”

Enter Mountain View Veterinary Clinic, 113 Industry Lane, Woodlawn. Even though across the border, the business has skin in the game in terms of the work in Surry County.

Prince elaborated, “They are a great and have always supported TTR and gave us good deal and helped us with trap, neuter, release. So now we got these going, these are the first ten vouchers.”

She was preparing to head off to a board meeting to deliver those vouchers to fund aid that program while making her comments. “Last year with the funds TTR had, Trap Neuter Release did over 600 cats and that is a huge amount of potential kittens. So, this stack is worth about $1,000 but that’s the value in Virginia and they’re half the cost or what they are here.”

She hopes to make the services available closer to home but needs local partners to do so. “As soon I hear from other local vets. I’ve contacted them all and said we’re not asking you to do it for free, give us a set price.”

For those in need she said, “If you’re low income or a senior citizen, $10 is your voucher co-pay. That’s for a spay or neuter and a rabies vaccine because if they can’t afford spay/neuter they may need help with rabies. We have a different copay for low income, senior, and regular but at most you’re talking $40. If it’s yourself at the vet that could be $250.”

Helping the pet population is about life and death for animals. “I know over 100 cats are being euthanized every month… It keeps going up and they just raised their adoption fees because their vet costs have gone up, so now you’re going to probably see even more.”

A driver of these numbers she said are surrendered animals. “A lot of times people pass away, and someone doesn’t want to deal with that pet, that happens a lot — this is an older community.”

Adoption rates are low and rescue groups often are moving animals from Surry County to no-kill shelters in other counties. Prince said that is why the store also gives assistance to animal foster/recuse groups such as Tiny Tigers Rescue, Mayberry 4 Paws, and Surry Animal Rescue with donations and in house events like adoption fairs. They recently had cats on display for folks to “get to know.”

“We don’t put out junk and price things to sell because we want to move and create the revenue. A lot of shoppers are still new, we’re still new. I’ve been posting stuff but also people are hearing about the store from other people,” she said.

Prince and Messenger were both excited about an online auction that was running featuring all manner of donated items with the proceeds going to their spay and neuter voucher program. Sunday evening they reported it raised more than $5,000.

Donations are accepted on Tuesday; the store is open Thursday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.