GROVE CITY – The most important fundraiser for the Grove City Area Pet Rescue is the annual yard sale. It was canceled last year due to a lack of interest. It’s back this year, but the group is in need of items to sell.
The fundraiser helps the animal shelter pay a large chunk of its veterinary bills, and allows the adoption fee for animals to stay at just $35.
“When I saw that they didn’t have one last year, I knew I had to find a way to help,” said Patty Mace, a volunteer who is coordinating the yard sale. “This is the fundraiser for the majority of their yearly profit. I wanted to make sure it could come back strong. We have a new start at a new location. I want to grow it every year after this.”
The shelter recently took in a large number of cats from a woman who recently died. The cats need to be neutered and spayed, along with vaccinations and other medical treatments.
One cat that was rescued was nicknamed “Idiot Cat” by neighbors who had seen her because it regularly ventured onto the road and was nearly hit several times.
When rescuers found her, she was extremely skinny from starvation, so underweight that her rescuers didn’t initially realize that she was pregnant.
One of the kittens was stillborn, while the second was born premature and died after a few hours.
When that happens, the cost of treating animals in dire condition can be higher, and a non-profit organization can find it difficult to keep up.
That’s why fundraisers like the yard sale are important to continue allowing the rescue to bring in more animals.
The sale will run May 31 through June 2 at the Mercer County Grange Fairgrounds starting at 9 a.m. and going until at least 5 p.m. each day. There will be donated yard sale items along with food and raffle baskets.
People can drop off donated items from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 23-25 at the Mercer County Grange Fairgrounds, 35 Grange Fair Drive, Mercer. Any item can be donated that you would find at a garage sale except for clothes, tires and other hard-to-dispose items.
“We just ask that things work. Some people look at events like these and see them as a chance to get rid of broken items,” Mace said. “We don’t want to have to spend money to get rid of items we can’t sell.”
The shelter also accepts donations, such as cat food and litter, that can help animals.
Ty Kohler can be contacted at tkohler@alliednews.com.