Lowcountry animal shelter held free supply yard sale for pet owners

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) – Pet supply prices continue to increase, and a local animal shelter hopes to lend a helping hand.

Today, Pet Helpers on Folly Road location had their Paw-It-Forward free pet supply yard sale.

Shelter Animal Counts, which is a national database, says inflation leads to pets surrendering at shelters, ultimately leaving the shelters overcrowded.

Pet Helper’s Marketing Manager, JJ Steele, says they hoped their event would contribute to families who need crates, litter boxes and other pet necessities.

“Pet ownership is expensive, and we want to be able to do everything we can to keep these animals in their homes,” Steele says.

One family that came in recently adopted their new addition, Big Mama.

They say this opportunity brought them some security.

“I mean that’s good because it helps knowing even though we adopted her, we still come back here to get some kind of support that’s needed,” Pet owner, Alison Young says.

The Youngs’ came in looking for two cages for their two new dogs and left with handfuls of toys, collars and dog beds.

“It’s that full circle moment that really keeps these animals in homes and not in our shelters. And that’s what we want is them to have these homes to go to,” Steele says.

The Youngs’ have six kids, in addition to their four-legged fur babies, so they know how tight money can be.

However, they also said they know what kind of responsibilities come with being a pet owner.

“This will cut down on a little bit, helping us out with you know some of the items we need. Being that we don’t have to buy two new dog cages now, we’re able to get more dog food that we need because they do eat a lot,” Young says.

The yard sale lasted from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., open to the community.

Steele says they plan to do more community givebacks within the near future.

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