Out of tragedy comes hope

In the wee hours of last Thursday morning, someone broke into the local All About Animals no-kill animal shelter, and released 20 to 30 dogs. Police suspect dog fighting as a motive, but whatever the reason, the break-in resulted in four pit bulls or bulldogs missing (later found); three dogs (Butler, Jack, and Flapjack) dead; and more than a dozen dogs injured.

The shelter, like most private rescue organizations, runs on a shoestring budget, and had no security system or surveillance. To help make ends meet, the shelter runs monthly yard sales at their facility, and relies on donations to meet expenses. Ella and I regularly attend their sales, spending a little money, and visiting with the pups who just want a home.

Thankfully, crimes against defenseless animals tend to unite the public, and donations (money, food, medical supplies, and toys) began pouring in over the weekend for the shelter. In addition, two security companies offered free security systems, and two donors offered to pay the cost for security for one year each. A candlelight vigil also was held on Sunday evening.

While I am sure the shelter and all its volunteers are still in shock over the turn of events, at least they can look forward to a little bit brighter future for their animals.

In other news, it was an interesting weekend, thriftwise. On Friday, Ella and I visited Granny’s Attic, the annual flea market sponsored by the local Catholic church. Last year at the sale, I was verbally abused by a little old lady. This year, the same little old lady complimented me on my rolling cart.  Either she mellowed out, or her short term memory is shot.

I did find some bargains at Granny’s Attic, but, as usual, haven’t had time to sort them. On Sunday, we went back to the sale’s half-price day, and walked away with still more good stuff. I really need more time to list.

First thing Saturday morning, we were in line for Historic Macon’s annual flea market. Again, more good sellable items were found, but they are also sitting with the stuff from Granny’s. Did I mention that I need more time to list?

Just part of a large Elvis collection

At one of our last stops, I found a huge collection of Elvis merchandise, including posters, dolls, jewelry, and lots of those tacky collectible plates that everyone seems to have, but no one actually wants. The memorabilia belonged to the seller’s mother, and the seller really just wanted the stuff gone. After cherry picking the collection, buying some toys and the pictured jewelry, I asked the seller what her plans were for the rest of the collection. After some chit chat, I gave her my name and number, and she promised to call me if it didn’t sell. Since it was toward the end of the morning, I felt confident that I would hear from her.

When I got home, I promptly started researching those tacky plates, and was not really surprised that they were basically worthless ($5 to $10 each). Since the seller was asking $5 each, I hoped that I wouldn’t hear from her. Thankfully, I didn’t.

Sales were steady last week, nothing to complain about, and only a little brag about, including this Nike Air Jordan coat that sold with Best Offer for $90. I paid $15 for it at Goodwill, and had hoped to get a little more. However, it had been sitting in my closet for a while, and I was glad to get rid of it.

Perhaps a taste of cold weather prompted this sale

It sounds counterproductive, but I hope this weekend is slow because I really need some quality time to list my extensive backlog of items. Having inventory is great, but it doesn’t do me much good sitting in boxes.

Have a great week, everyone.