The Fascinating Journey of Pet Product Donations

How your donations impact animals in need.

Curious what happens to pet product donations received by pet stores and rescue organizations?

Like, where does the stuff really go that is dropped into donation bins and delivered via e-commerce?

Pet support networks are like spokes in a wheel or a chain on a bike. They are the mechanism that connects people who have enough to pets that don’t.

New and Gently Used Pet Supplies

I’ve been to that place where the metaphorical sky turns darkest just before a beloved pet crosses the rainbow bridge. Where knowing and bargaining battle until there’s nothing but quiet. That’s when I plug in the vacuum to let routine and noise swallow time.

With floor clean, I’d layer toys, a colorful collar, a fleece blanket still prickling with fur into a box and tuck it out of sight, as if order could steady my loss.

Those were my routines for many years and many pets, until I started volunteering with People and Pets Together, an animal wellness center focused on keeping pets in the homes of people who love them. One of my weekly tasks is to empty the big, blue donation bin outside the warehouse door.

It’s such a simple joy to watch cans of food roll past my feet when I remove the lock that holds the door tight against the contents. Item by item gets placed on a cart - bags and cans of pet food, bags and boxes of litter, empty litter containers ready to be refilled, knotted bags of pets supplies bulging with the legacy of a beloved pet – a gently used collar, toys with a bit of wear, a bed shaped by a body now gone.

On more than one occasion, I’ve pushed the cart of pet food and toys from the bin to the pet food shelves where someone in need at that very moment fills their cart and my heart with a litany of gratitude. I’ve never met the deceased pets that came before that moment, but I’ve come to know the joy their items bring to others.

The lessons gifted to me by the blue bin inspired me to open my own stashed boxes, to unpack the legacy of my great pets. Their things have now been donated, bestowing comfort to other people and pets, and in turn bringing comfort to me.

If you can bear it, wash it, pack it, donate it. All of the love, kindness, and memories of your great pet will transfer to a pet in need. Your loss leads to another’s gain.

Now when I find used pet products in the donation bin, I pause to send a quiet thank you to the people who’ve donated and to the pets who’ve crossed the rainbow bridge.

Manufacturers and Retailers Donate Goods

The blue bin, however, doesn’t just fill from used products. Manufacturers and retailers are equally generous as individual people. Not everything made in a factory makes its way to a store. Not everything in a store finds a buyer.

Much of that leftover stuff is finding its way to pets in need thanks to tireless staff and volunteers coordinating pick-ups and deliveries, loading and unloading cars and vans, checking items in, sending items out. It’s exhausting and exhilarating at the same time.

Pet Food – New and Opened

Unsure of what to do with that opened bag of food your cat or dog refuses to eat? What about bags of hay and alfalfa your pocket pets (rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs) don’t like?

Call an animal rescue center or an animal support organization. Many accept donations of opened bags of unexpired food. They may use it internally or share with a food pantry.

That’s right. A growing number of community food shelves are stocking pet food and will accept donations of new and open, unexpired food.

Social services for pets? A growing body of scientific knowledge points to the role pets play in improving the mental and physical health of people. Feeding people and their pets helps keep families together and people healthier and happier.

I can’t get enough of the work by Diane Rose Solomon and her documentary projects on the Animal Magic Films website. The five-minute short films provide enough feel-good energy about the human-animal bond to power a day!

The Almighty Dollar is Mighty

It’s simple math and a simple fact. Money is top dog in the pet support arena. For every dollar you donate, most organizations can buy eight dollars of pet food through food bank programs.

Your $10.00 donation enables a non-profit to buy $80.00 of pet food. A $100.00 donation turns into $800.00 in pet food. Just hosted an online birthday fundraiser and raised $250.00? That $250.00 turns into $2,000.00 in pet food! A fine Happy Birthday to you!

While all types of donations are welcome at pet rescue and wellness centers, donations of money reign king.

The Twin King of the Animal Care World is…

If you guessed volunteers, you guessed right! In-house volunteers, in-home fosters, virtual help, and drivers are just some of the roles critical to the pet support supply chain.

The silver lining of the pandemic is the proof that humans are capable of rolling up their sleeves and tapping their brains to solve problems and jump hurdles. As they say, it takes a village.

Donate What You Can

Whatever you donate – used pet supplies, new and opened bags of food, money, time – please consider donating today. Every bit helps keep the pet support supply chain well-oiled and churning to help animals and their people in need.

(Feature image of chain by Paola Russian on Pexels. Silhouettes by Mohamed Hassan on Pixabay.)