Donations / List of Needed Items

In cleaning up (ha, hahahahaha), I found a sheet where I'd written down potential items for donation.  I now have that List of Needed Items page on our website, and actually, some of these items on the list weren't on there, so I added them to the list. 

In case you were curious, the items added were old towels (used to as rags), fleece / JoAnn gift cards, Chlorox Clean-Up, laundry detergent, plain cheerios, old fashioned oats, and used cages / small animal supplies.

I somehow must have glossed over the cheerios, old fashioned oats, and un-frosted shredded wheat squares before, but for example, we use those to make the goodie bags that we sell, and more importantly, that go home with all the adult chins (well, chins 6+ months) that go to their new homes.  Those were on the list I found, but also, someone actually made me think of those more recently, in that I had someone coming by... I was going to chin sit their chins over a weekend, and they said they wanted to donate some items, and asked what I need.  Let me start by saying, that's never a bad idea to ask.... there's usually something on that list that I'm either out of, or will soon be, and that would be a higher priority (and a trip to the grocery store for me) than something I'm still well-stocked on.  For that specific time, I was intending (and still am...) to make some goodie bags.  To do that, of course, we need the items that go inside them.  So, I told her, ziploc baggies, cheerios, oats, etc etc.  Obviously, I told her, that's just what I will need, so she had a variety of things to pick from.  She ended up actually getting about everything I'd listed and then some, so that was super awesome of her.  If you're reading this, thanks Chris!  Anyway, the thing is, never hurts to ask if something specific is needed.

Also... now that I do have a list up there of needed items, I've had people that have asked why we don't have absolute necessities on there, like chin food, bedding, and hay, just for example.  Here's the thing -- if you have open bags of chin food(or other small animal food, or heck, even cat or dog food for the prairie dogs), or bedding, or hay... or it's something you've already purchased for yourself or whatever... we can gladly use it here.  The reason it's not on the list... I just don't want people buying it new for the rescue.  The reason being = cost.  I can get a bale of hay, that I'm thrilled with, for under $10.  I think the current going rate is $7-8 per bale.  That's usually roughly 40 pounds of hay, and maybe lasts about 2 weeks.  Let's compare that to Oxbow hay, here.  Now, those prices listed on that link are even cheaper than what you'd buy at the pet store, but they're fine for making an example.  At even $8 per pound, a 40 pound bale works out to $0.20 per pound, which amounts out to $4 per week (that we spend in hay).  Versus in comparison, the smallest package of hay that Oxbow has is $4.39 for 15 ounces.  To equal 20 pounds of hay used a week, we'd have to use 22 of those bags per week.  At $4.39 per bag, that works out to $93.65 in hay per week.  Compared to $4, yeah.  Even with their largest hay, which is 90 ounces (5.625 pounds) for $18.69 (so, cheaper per ounce), we'd be at $66.45 for hay.  I see no reason why people should buy the expensive store hay, when if someone's going to spend (for example), $4 for less than one pound of hay... I'd see that $4 better spend at the dollar store, where we could get two sharpies, a box of kleenex, and a roll of paper towels.

Same with cages.  If you want to donate used cages, I will never tell you no.  However, going out and buying a cage just isn't all that practical.  Chances are, I'll eventually get the cages I want donated, and the ones that I don't need here end up sold as used cages when there's no longer critters in them.  So, new cages not needed, but of course, we can always take used cages / supplies / etc donated.  Just the money to buy this sort of stuff new would be better spent on other things.  Thanks!