Radosti
12-09-2007, 10:31 PM
I usually bitch about my mom. She is very nosy, needs to control everything, and randomly drives me up a wall. So, this is an "I love my mommy" post. Please remind me the next time she drives me insane...
If dumpster diving grosses you out, don't read this. But it is for an awesome cause and saves many cat/dog lives in the shelter due to increased funding for vet care and reduced food bills.
OK, I know this isn't how most families express love... but both my parents and I have the same petstore (part of a group of 5 in the area) near us. My parents live 50 miles away. This petstore REFUSES to donate any of the broken bags of food or expiring stuff. They are vindictive too. I dumpster dived there all summer, pulling 10,000 lbs of dog and cat food out over 3 months. It all went to the shelter where I adopted Rocky from way back when I was 17. It's by my parents' house, and is now a no-kill with no county funding. Great little place, has really morphed from the death trap it was when I adopted Rocky. It's amazing what they've done with the same old kennel. Anyway, I digress.
I finally went inside in October and spent a lot of time with the manager explaining the situation. She seemed VERY receptive. She started putting the stuff they would dump by the back door and we'd just swing by and pick it up. Then it all stopped. I went in and asked what happened and turns out she went to open a new store in the same chain about 30 minutes away and the other manager REFUSED to give to our rescue. So, she did this grand gesture of helping another rescue with a food drive for them for the entire month of November. I got nothing for the shelter. Now, the drive is over and guess what, they are back to tossing the food rather than give me a call. Grrrr........... Anyway, I got a ton of stuff out this morning.
The only reason the shelter has still gotten a large amt of pet food all through November is because my mom heard how upset I was, and I had shown her the store there a while back. So, my 60 year old mother now swings by their dumpster 3-4 times a week and pulls hundreds of pounds of food out for the shelter. Then, she takes it all there herself for me. And she's told me on numerous occasions that I was insane all summer. I told her that I couldn't stand the waste, the environmental impact of it all going to the dump, and the fact that it literally saves the shelter thousands of dollars every month and it's all good food. Nothing cheaper than Eukanuba/Science Diet and many times it's Timberwolf Organics and such that cost a huge amt of money. It's not my mom's cause, but because I believe so deeply in it and she knows that I won't stop and it's really important to me, it's important to her too. My dad won't dumpster dive, but he gets a huge kick out of pulling up to the shelter with 600 lbs of pet food in the SUV and hearing the workers thank him profusely because they are almost out. I think that drives the point home about how important this is to me and why.
I was still able to get quite a bit of stuff out of the Petsmart dumpster (they refuse to donate the bags as well, despite their rescue friendly exterior). Much cheaper foods, but the shelter mixes them with the good foods, and it all goes to a good cause. I take and send everything I find. Today, my parents loaded up their SUV with all the stuff I had. My dad will take it to the shelter tomorrow. It would have taken me two trips with my SUV as it's a lot smaller. They take stuff from me these days because mice are a real concern for me in the winter (we killed 15 in the garage last winter), so the less time the food spends in my garage the better.
That's love!!! And my hubby loves me too as he climbs into the store's dumpster for me now. It's tall and I can't do it now. The petsmart one is short, so I have no problem reaching in.
If dumpster diving grosses you out, don't read this. But it is for an awesome cause and saves many cat/dog lives in the shelter due to increased funding for vet care and reduced food bills.
OK, I know this isn't how most families express love... but both my parents and I have the same petstore (part of a group of 5 in the area) near us. My parents live 50 miles away. This petstore REFUSES to donate any of the broken bags of food or expiring stuff. They are vindictive too. I dumpster dived there all summer, pulling 10,000 lbs of dog and cat food out over 3 months. It all went to the shelter where I adopted Rocky from way back when I was 17. It's by my parents' house, and is now a no-kill with no county funding. Great little place, has really morphed from the death trap it was when I adopted Rocky. It's amazing what they've done with the same old kennel. Anyway, I digress.
I finally went inside in October and spent a lot of time with the manager explaining the situation. She seemed VERY receptive. She started putting the stuff they would dump by the back door and we'd just swing by and pick it up. Then it all stopped. I went in and asked what happened and turns out she went to open a new store in the same chain about 30 minutes away and the other manager REFUSED to give to our rescue. So, she did this grand gesture of helping another rescue with a food drive for them for the entire month of November. I got nothing for the shelter. Now, the drive is over and guess what, they are back to tossing the food rather than give me a call. Grrrr........... Anyway, I got a ton of stuff out this morning.
The only reason the shelter has still gotten a large amt of pet food all through November is because my mom heard how upset I was, and I had shown her the store there a while back. So, my 60 year old mother now swings by their dumpster 3-4 times a week and pulls hundreds of pounds of food out for the shelter. Then, she takes it all there herself for me. And she's told me on numerous occasions that I was insane all summer. I told her that I couldn't stand the waste, the environmental impact of it all going to the dump, and the fact that it literally saves the shelter thousands of dollars every month and it's all good food. Nothing cheaper than Eukanuba/Science Diet and many times it's Timberwolf Organics and such that cost a huge amt of money. It's not my mom's cause, but because I believe so deeply in it and she knows that I won't stop and it's really important to me, it's important to her too. My dad won't dumpster dive, but he gets a huge kick out of pulling up to the shelter with 600 lbs of pet food in the SUV and hearing the workers thank him profusely because they are almost out. I think that drives the point home about how important this is to me and why.
I was still able to get quite a bit of stuff out of the Petsmart dumpster (they refuse to donate the bags as well, despite their rescue friendly exterior). Much cheaper foods, but the shelter mixes them with the good foods, and it all goes to a good cause. I take and send everything I find. Today, my parents loaded up their SUV with all the stuff I had. My dad will take it to the shelter tomorrow. It would have taken me two trips with my SUV as it's a lot smaller. They take stuff from me these days because mice are a real concern for me in the winter (we killed 15 in the garage last winter), so the less time the food spends in my garage the better.
That's love!!! And my hubby loves me too as he climbs into the store's dumpster for me now. It's tall and I can't do it now. The petsmart one is short, so I have no problem reaching in.