WILD Thrift & Sniff, an upscale thrift store with all proceeds going to support
WILD Canine Rescue, is slated to open in June.
“This is an
offshoot of WILD that will add additional fundraising support,” said
Jill Egizii, president of WILD Canine Rescue. “It’s not an uncommon practice for
rescues to open thrift stores,
and I think we’ll do really well.”
The retail store is planned for 1633 North Dirksen Parkway, which most recently operated as Billy’s Furniture. Egizii said the organization is taking possession of the property May 15 but is already accepting donations every Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or by appointment.
Egizii said 9,000 square feet of the building will be dedicated to the retail store, plus a storage area in the back and space for a groomer and dog training area. The store will be entirely operated by WILD volunteers.
While dogs won’t be kept on site, Egizii said, “We
will do meet and greets there; it will be a focal point for people to come and meet the
dogs.” She noted that animal rescue groups are seeing increased
numbers of owners surrendering
pets and a decline in adoptions.
“Just
yesterday, we had 63 calls to take people’s dogs. Sangamon County Animal Control has
a 19-page waiting list for owner surrenders,” she said.
A grand opening is planned for June 15. “The beauty of this building is there’s
not much we have to do,”
said Egizii.
Hours of operation will be 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday
through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 12-5 p.m.
Sunday.
