FAQs: the Shop

Wednesday-Saturday  10am-4pm

305 Buffalo Creek Rd.  Lake Lure, NC   (close to Rumbling Bald on Lake Lure)

If it's during our open hours, please call the shop to pay by credit card over the phone.  Otherwise, you can send a message through Facebook.  Sometimes there's a volunteer who can help you out after hours.  Nothing can be held without being paid for first. 

Once you've paid for an item, we'll fill out a "Sold-Hold" form.  You'll have one week to pick it up.  If you're buying something that you need delivered, IF we have a volunteer available, we can arrange local delivery for a $50 donation.

Lil's is 100% fueled by volunteers, and we are only able to offer free pickups when we have volunteers with muscles and trucks.  We are usually able to schedule a pickup within a week, but we NEED more volunteers so we can continue to offer this service!  

No, you don't have to love animals, but if the Whippets are on the job, they may convert you!

Well, let's see...we would say pretty much everybody!  If you want to donate cash, your impact will be immediate!  If you donate stuff, Lil's is a place where your unwanted things can go and make a big difference in cats' & dogs' lives, as well as our shoppers'!  If you're a shopper, you get the benefits of cool and unusual donations, priced right for you to get a bargain and for our puppies & kittens to get some food!  (And if you're a regular, we'll try to let you know if we've received any of your favorites lately.)  If you're a business owner, your support means our shoppers will know about you and your awesomeness.  If you're a partner, you feel encouraged and supported by ALL the Lil's tribe!  And then animals get homes, health, and happiness!  Are you smiling just thinking about all of this?

If you're not from around here, your version of "close" may be different from ours.  The closest will be Second Chances (benefitting Steps to Hope) in Columbus, and that's 17 miles/30 min. away.  One of our partners, Heart of the Foothills has 2 amazing thrift shops in nearby Forest City.  (40 min.)  They are called Rescued Treasures and Rescued Treasures and More!  

Many of Lil's volunteers are also avid thrifters, and some of our favorites within an hour's drive include: Yokefellow (Spindale), Asheville Humane Society Thrift (Asheville), WNC Bridge Foundation Thrift & Estate Sales (Asheville.)  We hope someday to have a list of all the area thrift stores, so please let us know if you have a "must see!" in the area.

We'll have them on this page for download soon.  If you'd like to subscribe, just send a note to lilsthriftshop@gmail.com and we'll keep you up to date with all the scoop at Lil's!

We are entirely staffed by volunteers and keep our expenses as low as possible so we can give the vast majority of our proceeds to our partners.  We are proud to announce that thanks to generous donors, thrilled shoppers, and dedicated volunteers, we closed 2025 with a record-breaking income of $150,684—a 15% increase over last year.  Of that total, $122,000 was sent out to our nonprofit partners.

To put this in perspective, look how we’ve grown in the past 5 years!  In 2021, we gave partners a total of $12,881. In 2022, $53,200.  In 2023, $59,710. and 2024, $100,846.  

Check out the Partner page for more details, but collectively, they do more than you can even imagine for the animals in Rutherford County!  Their main services include: spay/neuter, food, rabies shots, vaccines, transportation for medical care and adoptions, foster, adoption, emergency vet care, TNR for feral cats, community education, and an endless supply of priceless head pats and belly rubs.  Check out their Facebook pages for current events (including vaccine clinics) and educational programs. 

We LOVE when pets find their new families!  Every Monday on Facebook in "LAP: Lil's Adoptable Pets," we introduce you to one dog or cat who is currently in temporary housing with one of our partners.   These shelters & foster homes take care of animals that might very well be waiting for YOU, so check out our Partners page to get in touch with them directly.  (Pssssst.  Even if you're not ready for a forever pet, they always need fosters!)  

Fun fact: Some Rutherford County cats and dogs are transported across the country because other places have such strong spay/neuter programs that they don't have as many animals needing homes!

There are certainly a lot of strays, and spay/neuter makes a big difference in slowing the population.  But it may surprise you that many animals entering rescue are not strays. Rising costs of food and veterinary care are forcing families to make heartbreaking decisions.  Rutherford County is home to more than 65,000 residents, and approximately 15% live below the federal poverty level—often creating barriers to veterinary care and increasing emergency situations.  Pet service costs are 42% higher than in 2019, and food prices have risen 22%. For some families, those increases can mean surrendering a beloved companion.

Did you know that one unspayed female cat could easily have a dozen kittens in one year?  Annnnndd...cats can become pregnant again shortly after giving birth, potentially having several litters in a year.  One unspayed female cat and her offspring can potentially produce thousands of kittens in just a few years, highlighting the importance of Trap-Neuter-Release programs for feral cats.  

While we can't post anything, we know that there are a couple local pages on Facebook that help connect lost pets with their families: Missing or Found FurBabies Rutherford County, NC and Rutherford County Animal Control Services.  NextDoor and the FB group Lake Lure Local may also be helpful.

Quite often, people who volunteered with Lil, the founder, will share the history of the shop's beginnings.  They tell us stories of the lady who loved cats so much that she used to answer her phone, "Meow??"  And they always smile and say something like, "She would be so proud of what this shop is doing for the animals."  We're proud to continue her legacy.