Austin Pets Alive! opens first thrift store in Williamson County
ROUND ROCK, Texas - Thrifting and rescue pets: it's a hard duo to beat.
"When I saw there was a new one opening up in Round Rock, I was really excited because I love supporting Pets Alive, and I love thrifting, so it’s a perfect combination," said Donna Speulda, a shopper.
Austin Pets Alive! opened up its fourth thrift store in Round Rock on Saturday.
"It's been amazing here," said Krysta Standing, the store manager. "I was not expecting this turnout, so I'm super excited."
This is the first time APA! has expanded to Williamson County.
"We did want to think about moving outside the county, moving outside of Austin, because we just really think that since Austin Pets Alive! works with all the surrounding shelters, that we should be in these counties to help them and to help support them," said Derrick Ernst, a retail operations manager at Austin Pets Alive!
Donations from this thrift store go to help animals across Central Texas.
"I heard about it just the other day," said Vickie Selby, a shopper. "I did not know they had other locations, but I live in Hutto, so this is close by, and I think it’s wonderful what they’re doing."
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APA! is a no-kill shelter and has rescued more than 100,000 pets over the last 27 years.
"The goal here is to kind of reach our northern cities with APA! and what we do," said Standing.
The store faced a few hurdles of its own with COVID-19 halting plans to expand.
"It was a little tragic, but it's understandable," said Ernst. "We’re very happy to be opening stores again."
Austin Pets Alive! is planning on opening another location in Pflugerville in the next few months, but in the meantime, the Round Rock location is open every day until 6 p.m.