Tails are about to get wagging in Burgaw.
 
Animal Lovers' Thrift Store held a ribbon-cutting Wednesday with the Burgaw Chamber of Commerce and will open officially for business Friday.
 
The new venture stocks a variety of merchandise, but everything is fur-, feathers- or fin-related, said Barbara Raab, whose organization, Monty's Home, has launched the store. Monty's Home, co-founded by Raab in 2007, is a nonprofit organization whose initiative, Pawsitive Partners Prison Program, uses selected prisoners to transform rescue dogs into loving family pets.
 
Proceeds from the store will initially underwrite costs related to the organization's new store property, Raab said. Ultimately, the thrift shop will provide a revenue source for the organization's operations.
 
All the thrift store merchandise is either new or gently used, and is typically priced at less than retail, according to Raab. Items range from gift items to home décor to pet supplies and even food.

The store, at 401 U.S. 117 South in Burgaw, also accepts donations of pet supplies or animal-themed merchandise.
 
Regular hours for Animal Lovers' Thrift Store are Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The store will celebrate its grand opening all day this Friday.  
 
Once the shop is up and going, Monty's Home will start a dog training program in the back portion of the building. The goal is to help people who adopt rescue dogs navigate sometimes bumpy transitions as their pet adapts to its new life.
 
"Our goal is to keep those dogs from going back into the shelter or into the rescue network," Raab said.
 
The training sessions will be open to all dog owners. Rescue dog owners who have adopted their pet from a rescue organization, however, will get a discount on a training session. People who have adopted a dog from a kill shelter will get a free training consultation.
 
More information on the organization and Animal Lovers' Thrift Store is available at www.montyshome.org.