Five years have passed since the Auburn Valley Humane Society swung the doors open at its thrift store in the old Peckenpaugh Pharmacy on the corner of M Street and East Main Street in Auburn.

In that time, the store has proven itself an essential and profitable part of the organization, which has allowed the AVHS to fund several full-time positions at the shelter and expand its service hours to seven days a week.

Revenues from the AVHS Thrift Store have also funded and continue to fund vital community animal and human services programs, among them: a Public Medical Fund; Pets in Crisis; Pets Without Me; AVHS Pet Pantry; Reading Buddies; the Girl Scout Badge Program; Pet Therapy; Seniors for Seniors; and Safe Haven, a Pets of Domestic Violence program.

Five paid employees and dozens of volunteers staff the full-line, retail thrift store of donated and gently-used, second-hand items.

Originally, AVHS signed a five-year lease and in July it exercised the lease option for the next five years.