DIY Gourmet Pet Gift Basket #Paw2014

I'm happy to once again be talking with you about my favorite store Tractor Supply and the upcoming PAW (Pet Appreciation Week) events. Pet Appreciation Week starts September 17th and runs thru September 21st. Each tractor Supply store will have their own special plans, but will include sales and activities. For the main event, our local Tractor Supply is holding a pet adoption. Check with your local store to find out what they have planned!

I love shopping at Tractor Supply! They have a friendly and relaxed atmosphere that makes shopping fun. If you thought Tractor Supply is all about a tractor supply store, it's not! They also carry an extensive line of pet food and supplies including premium brand food, treats, flea & tick control, beds, wireless containment, crates, kennels, collars, leads, bowls, grooming supplies, toys and more. Tractor Supply truly is your one shop stop to help you care for your animals.

Above being a store that sells pet products, I love that they actually give back by helping animals in need! They are very active in the community with helping the animal shelters with adoption and vaccination events.

During the upcoming Pet Appreciation Week (Sept. 17 - 21), you can enter to win some awesome prizes such as a Tractor Supply Gift Card, vet service rebates and doggie goodie Be sure and register for your chance to win!

Tractor Supply has also challenged me to a project to help my local shelter during Pet Appreciation Week. For my project, I had a $25 budget to work with. With the great prices at Tractor Supply, I knew I would be able to do something awesome!

For those of you that know me, you know I volunteer at my local shelter. My part of the volunteering involves walking the dogs, giving them interaction, and basically anything they need me to do. There's always a running list of needs and wishes for the animals, and the shelter in general. For my project, I wanted to do something that would have the biggest impact all the way around, yet stay within my budget. I gave a lot of thought to some craftier projects, then I thought about what my local shelter actually needed the most. In the end I went with what I knew my shelter needed the most. I wanted to do a pet gift basket. After all, the dogs there have so very little and anything that can make their time waiting for their forever home a little more enjoyable is well worth it!

My Gourmet Pet Gift Basket for Pet Appreciation Week

I have saw first hand how much the dogs love a treat after their walk. You may think it is a frivolous thing, but treats also play an important role at the shelter. Treats are used in basic training and teaching them manners, which in turn helps them become more adoptable. Folks just naturally gravitate towards the dogs that have some basic training and good manners.

There's also a need for toys to help them work off steam and just have a little bit of enjoyment. While the shelter tries it's best to foster any young puppies, if they are there you can see the need for some small toys for them. I purchased a couple of tennis balls and a rope toy from Tractor Supply, but then I decided to make a couple more rope toys. Rope toys are easy to make and can be made in minutes!

All you need is strips of an old t-shirt. Cut the t-shirt underneath the arms and then cut your strips from the bottom portion. For this rope toy, I used 3 strips.

Place a safety pin in one end to hold them in place while you start braiding the strips together. This step is easier if you have someone also hold the end so that you can pull it tight.

After it is braided tightly, knot the ends and you have it! Super simple! These rope toys are nice for the puppies and dogs that are not heavy chewers, but all dogs should still be supervised with them. We grabbed a few pig ears for the really heavy chewers. I'm sure they will love them!

Another item on my list was a stainless steel bowl. My local shelter has a shortage of stainless steel bowls for feeding and watering. It's a simple item, but one I wanted to include. I also wanted to pick up a brush. The shelter is always in need of grooming supplies and the dogs love being pampered and brushed. They also like to be looking good for the adoption events!

There are so many little things that will make a huge impact for pets waiting on their forever home. I found everything I needed for a wonderful gift basket at Tractor Supply and came in right at my budget!

For the base of my gift basket, I used an old strawberry crate. It was just sitting around in the garden shed and not being used. It was perfect to hold all the offerings! I added the Good Dog words to the front, along with a little bone (using glue). Then, I went a little further and dressed the pet gift basket up with bows on a few of treats. While the dogs in the shelter could care less about frilly bows, I still wanted to make it look a little nicer. I just used simple colored string that I already had at home, along with some plastic wrap to keep the treats fresh.

Maggie had been hanging around watching as I put it all together. Honestly, I think she had been eyeballing the treats, but that's another story! I believe she agrees it's a nice pet gift basket for her friends!

The final decision rest with Miss Molly though and she gave me paws up and a big WOOF smile! She's anxious to see her friends at the shelter and take them her present!

I'm sure the pet gift basket will bring smiles from all at the shelter, humans and dogs alike! While a few treats and toys doesn't seem like much, I'm here to tell you these items will definitely impact the lives of all the dogs waiting on their forever homes. It could actually make a difference in if they are chosen for adoption or not! For very little money, and thanks to Tractor Supply, several dogs may find their forever home! That's a pretty big deal!

Molly says that's enough talk and picture taking. She is anxious and ready to deliver her gift basket! She just knows her pals are going to be excited over all the dog biscuits, training treats, toys, brush and new dinner bowl! Oh, and let's not forget those pig ears that were only a $1 each!!!

If you've ever wanted to help your local shelter but thought you can't afford it, give Tractor Supply a try! A bag of treats, a small toy, a bowl, hand soaps for the staff, Clorox wipes, paper towels, etc. are all items any shelter can use. For only a few dollars, you can make a big impact for a lot of pets with your own pet gift basket! Tractor Supply has all the supplies you need and at a price that won't break the bank!

This post is sponsored by Tractor Supply Company and the Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Tractor Supply Company, but Miss Molly Says only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Tractor Supply Company is not responsible for the content of this article.