One of the biggest yard sales in the county is set to take place Saturday and set to help local shelter animals.

“Proceeds go 100 percent to the animals,” said Margaret Peterson, vice president of the Humane Society of Beaufort County.

The annual event has been going on so long that the yard sale lovers start prompting Humane Society volunteers for the date way ahead of time and supporters drop off their yard sale goods months in advance.

“It’s word of mouth on the donations. I’ve been part of the Humane Society for 18, 19 years and we’ve always had a yard sale,” Peterson said. “So people just know. It comes from the whole community.”

At 8 a.m. Saturday morning the lawn in front of the Betsy Bailey Nelson Animal Control Facility, more commonly known as “the shelter,” will be covered in an assortment of goods: home appliances, dishes, quilts, children’s toys, games, lamps, artwork—you name it, it will be there, according to organizers.

“I think we have more stuff this year than we’ve ever had,” Peterson said. “It is really a big variety of items.”

The variety includes an indoor aspect of the yard too: a bake sale will be held in the shelter’s education room. At 11 a.m., the shelter will open for guided tours, so those looking to find a pet at the yard sale will have an opportunity to see the facility and meet the animals there, Peterson said.

Peterson explained that the money earned through the yard sale goes directly to funding spay and neuter procedures for animals adopted from the shelter. The county Humane Society made a deal with the County Commissioners several years ago: if commissioners would make spaying/neutering a requirement for an adoption, the Humane Society would make up the difference between the $50 for the procedure included in the adoption fee (for dogs) and the actual cost of the operation. Now money from events like the yard sale goes to help those animals get a paw out the door by making them less expensive to adopt.

Peterson said she, and other Humane Society and Animal Control officials, see the effect the agreement with the county has made: “We do see a difference. There’s not as many animals in the shelter — (because) we’ve been at this for several years now.”

The yard sale is slated to run from 8 a.m. until noon.

“It’s supposed to be decent weather in the morning,” Peterson said. “Come see the animals.”