How to Put Your “Crappy” Ex in Their Place: the Litter Box · Kinship

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How to Put Your “Crappy” Ex in Their Place This Valentine’s Day

In exchange for a $5 donation, this rescue org in Ohio wrote people’s ex’s names in a litter box.

Two small brown kittens next to plastic litter box.
Photo Courtesy of Second Chance Animal Rescue Inc.

Finally, there’s one good way to get dumped (on) on Valentine’s Day.

For just a $5 donation, the Animal Friends Humane Society — the oldest and largest non-profit animal adoption agency in Butler County, Ohio — offered to write your ex’s name in a litter box and let the cats take care of business. And, it turns out, having a crappy ex can actually support a lot of pets in need. So, thanks so much for being the worst, Tyler (just feel like there’s gotta be a Tyler in there somewhere). This was their actual ad asking for donations:

Image Courtesy of Animal Friends Humane Society

“We were hoping it might raise $1,000, and now we’re right around the $4,000 mark!” Anna Friedman, executive director of the Animal Friends Humane Society (AFHS), wrote via email on February 12, as the donation period closed.

AFHS accepted donations in-person and via Venmo, where users simply added their ex’s name and the poop emoji in the comment section. (That’s how I label my lunch so no one touches it.) All donations went toward providing food, shelter, and medical care for the animals at the humane society.

The fundraiser ran from February 1 through February 12, and on Valentine’s Day, the organization will post a video on Facebook showcasing (read: shaming) all of the names they received. First names only, of course.

Below, Friedman gives Kinship the rundown on all the donations AFHS received from people who wanted to celebrate V-Day with a little donation in honor of their not-so-special someone.

So…how many people hate their ex?

As of [Saturday] afternoon, we’d had just over 500 unique donors.

What were your fundraising goals, hopes, and dreams?

We honestly didn’t have an exact fundraising goal in mind as we were more focused on just having a fun and engaging promotion that brought awareness of our organization.

Any repeat donors?

Yes, we’ve had a few repeat donors sponsoring more than one name and, also, some generous donors that did $25/$50/$100 donations, even though it was for a single name.

Sorry to that person, but what’s the most popular ex name dropped in the litter box?

Ohhh, good question. I’d say “Josh” is the frontrunner.

Who are the lucky cats who’ll be on litter box doody? Sorry, but that pun wrote itself.

Since our adoptable cats are always evolving, it’s hard to give an exact name list at the moment. Those reporting for duty will be doing so on Tuesday, and we’re hopeful a few will be adopted between now and then, but you can always view our adoptable animals here for names.

Have more love in your heart than hate? Through the end of February, the AFHS is running the “ Find the Love of Your Life Adoption Special.” All adoptions are 50 percent  off, with all reclaim and redemption fees waived as well.

If you’re not ready to adopt, you can spread the love by fostering, volunteering, and donating to help animals in need — and Josh can stay in the trash where he belongs. (Unless Josh is a cat; in that case, he deserves the world.)

nikki palumbo

Nikki Palumbo

Nikki is a writer and comedian. Their writing has appeared on The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, Funny or Die, Reductress, the Google Assistant, and her folks’ fridge. They were named one of WhoHaha’s “35 LGBTQ Creators We Love” in 2018 and a Yes, And Laughter Lab finalist in 2019. They worked as a story producer on the YouTube Originals weekly music show, RELEASED, and wrote for the inaugural 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted, hosted by Nikki Glaser. Nikki hosts the monthly-ish standup show Queer Tiger Beat, which has been recommended by The New York Times and featured in Time Out.