Can You Trust Your Family And Friends 
To Take Care Of Your Pet If You Die?

When pets outlive their owners they can end up at the pound even if friends and family are involved. Trouble, Leona Helmsley's feisty Maltese dog with a $12 million kitty to help care for her is no exception. Baby boomer pet owners, especially those living alone, need a solid pet care plan if they want to protect their pets when they are no longer around.

(1888PressRelease) September 14, 2007 - Tucson, AZ – Most pet owners believe their family and friends will care for their pet if they should suddenly die or become incapacitated. It’s a comforting thought but then along comes the disturbing story about Trouble, Leona Helmsley’s feisty Maltese dog. No Helmsley family member wants Trouble even though she has $12 million in the kitty to help care for her.

The Helmsley family predicament is quite common and highlights an increasing dilemma in pet care today. As our aging population grows in the next ten years, so too will the problem of pet relinquishing. This is especially true for a baby boomer pet owner who is single.

The National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy* (NCPPS&P) (http://www.petpopulation.org/) reports that many of these pets are relinquished to pounds and shelter groups shortly after the new owner takes charge. Unfortunately, most rescue/shelter organizations such as municipal pounds and humane societies have a policy of euthanizing pets after 72 hours because of overcrowded conditions.

What older pet owners think will happen to their beloved pets and what actually happens to their pets is very disconcerting. However, now that you are aware of this pet care misconception, there are a number of simple steps that you can take to assure the health and well being of your pet if you die or are incapacitated.

Find a friend for your friend
Interview each family member or friend you are considering for the role of guardian for you pet. Keep in mind the NCPPS&P national survey results on factors that influence relinquishing of pets to shelters.
- Men younger than 50 are more likely to relinquish dogs
- Men younger than 35 are more likely to relinquish cats
- Men and women who relinquish animals were significantly more likely not to have reached an education level beyond high school
- Animals that were free, owned a short period of time, older than 6 months, sexually intact, had veterinary expenses less that $100 and were of mixed breed were more likely to be relinquished.

Since your pet will be free to the new guardian, he or she must possess a history of commitment to pets and pet protection. It is also a good idea to select someone who is in good health, younger than you are and currently lives with a companion pet or two.

You should also have an alternative guardian. This is a backup person for the primary guardian you selected just in case situations change. Keep in mind that if you don’t have a Plan B, you don’t have a plan.

Write everything down and attach it to your pet
The best and most universal complete-care pet ID is Top Tag Pet ID. It is a mini USB flash drive in a waterproof case that contains a user friendly computer program. You can easily enter information on your pet’s likes and dislikes, medical history, diet, and numerous other care categories. You can also include favorite photos and important digitized files such as an AKC certificate and X-rays.

With Top Tag Pet ID you can also print out all of the information and place the pages in a loose leaf binder. You should probably make several copies and give one to your primary guardian, alternate guardian, lawyer and others who you consider essential in the care of your pet.

After completing the Top Tag program, run a Top Tag backup file to store on your computer; then place the Top Tag Pet ID on your pet’s collar. Now your pet is really protected if anything should happen to you.

Perhaps Top Tag’s greatest advantage in this situation is it can help eliminates most of the frustration involved in the transition process to a new owner. All of the pet’s care information and special needs are known so bonding only takes a matter of days or weeks.

Putting your money where your pet is
If you have the means as Leona Helmsley did, you may want to set up a trust fund for your pet. Contact a legacy lawyer in your community who deals with pet trust funds. He or she will know the ins and outs of protecting your pet when you are no longer able to provide care.

Something else to think about is the Planned Giving / Bequests program offered by Best Friends Animal Society (http://www.bestfriends.org).

Best Friends’ offers consultation and resources to pet owners who are making plans for their beloved pets. Best Friends also provides a very limited pet retirement program. This is an attractive option for people who want to provide for their pets as well as leave a legacy of caring to help less fortunate animals. For more information, contact the Planned Giving department at Best Friends Animal Society at 435-644-2001 ext. 4466.

Unconditional pet protection
Leaving your pet behind is not something you want to think about so it is only natural to believe your closest friends or relatives will take on the responsibility of caring for your pet. But this may not be the case so it would be prudent of you, for your pet’s sake, to give the situation some very serious thought. Imagine if you called your friends or relatives at 2 in the morning to come help you out. Who would show up without giving you the 3rd degree first? Then think about what would happen if your pet made a 2 A.M. call for help.

There’s a good chance you answered “yes” when you first read the headline question: Can you trust your family and friends to take care of your pet if you die? However, now that you know more about the issues surrounding pets who outlive their owners, the question is: Who among your family and friends can you trust to take care of your pet if you die?

This answer is not so easy…so get a plan, okay?

*Permission to reprint excerpts from the Characteristics of Shelter-Relinquished Animals and Their Owners Compared With Animals and Their Owners in U.S. Pet-Owning Households as published in JOURNAL OF APPLIED ANIMAL WELFARE SCIENCE, 3(3), 179–201 Copyright © 2000, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. granted by The National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy.

The National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy consists of animal-related organizations brought together to work on mutual goals regarding homeless pets. Members include: American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP), American Humane Association (AHA), American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA), American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Association for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine (AVEPM), American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), Cat Fanciers Association (CFA), The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA), National Animal Control Association (NACA), Society of Animal Welfare Administrators (SAWA).