April 2nd, 2010
Scooch in happier days
The story would bring tears to anyone’s eyes, and it did for a lot of people who read it on Facebook last week.
His name is Scooch and he is an 8-year-old pit bull. Found at 8 weeks old, alone, hungry and abandoned, his new Mom promised he would never be scared and hungry again – that is until she took her last breath.
She died waiting for her health insurance company to approve a liver transplant.
Scooch once again found himself scared and not only alone, but lonely in a shelter kennel.
His mournful cries could be heard throughout the building.
He stopped eating and his stocky build, the result of “loving indulgence,” wilted away until he was emaciated. He had seemingly given up on life. The man who was paying for Scooch’s care, shelter workers, and rescue volunteers worked for months to find Scooch a home.
But an 8-year-old pit bull is hard to place.
Scooch’s story is especially sad and unfortunately, is not that uncommon. I am linked to many rescue organizations on social media sites and there isn’t a week that goes by that volunteers are not posting about some pet left alone after their owner died.
Have you ever thought about what would happen to your pets if something happened to you?
“The states have differing laws with regard to pet trusts,” says Nancy Burns, an attorney in Cincinnati, Ohio, that specializes in pet trusts. “The old was to leave the pet to a person and the money to care for the pet and hope for the best.”
In many cases, that “best” went awry when something also happened to the person who took custody of the pet(s), or in the worst cases, when they had the pet euthanized and took the money for themselves.
Today, 37 states have statutory pet trusts, according to Madeline Bernstein, president of the SPCALA in Los Angeles. “Statutory” means the pet trust is enforceable and whomever you choose to leave your pet in the care of must answer to an enforcer of the trust, as well as to the trustee. Burns says in such instances you would choose a caretaker, someone you trust explicitly and whom agrees before the trust is built, to take care of your pet(s). Next, you would choose an enforcer, or a person who oversees the care either on a monthly or quarterly basis. “Many times, this is a vet,” says Burns. The final step is choosing a trustee, or someone who would handle the business or financial end of the trust. This is the person whom the enforcer reports to and is the final stop to make sure your pets are being cared for in the manner you anticipated. If the 1st choice caretaker is not taking proper care of the pets, says Burns, the trustee can go to your 2nd choice for caretaker.
What happens if your state doesn’t have an enforceable pet trust? You have two options, according to Burns. The first is to go about the trust the old way, leaving the pet(s) and money to someone in your will and hope they are honest enough to take care of them as you asked, or that something doesn’t also happen to them.
The best option, says Burns, is to go to a neighboring state that does have an enforceable pet trust and have the documents drawn up there, specifying that the other state’s laws govern the trust.
Whatever you do, Bernstein also emphasizes it’s very important to also have a “stop gap” measure in place. “If you’re in an accident on the freeway and it takes time to identify you, who will be taking care of your pets in the interim?” says Bernstein. She recommends that you carry a wallet card telling anyone who might find it that there are animals at your home alone and list a contact to be notified. You should also place a sticker on a window or door of your residence with a contact number. This should stop anyone from entering your residence, calling animal control and having your pets confiscated while arrangements are made and the responsible parties of the trust are put into action.
Bernstein also recommends that you list specifics in the trust regarding your pets’ needs, including the name of their vet, medication specifications, food specifications and any other special instructions. You will also need to make sure you’re choosing a person who is responsible and take into consideration the life span of your pet. Birds, for example, have a much longer life span than dogs and cats, so you should specify alternative caregivers if something happens to your first caretaker. You might also check into reputable animal sanctuaries that take pets for the rest of their lives, or will agree to place them in new homes. Bernstein cautions to check into these facilities very carefully and visit their sanctuary before making out the trust. “You don’t want your dog sitting in a kennel for the next 15 years,” says Bernstein.
Finally, consult with your attorney to determine the amount to be left in the trust. Leaving too little could mean your caretaker will run out of funds; leaving too much (as did Leona Helmsley) might mean the trust could be contested by your human relatives.
No one wants to think of the unthinkable, but doing so just may save your pets from a scary situation in a shelter, or worse.
Scooch was adopted last week after his whirlwind tour on Facebook and other social media sites, and even if his new home doesn’t work for him, there’s still a line of people all over the country who wants to give this guy a new home.
Do it today. Build a trust for your pets. Do it for your own babies and do it for Scooch.
This week’s question: Have you ever thought about a pet trust?
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Tags: pet trusts, reasons dogs end up in shelters or rescue, Scooch
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16 Responses to “Pet Trusts: Do it for Scooch”
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Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell has had dogs all of her life. Her first rescue was Hershey, a miniature black and brown Dacshund. She ruled the Campbell household until 2005 when she passed away at age 16. The case of Scruffy, a Yorkshire terrier whose torture death was videotaped in 1997, horrified the nation when the tape appeared on national news shows. Kerri began covering the trial for the local daily newspaper in Kansas City, Kansas where the crime occurred. Her investigation into animal cruelty cases led to her awareness of the puppy mill problem in that state.
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Kerri -
Thanks for the fantastic post. This is very valuable information. Also, I’m very glad Scooch found a home.
Allie, Pet Tips & Tails
Me too, Allie. I couldn’t get this poor guy out of my mind!
Thanks so much for this update on Scooch,Kerri. SO glad he’s found a good home, and hope all those people who wanted him but didn’t get him, will adopt another poor homeless animal. Info on how to protect pets from homelessness was very informative. Great blog!
That’s an interesting idea to set up your trust under the laws of a neighboring state, if your state doesn’t have the right laws in place.
Thanks, Kerri!
I interviewed an estate lawyer in CO recently who does a lot of this kind of work. It’s a really good point. All of us need to make sure all the paperwork is in place … to take care of all our family members (human and canine alike).
Thanks, for reading, everyone. It is something I even need to do. We’ve talked about it, thought of people, etc. and we really need to put this into place. Susan, My state doesn’t have the proper laws to protect my pets, so I was very glad to hear I could travel to the neighboring state and have it done and have it still be enforceable!
I’ve thought about it too and I know a lawyer who arranges these things (in NY/NJ) I hope Scooch is happy in his new home. Having rescued my dog when he was 3+ years old, a day doesn’t go by when I don’t tell him and show him how much I love him. I’ve left instructions who should (and who should NOT) care for him if anything untoward ever happened to me. I wouldn’t ever want him to be without me though.
Excellent, thought-provoking blog post.
Thank you.
Thanks, Susan and Heather. I agree, Susan, there’s some people I definitely would NOT want taking care of my babies.
Wow, Kerri! This post made me cry. This poor dog lost his owner in part due to a health insurance company. I love the happy ending that so many people stepped in to find Scooch a loving home, but it makes my heart hurt that he went thru such a horrible loss. You brought up a very important subject about the pet trusts!
What a fantastic post. Thank you Kerri.
Thank you, Sharon and Anthony! It is such a sad story, Sharon, and a reminder also that pets grieve too.
Unfortunately, I read this morning that Scooch was taken to a vet outside of the rescue who was trying to help him. The vet recommended Scooch be put to sleep due to some dog on dog aggression. Unfortunately, the people took the vet’s advice and had him killed. The rescue is very upset, as all reports said this was a very sweet dog and it is unknown the circumstances surrounding the attack on another dog. Scooch is now with his beloved mommy he cried for, but it is even more of a reminder to have a pet trust set up.
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Thank you for this post. I saw it on Kristy’s wall on FB. I have several dogs and need to get this trust started for them ASAP.
So glad to hear Scooch got a home, too. His story made me cry.
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