Animal advocate Amy Shever vividly remembers volunteering at a California animal shelter in the late ’80s and hurting to see pets come in after their owner died.
“There were several animals that came in where a person passed away and the family members would take the animals there, and these animals just deteriorated,” she said. “They just went downhill so quickly because they were used to sitting on someone’s lap all day or being in a home environment.”
Then on 9/11, she realized everyone should make a plan for their pets — not just seniors — since death can come unexpectedly at any age.
“I read there were thousands of people who were somewhere between 30 and 50 years old who passed away, and their animals were left behind in apartments. People had to go find their animals and take care of them,” she said. “I thought, ‘I’ve got to make sure that regardless of how old we are that we have responsible people to take over the care of our pets, and our pets will thrive under their care.’”
So in 2004, Shever founded the nonprofit 2nd Chance 4 Pets to help people make contingency plans for their pets — for free.
“Our whole premise is: Think about this now,” she said. “Plan in advance.”
How To Make A Plan For Your Pets In Case You Die
The first step in making a plan for your pet in case you die is to figure out who you’d like to become your pet’s caregiver, according to Shever. It often involves taking to friends and family as well as people at the dog park, pet sitters, groomers or veterinary professionals.
“Find at least one person who will agree to take care of the pets should anything happen,” she said. “It’s, ‘Who can I entrust my pets to should anything happen to me?’ And it’s really, really tough, especially for people who have special-needs pets or older pets or pets that you just can’t stick in a kennel all day.”
Alternately, visit animal sanctuaries or consider animal shelters with quality perpetual care programs, depending on what’s best for your pet. Then be sure to put your instructions for caring for your pet in writing — from what they eat and medications to when they go for walks or whether they’re afraid of lightning — to help ease the transition.
The final step is one many people skip: allocating money for the pet’s care.
“From the last 20 years, most people I’ve talked to are not in a position to put money aside,” Shever said. “But a lot of people have a life insurance plan. So I encourage them to make sure that the human beneficiary who is named in their life insurance policy is 100 percent committed to using some of those funds to make sure that any remaining pets receive enough funds to get the proper care.”
Because many people “shy away” from the money piece of planning, 2nd Chance 4 Pets covers the cost of creating an online will.
“Most Americans are highly unlikely to ever do a will or an estate plan,” she said. “So if we remove the financial barrier and cover that cost and provide this for free, then we have more success in getting people to actually put their plans in writing and say, ‘Here’s who’s going to take care of my pets, and here’s the instructions.’”
Once a backup caregiver is confirmed, Shever also recommends contacting the pet’s microchip registry and adding the caregiver as an emergency contact.
Other Resources From 2nd Chance For Pets
In addition to the free will planning, 2nd Chance 4 Pets shares a list of animal sanctuaries by species and region. She noted that there aren’t many bird sanctuaries, but most do an excellent job caring for birds who find themselves homeless — though it can be challenging to keep up with demand.
“Birds are another really big problem because many domestic birds can live to be 80 years old,” she said. “Birds are an entirely different story. They’re very high maintenance, they’re very intelligent. They typically bond with their owner and no one else.”
Naturally, Shever and her husband have been sure to make their own contingency plans for their pets. They usually adopt special-needs dogs, often from Small Breed Rescue of Eastern Tennessee. One of their current dogs is an 18-year-old Chihuahua named Lulu who is blind and deaf.
“She pulls us up the hill when we’re walking,” she said. “She’s really an amazing dog.”
Ultimately, people who want the best for their pets should step out of their comfort zone and plan ahead, according to Shever.
“The most important thing is to not wait until it becomes desperate,” she said. “Don’t wait until someone ends up in hospice. People should be thinking about this now.”
