Is there’s anything we can put our dogs in so they’re taken care of in the event that we pass away before them?

[Guest]

This isn’t a health post but I wasn’t sure where else to ask. I was wondering if there’s anything we can put our dogs in so they’re taken care of in the event that we pass away before them?

I know this is a weird thing to ask on Christmas but I just saw a post of a poor baby who was left in their house for over a year after their owners died and the poor pet is in terrible condition.

Obviously nobody wants that happening but I’m not sure what steps to take to prevent that from happening.

Is putting them in a will a good, guaranteed option that they’ll be taken care of?

[Anita]

Not a will because it takes a while for the will to take effect. We setup a trust which would take effect even if we were just incapacitated.

[Katharina]

You should also get tags for your wallet and key that state that your pet is home alone, so emergency personnel knows.

[Jessica]

I have a card in my wallet stating that I have a pet home alone and a trusted contact who will look after my baby if anything were to happen to my household.

[Jennifer]

All my pets even my fish have god parents. A trusted person to decide what is to happen with that pet. Either they can adopt them or place them. I keep an updated document with my wishes in my important papers. I also have a few friends that I check in with almost every day for safety.