When Pets Outlive Owners, 'Retirement Homes' Offer RefugeVet schools now offer lifelong care or new homes for animals left behind, for a price
By Maryann Mott
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) -- Betty Kyle knew that after she passed away her daughters did not want to care for her menagerie of four Italian greyhounds, two donkeys, a goat and horse.
So the 66-year-old ponied up more than $100,000 for her animals to live out their final days at the Stevenson Companion Animal Life-Care Center, a pet retirement home run by Texas A&M University in College Station.
"I was just impressed with Stevenson after having visited a couple of other facilities that were available to me," the Santa Fe, N.M., resident explained.
Acknowledging the strong human-animal bond, some veterinary schools now help people plan for their pet's future. Programs either provide animals with lifelong care or find them new homes after their owners die or are no longer able to care for them.
Most people probably don't think their pets will outlive them but accidents, illnesses and even old age can sometimes suddenly and unexpectedly take a pet owner's life. Animal welfare experts estimate that, each year, tens of thousands of pets are killed in overcrowded shelters and veterinary hospitals because their owners didn't make arrangements for their continued care.
At the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, the Tender Loving Care for Pets Program places animals in pre-screened homes then keeps tabs on them to make sure they're cared for properly.
Since 1996, Kansas State University has offered a similar service called the Perpetual Pet Care Program. "Our main goal is to provide peace of mind for the owners," said Chris Gruber, director of development for the college of veterinary medicine. "We try and replicate the exact environment the animal came from originally."
Today, more than 35 families with 110 animals have signed up, he said. The minimum enrollment amount for a small companion animal (cat, dog or bird) is $25,000, which is given to the school after an owner's death through an estate, trust or life insurance policy.
SOURCES: Betty Kyle, Santa Fe, N.M.; Chris Gruber, director, development, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University; Henry Presnal, DVM, director, Stevenson Animal Life-Care Center, Texas A & M University, College Station
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