San Diego Humane Society recently started a Pet Guardianship Program. The basis of this program is to help pet owners ensure their pets are taken care of after they’re gone. All pets that outlive their owners are required to be put in the custody of the Department of Animal Services, unless otherwise noted in a will or living trust. Because of that requirement, most people leave their pets to family or close friends. However, not everybody has someone to give their pets to and not everybody has the ability to take in somebody’s pet when they pass, so it’s important to have a plan in place.
The San Diego Humane Society understands that pets are family and knows the importance of having a plan for them. “For a lot of people, their pets are their children,” said Nicole Roman, San Diego Humane Society’s director of estate and gift planning. One of the main focuses of the Pet Guardianship Program is to give people peace of mind about what will happen to their beloved pets in the case that something happens to them. Norine Sultana-McCall, 70, and her dog Serena, 6, are two happy participants of this program for the past year. Sultana-McCall and her husband adopted Serena from San Diego Humane Society in 2010 and have adored every minute with her since. As the pair were drafting their living trust, they realized they didn’t know what they were going to do with Serena if something were to happen to them. Sultana-McCall learned about the program while talking with Roman one day, and decided that this program is exactly what her and her husband needed to do for Serena.
After multiple meetings with Roman, and a conversation with their lawyer, Sultana-McCall and her husband had everything in place and they entered the program. It was easily written into their living trust that if anything should happen, Serena would be put in the care of San Diego Humane Society. All Sultana-McCall has to do is keep San Diego Humane Society up to date on how they care for Serena. “I know in my heart that the Pet Guardianship Program will provide our treasured Serena with the best possible new home in case of our permanent incapacity or even our deaths,” Sultana-McCall said. “She is a treasured member of our family and we want the best for her and that’s why we’ve trusted the San Diego Humane Society’s Pet Guardianship Program to carry out our wishes.” Sultana-McCall and her husband are happy with the program, and the peace of mind they didn’t know they needed.