Welcome to 2ndchance4pets.org

LOS GATOS, CA (August 29, 2006) - 2nd Chance 4 Pets, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating the tragic euthanization of healthy pets due to the death or incapacity of their human companions, announced today that they are launching a series of free workshops in the Bay Area and at a number of veterinarian conferences taking place across the country to help pet owners better understand how to provide lifelong protection for their animals.

“The upcoming anniversaries of both 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina are stark reminders that tragedy can happen to anyone,” says Amy Shever, Director of 2nd Chance 4 Pets. “Responsible pet caregivers need to develop a plan for their family—including their pets.” More than 800 companion animals were orphaned on 9-11 and the average age of their owner who died was 39.

“Most responsible pet owners are not aware of the planning options that are available to ensure continuous care for their pets,” adds Amy. “Our workshops provide pet owners with the information they need to ensure their pets are protected.” For those who can not attend a workshop, they can locate comprehensive planning information from the 2nd Chance 4 Pets’ website, www.2ndchance4pets.org.

The workshops will focus on helping pet owners establish emergency plans and select caregivers who are committed to caring for their pets should the owner pass away or become too ill to care for them. Workshop materials include a step-by-step guide, emergency identification cards, and information about facilities which can be used in cases where family members or friends are not available to help.

Each year, more than 500,000 animals in the U.S. are relinquished to shelters and euthanized because their owners passed away without making provisions for them. “It’s a huge problem that is hardly recognized,” says Amy. “We’re determined to make a difference in this area through awareness and education. That’s why we established The Annual Orphaned Pet Awareness Week 3 years ago.” This year, the campaign will take place September 11-17, 2006, and a comprehensive planning toolkit will be distributed to thousands of pet owners, animal shelters, animal rescue groups, and veterinarians.

In addition to the upcoming workshops, 2nd Chance for 4 Pets will be participating at San Jose’s Bark in the Park Event on Saturday, September 16th from 10-5pm. Pet owners can learn first hand how to protect their pets and even meet pet planning experts Candace Pollak, J.D. from Ohio and Peggy Hoyt, J.D., M.B.A. from Florida, author of All My Children Wear Fur Coats. Candace and Peggy are estate planning attorneys who focus on helping people plan for the care of their pets and will be on hand to provide their expertise in addition to signing their most recent books on the subject.

2nd Chance 4 Pets: New York Times Article about Pet Trusts, May 22, 2005

New York Times
May 22, 2005

And to My Dog, I Leave a $10,000 Trust Fund
By MARYANN MOTT

If you're like many pet owners, you want the best for your dog or cat. You give it premium food, good veterinary care and bring it with you on vacation.

But what happens to your pet if you die or become incapacitated?

Unless specific provisions have been made, your pet could wind up in a shelter and be put to death. If you plan ahead, though, your pet can be well cared for. In addition to arrangements with friends and family, there is, increasingly, a formal option.

Laws in 27 states - including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, New Jersey and New York - now allow owners to establish trusts for pets. These arrangements set aside money for the care of one or more animals in the event of an owner's disability or death.

Leaving money to a pet became legally possible in 1990, when a section validating trusts for domestic animals was added to the Uniform Probate Code. More states may soon allow it. Pet trust legislation is pending in Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas.

Setting up a trust for your pet is, in many ways, similar to creating one for a child.

A trustee and caregiver are named. The trustee is in charge of the money and pays the caregiver a set amount each month for expenses, like food, grooming and veterinary care. At any point, if the caregiver is not doing a good job, the trustee can find a replacement.

These new statutes "allow people without lots of money, without detailed consultations with lawyers, to create a simple provision to take care of their pet," said Gerry W. Beyer, a law professor at St. Mary's University in San Antonio.

Creating a trust can cost as little as $100 if you draw up a will for yourself at the same time or up to a few thousand dollars.

Most people, though, don't make formal arrangements, assuming they'll outlive their pet, or that friends and family will take care of it. Consequently, more than 500,000 pets are killed in shelters and veterinary offices each year after their owners die, according to 2nd Chance 4 Pets, a nonprofit organization in Los Gatos, Calif., that raises awareness of this problem.

While volunteering at Tri-Valley Animal Rescue in Pleasanton, Calif., Amy Shever frequently saw dogs and cats whose owners had died. She noticed many of the pets never adjusted to living in a shelter and became fearful or defensive. Consequently, nobody wanted to adopt them. "I personally witnessed a lot of these animals getting euthanized," said Ms. Shever, who is the director of 2nd Chance 4 Pets.

Last year, she started PetGuardian, a company in Los Gatos that creates pet trusts for birds, horses, dogs and cats. For $500, her company enrolls its customers in a program that includes a comprehensive pet trust document, a cost analysis to determine how much money to set aside for the pet's care and emergency identification cards for owners to post at home and carry in their wallets.

As part of the program, she said, the Best Friends Animal Society, a large no-kill shelter in Utah, finds homes for pets, no matter where they reside, if the caregivers named in the trust are no longer available.

A detailed instructional sheet is also created so animals continue to receive care in the manner they're accustomed to. One of Ms. Shever's clients, for example, stipulated that her dog be fed barbeque chicken in the morning and grilled ribs at night. Others want their pets to sleep only on beds of a certain density and to receive special squeaky toys.

So far, 500 clients have either started or completed the program, she said, and owners typically leave between $8,000 and $15,000. The largest sum a client left was $200,000 for the care of two African birds that can live 90 years or more.

If clients have a hard time setting aside money for the trust, Ms. Shever recommends they talk to their insurance agent. "One really great way to fund these trusts is to have the beneficiary of your life insurance policy use the money to cover the pet trust," she said.

If money is no object, the trust can act like an endowment, experts say, with the interest generated covering expenses. Then, when the pet dies, the remaining balance can go to a charity or family member.

Estate planners warn, though, not to put excessively large amounts of cash or property in the trust because it may encourage heirs to contest the arrangement. Courts have the power to reduce the amount if deemed unreasonable.

Another concern is that a dishonest caregiver could fraudulently extend the life of the trust by replacing an animal when it dies with a look-alike in order to continue receiving the funds.

The best way to prevent fraud, trust experts say, is to get a DNA sample from the animal. Then, if the trustee becomes suspicious, a comparison can be made.

INSTEAD of a trust, owners can include a provision for pet care in their will. But William A. Reppy Jr., a professor at Duke Law School in Durham, N.C., said there were some drawbacks to that approach. A will takes effect only upon your death, not if you become ill or incapacitated. And it must go through probate, which can temporarily freeze funds for your pet's care and delay determining the rightful new owner.

"Most people need to realize that instructions in the will for the care of the dog are not enough because it may take time to find the will," Mr. Reppy said. "It would be best if neighbors had instructions on what to do" in case of an owner's death.

After an accident or death, pets are often overlooked during the confusion and grief that follows.

To prevent this, estate planners suggest that owners find at least two people to act as emergency caregivers. Provide them with keys to your home, feeding and care instructions, and information about the permanent care provisions you've made.

Robert Blizard, director of donor marketing and outreach for the Humane Society of the United States, says people often rely on verbal arrangements with friends and family members. Instead, he said, a solid plan for a pet's continuing care is needed.

"By owners thinking about these sorts of things ahead of time, putting them in writing and reviewing this information periodically, it puts their pets on the road for receiving the right care," he said.

That's what Beverly Eagan did. In December, her husband, Larry Tuteur, and she hired a lawyer to create a $10,000 trust for each animal owned at the time of their death.

The couple now owns three large cats - Dusty, Devin and Merlin - and a tiny Yorkshire terrier named Mouse.

"You never know what the future is going to bring," said Mrs. Eagan, 58, of Santa Rosa, Calif. "I wanted to make these decisions when we were healthy and well."

2nd Chance 4 Pets: Meeting with Executives from the Humane Society of the United States (April 2005)

This past April, Amy Shever, Director of 2nd Chance 4 Pets, met with Wayne Pacelle, the President of the Humane Society of the United States, Peggy Hoyt and John Hoyt (past HSUS President) to discuss the work of 2nd Chance 4 Pets including our programs Orphaned Pet Awareness Week which was designed to create awareness and assist pet owners so that they may appropriately plan for their animal companions, Companions for Seniors created to distribute information and education to animal shelters and the senior community about adoption of appropriate pets and ensuring lifetime care for their pets, and the ongoing Vet Outreach Program that equips veterinarians with the resources they need to educate pet owners on how to appropriately ensure the future of their animal companions. 2nd Chance 4 Pets hopes to work with the HSUS team to leverage their extended network In an effort to help prevent our pets from being relinquished and euthanized when their owners pass away and provide their human companions with peace of mind.

2nd Chance 4 Pets Selected by Ketchum PR Group (January 2005)

Ketchum is one of the world's leading public relations agencies. Founded in 1923, Ketchum (www.ketchum.com) is a full-service communications company whose clients include FedEx, Delta Air Lines, Kodak and Levi Strauss. Ketchum's Western Region will be providing pro-bono work for 2nd Chance 4 Pets in an effort to publicize our upcoming Adopt-An-Orphaned-Pet Day, September 2005.

2nd Chance 4 Pets Sponsors Adopt An Orphaned Pet Day (September 2004)

Marking the 3rd anniversary of 9-11, Communities Urged to Open Their Hearts and Homes to Pets whose Human Companions Have Died

Los Gatos, California, September, 9, 2004 - On the eve of remembrance of the tragedy of 9-11, 2nd Chance 4 Pets has launched a national campaign to promote adopting orphaned pets from shelters. Over 500,000 pets are orphaned each year due to the death or disability of their human companions. 2nd Chance 4 Pets is the first organization to focus their efforts on this long, unrecognized issue, and Adopt an Orphaned Pet Day is helping to create awareness and reduce the numbers of companion animals needlessly euthanized throughout the US each year.

Adopt an Orphaned Pet Day has been established in tribute to the 800 pets that were orphaned on 9/11 in New York City and their human companions who tragically died. Fortunately, animal rescue groups across the country joined forces to find new homes for these pets. Unfortunately, there are not enough resources to currently help find homes for all 500,000 pets that become orphaned each year when their owners die.

2nd Chance 4 Pets is exposing the problem of pets being relinquished and euthanized due to their human companions' death or disability. Pet owners predecease their pets due to natural and man-made tragedies- hurricanes, fires, floods, car accidents and even terrorism. Unfortunately, there are 500,000 reasons for pet owners to plan for the lifetime care of their pets while they are able to make such important decisions.

"Most responsible pet owners are not aware of the planning options that are available to ensure continuous care for their pets", says Amy Shever, Director of 2nd Chance 4 Pets. "Our organization is helping pet owners plan for the lifetime care of their pets by assisting them with establishing emergency plans, and encouraging them to select other caregivers who are committed to caring for their pets."

"575 dogs and cats were put to death is US shelters every hour last year," says Cyrus Mejia, artist and creator of The Best Friends Animal Society Art Project, a memorial to these pets. "Since many of these animals are healthy and adoptable the efforts of 2nd Chance 4 Pets have tremendous potential to significantly reduce these numbers. It will guarantee life for pets that have provided constant love and companionship."

In California alone, animal control agencies and shelters euthanize an estimated 750,000 to 1 million dogs and cats annually to deal with the surplus of companion animals. This method of animal control costs California taxpayers in excess of $50 million annually (Assembly Bill 2513). Spay and neuter programs represent the most successful organized prevention strategy to reduce the number of pets relinquished to animal shelters each year. These programs have reduced unwanted breeding and population, but the numbers of pets still being euthanized throughout the country is still at epidemic levels.

"The tragedy of 9-11 forced many of us to realize that we need to plan ahead for the care of all aspects of our lives - including our pets," explains Jane Hoffman, President of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals. "We are encouraging pet owners to make sure that should anything happen, their pets are cared for. The lives of thousands of animals will be saved, and pet owners will benefit from peace of mind knowing that they have planned for the lifetime care of their pets."

About 2nd Chance for Pets

The mission of 2nd Chance 4 Pets is to reduce the number of pets unnecessarily euthanized each year due to the death or incapacity of their human companions who care for them. 2nd Chance 4 Pets is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization and is currently working throughout California and extending their programs nationwide to provide pet owners with comprehensive information and lifetime care solutions, ensuring that their pets will always be cared for.

Bark in the Park (September 2004)

In September 2004, 2nd Chance 4 Pets participated in San Jose’s annual Bark in the Park event. More than 10,000 pet owners and their dogs attended. Our volunteers handed out over 6000 Emergency ID cards and literature packets during the event and signed up many new volunteers.