What if you die?

A older gentleman came to us recently wanting to discuss options for his pet should he pass on before she does. His dog is a lovely, four year old pit bull. He had a recent medical scare and at his advanced age, he acknowledged that his time on this planet was limited, so he was busy with tying up loose ends while he still could. He spoke plainly, gesturing with thin arms bruised by needles from a recent hospital stay. His candor was refreshing. We were discussing the life of his dog, and despite the down-to-business tone of the conversation, it warmed us completely to know that our meeting was centered around the life of a special pit bull who was so dear to him. Planning for your pet(s) comfort and care after your death is such a generous demonstration of love.

So let's just assume you're going to die someday. It happens to the best of us. What can you do to ensure your dog(s) will live a quality life after you exit?

Here's the thing: While it's incredibly helpful to friends and family to map out your final wishes in a will and testament, those wishes may only be as solid as the people you entrust to fulfill them. We all learned about the soggy power of wills to protect pets recently when multi-millionaire Leona Helmsley's directions to leave bundles for the care of her Maltese and to animal welfare causes were disregarded. While we may snicker at a 12million dollar inheritance for a Maltese, it was still troubling to learn that her owner's final wishes were not as sacred as one would expect. This is because animals are regarded as property by the courts and, when faced with greedy relatives who stake claims on estates, current legislation does not support clauses in last wills and testaments that delegate funds for our pets care. As it turns out, relatives refused to care for the little Helmsley dog so her former employees took her home. She's since followed her owner by passing on, but the battle for the funds that Helmsley wanted relegated to animals rages on. More: Leona Helmsley

With an estimated 70 million pets in the U.S., you can bet the Internet is loaded with information on estate planning for pets. It's fascinating reading. Some suggestions include writing a letter to your chosen pet guardian that clearly outlines your wishes, and an article on the American Bar Association's website suggests creating a Pet Trust with pet protection agreements to control the disbursement of your funds. Wow. Who knew owning a dog came with these kinds of responsibilities?

If you're a pit bull owner, you could face extra work creating secure arrangements for your pet. Landlord biases, HOA regs, insurance obstacles and in some cases BSL might just block your best helpers from taking your dog in. To circumvent this, the lucky home owners among us can arrange to leave their homes to the caregivers who are entrusted to care for the pets. Again, remember that there's nothing stopping them from selling your house and taking your pet to a shelter. But let's assume you have true hearts in your circles. What if you don't have the cushion of a big nest egg or friendly housing to leave behind?

In addition to getting your paperwork in order and your best allies on board, one of the best things you can do NOW is just what our gentleman friend has done with his own pet. Very simply, he's starting to reach out to trusted circles to build her a safety net and - important - he's kept his dog socialized to other dogs.

It's just common sense: A well socialized, reasonably trained dog of any breed stands a much better chance of being accepted into a friend or family member's home or rescue organization or shelter adoption program after you pass on.

If you read our Barn Dog Blog, you might know that we recently received a dog named Jondi after a friend passed on. Barbara was good enough to keep Jondi healthy and happy, and she left behind toys, treats and up to date vet records. Of course we found a way to fit Jondi in, but not a day goes by that I don't think of how badly it could have turned out if we didn't know her owner. This beautiful girl had really lousy manners with other dogs and would've failed a shelter evaluation in a flat second. She was the queen of fence fighting and reveled in spitting obscenities at other dogs when she was out on leash. Barbara loved her girl, but life got in the way of getting through training classes and Jondi's known behavior issues went unaddressed. An Oakland resident, she would've died fast at Oakland Animal Services. And forget about most rescue groups - Who has a foster home for an under socialized dog who can't live with other pets? Her issues were basically a death sentence.

Barbara's circle of friends was sympathetic to this now-homeless dog's plight, but obviously no one would take her in. Some recoiled from Jondi as if her dog intolerance meant she was defective. One less-than-sensitive woman at Barbara's memorial service snorted, "Oh, well she's a PIT BULL" - as if the label defined her behavior and her doom. Seeing as it was a solemn occasion, we bit our tongues, but her attitude wasn't so unusual, especially while the majority of animal shelters routinely destroy pit bull type dogs who show any amount of dog intolerance. (We've got such a long way to go before dog intolerance is seen as a workable behavior and not a disease.)

And now the good news: Eight weeks later and after lots of lots coaching, this beautiful creature is now playing with other dogs, getting better leash manners and is well on her way to becoming very adoptable. Jondi's ridiculously lucky, but untold numbers of dogs just like her follow their owners to the grave when workable behavior issues short circuit their survival. This is a such a terrible tragedy for family pets who've known nothing but love, and based on the number of desperate emails we receive from grieving families, it's excruciatingly common.

So for the sake of your beloveds, please work to socialize and train your dogs as best you can even while you fight the thought of leaving the planet. Of course you're never going to die. Neither am I. But assuming we just might be mortal, maintaining behaviors that make our dogs "adoptable" is one of the very best gifts we can give them if we're called away to the big dog park in the sky before they are.

Jondi with a new friend Jiggs, below. Available for adoption soon!
EDIT: Jondi is living large in her new home with two other dogs. Thanks for the help, Jiggs.