SEPT. 02, 2001, NYT
Adaptations/Excerpts from
After the Pipe and Slippers Are Gone
By FRED BROCK
Patches, an 11-year-old mixed-breed cat, has been very lucky — twice.
First, when his owner died a little more than a year ago, leaving him homeless, he wound up in the animal shelter at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. That shelter, which has extremely limited space, does not euthanize animals and will keep them indefinitely if need be. The staff tried hard to find a home for Patches, a task made more difficult by his age.
Then came his second stroke of good fortune: he was finally adopted this summer by a 78-year-old man who lives in an assisted living center in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx.
"This man wanted an older cat who needed a home and some extra attention," said Valerie Angeli, director for public information and special projects at the A.S.P.C.A. "Sometimes there are happy endings."
But for many animals whose owners die or move to nursing homes or other facilities, there are no happy endings. These animals usually wind up in shelters where they are eventually killed, along with millions of strays who are put to death each year in the United States.
"It's a huge problem," Ms. Angeli said. "We deal with it all the time. These animals often have no advocate and their options are not great."
She urges people to make careful provisions so that if they die or become incapacitated, their pets won't be left without homes. She and her staff at the A.S.P.C.A. (212-876-7700) offer advice on options like setting up a pet trust, which would provide money for an animal's care.
Robin Walker, a spokeswoman for the group's legislative office in Washington, said such provisions help because the problems of pet care often boil down to space and money.
"It's not inexpensive to own a pet," she said.
But widely varying state laws compound the problem. Some states do not allow trusts for pets; others make it very easy for them to be broken by disgruntled heirs.
Representative Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat, introduced a bill in the House this year to allow pet owners to establish trusts for their animals. Such a law would supersede the hodgepodge of state laws and provide for such trusts in states that do not now allow them.
… society is of two minds about pets. "We profess great love for companion animals; we have nearly 60 million cats and almost that many dogs," he said. "We all know people for whom animals are a huge part of their lives. But we are less than stellar in what we do with unattended animals."
One who really cares about it is Marilyn Sansom, an accountant and writer in Charleston, W. Va. In 1993, she became involved in the issue when she rescued a cat named Ophelia. During a blizzard, Ophelia's owner died without having made any arrangements for the cat. Ophelia was taken in by a neighbor who quickly discovered that she didn't like cats. So she gave Ophelia to a young man who worked in a local grocery store. He kept Ophelia locked in a room with a caged python, which terrified the cat.
Finally, the young man put an ad in a local paper to try to get rid of Ophelia. Mrs. Sansom responded and has cared for the cat, now 13, ever since. In 1999, she rescued another cat, a Siamese named Simon, whose 80-year-old owner had also died. Simon was sick and in a shelter — and about to be euthanized — when Mrs. Sansom stepped in.
The stories of Ophelia and Simon are recounted in "Ophelia's Winter" (1stBooks), which Ms. Sansom wrote in 2000 under the pseudonym Sarah Ann Hill, which was her great-grandmother's name.
The book offers practical advice for ensuring that someone will care for your pet when you are no longer able to.
"Arrangements really need to be made in advance," Ms. Sansom said. "The pet owner and the person who agrees to care for a pet need to know what they're getting into.
"It's amazing," she added. "People leave wills that are very detailed about rings and even inexpensive watches. But they make no provisions for their pets."
Ophelia's Winter by Sarah Ann Hill may be purchased from Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble [www.bn.com].
THIS WEBSITE EDITOR’S ADDENDUM
We have provided for Comes, Tenno, and Will in our wills – with the full knowledge of those who will receive them and of our executor. A “MUST” from our viewpoint!