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GUIDELINES ON BEQUEATHING PETS TO THE CENTERMany friends of Helen Woodward Animal Center who choose to make charitable contributions by bequest to the Center also ask about the possibility of entrusting their pet(s) to the care of the Center after their death. While the Center’s first recommendation is to identify a trusted and willing friend or family member to care for your pet after your death, we recognize that this alternative is not always available. Therefore, the board and management of the Center have adopted the following guidelines to help pet owners as they prepare their wills and consider their charitable giving. INTRODUCTION
The mission, policy and procedures of the Center’s placement program reflect the belief that perpetual kenneling is not a suitable fate for an animal that has been living in a home. Pets are accepted by the Center with the understanding that every effort will be made to place the animal in a new home as quickly as possible. The Center’s model adoption program is known for its commitment to do everything possible to match a pet’s personality and physical requirements with an adoptive family’s lifestyle, needs and space. POLICY Because the Center continually is faced with an inexhaustible supply of orphaned animals needing new homes through its adoption program, owners wishing to surrender their pets generally must wait a few months before space is available. In recognition of donors who make charitable bequests or provide irrevocable trusts to the Center, we will waive the usual waiting period, providing that pets meet the Center’s general adoption criteria. For the benefit of all pets taken into the pet placement program, it is important that charitable bequest donors who wish to leave their pets to the Center follow a few essential guidelines: 1. The Center’s adoption program is limited to cats and dogs. Although birds, rabbits,horses, exotic animals, and a variety of other creatures are used in the Center’s therapyand education programs, the adoption program is equipped to handle only cats anddogs. 2. Be sure that your pet is current on all of its required vaccinations and have veterinary records kept with your other important papers. Each animal the Center offers for adoption must be in excellent health and neutered/spayed before going to a new home. 3. The Center provides physical examinations, vaccinations and neutering/spaying for its adoptable animals, but to keep costs down for both the Center and the adoptive family, you are urged to take care of these requirements before your pet comes to the Center.
It is the Center’s belief that dogs and cats belong in a loving home and not in a kennel. Therefore, all animals bequeathed to the Center will be put up for adoption. Rest assured, Helen Woodward Animal Center’s Adoptions Program goes the extra distance to match a pet’s temperament and requirements with an adoptive family’s lifestyle. Animals who are taken from their own homes sometimes suffer from stress and anxiety. The staff and volunteers of the Center make every effort to alleviate these problems through personal attention, grooming, exercise and socialization techniques. In every instance, the Center considers what is best for the animals. For this reason, the Center will keep animals only as long as they are physically and mentally healthy. If the animal(s) start to significantly deteriorate in body or spirit, euthanasia must be considered. This happens very rarely at Helen Woodward Animal Center. Last year more than 1,500 animals were placed through the Center’s adoption program which represents a 99% placement rate. The decision to put an animal to sleep at the Center rests solely with the staff of Helen Woodward Animal Center. BEQUEST COMMITMENTAs a non-profit organization, Helen Woodward Animal Center must continually seek donations to fund its current humane and therapeutic programs. Costs to shelter, feed, groom, and provide medical care for the orphaned animals in our care are substantial. Therefore it is necessary that charitable bequest donors make the following financial provisions in order for the Center to accept their pets: Dogs and cats under three years of age - $5,000 per animal Dogs and cats three to six years old - $10,000 per animal Dogs and cats over six years of age - $20,000 per animal Pets with special medical or behavioral requirements will require an additional donation. PROCEDURES Helen Woodward Animal Center’s adoption program is not one where animals are simply placed in the first available home. Every step is taken to ensure that each adoption is a permanent match. If you wish to bequeath your dog or cat to the Center, please take care to complete the following steps to ensure your pet’s smooth and successful transition into a new situation. 1. Ask your attorney to state specifically in your will that you wish to entrust your pet to Helen Woodward Animal Center’s adoption program. 2. Inform the executor of your estate, family members, and/or friends that you wish to have your pet cared for by the Center so that the transfer of your pet can be accomplished as soon as possible. 3. Complete the Surrender Questionnaire form, available from the Center’s Development Office (858) 756-4117 extension 347, and place it on file with your will and send it to Helen Woodward Animal Center, P.O. Box 64 Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067. This form provides the Center with important information about your pet’s name, medical history, lifestyle, preferences, and behavioral characteristics that will help staff find the best possible match with a new family. 4. Ask your attorney to incorporate into your will the suggested language for making a charitable contribution to the Center. Your gift may be unrestricted, or designated to the adoption program, or any other program that interests you. It is the Center’s policy to assess a 10% overhead recovery fee to all bequests made to the Center (this is charged against the actual bequest and is not an extra charge.) NOTE: If you wish to restrict the gift to a program or service, please do not be overly specific, as some programs change in response to current needs. 5. When your will and Surrender Questionnaire are complete, please notify the Center in writing of your plans. It will help the Center to better serve you if you include a copy of the Surrender Questionnaire with your letter. This will assure that the Center has current information about your pet on file when he/she comes to us. Please direct your correspondence to: Renee Resko, Director of Development, Helen Woodward Animal Center P. O. Box 64, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067. If you have questions or would like additional information on charitable giving by bequest, or on the Center’s adoption program, please call the Development Office at (858) 756-4117 extension 347. Thank you for thinking of Helen Woodward Animal Center!
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From the time Helen Woodward Animal Center first opened its doors in 1972, the Center’s innovative pet placement program has served as a model for similar programs both locally and nationally. Mrs. Woodward, the Center’s devoted founder, had a keen interest in the dynamic connection between humans and animals. She cared deeply about finding a way that pets who were unwanted or homeless could be united with loving new families. Helen Woodward Animal Center has always had, and continues to have, a “no-kill” philosophy which ensures that no healthy animal is ever euthanized. 
