Today we are pleased to welcome guest contributor Katrina Emerson from Dogs Trust, who talks to us about how to ensure the care and love of your dogs continues after you have passed away.
Do you ever wonder, “What would happen to my dog if I were to pass away before them?” You aren’t alone. Many responsible, loving dog owners tell us that they worry about leaving their beloved four-legged friend without an owner and know that they need to make sure their canine friend will be properly looked after, but how?
Thankfully, Dogs Trust offers the Canine Care Card, a special free service that aims to give owners peace of mind, knowing that we will look after your dog if the worst should happen. Not only does this offer reassurance to you as a dog owner, but it takes away an extra concern for friends and family during what is already a distressing time.
Over the years, Dogs Trust has taken in hundreds of dogs across our 21 re-homing centres in the UK and Ireland as part of the Canine Care Card scheme and helped them settle into happy new homes. Dogs Trust never puts a healthy dog down, and we work hard to match every dog with a responsible, loving home.
You will be asked to complete a Canine Care Card application form and return it to us. As soon as we have received and processed your application we will issue you with your handy wallet-sized card. It acts in a similar way to an organ donor card and notifies people of your wishes for your dog(s), should anything happen to you.
If anything should happen to you, your dog will be brought to Dogs Trust, where our qualified staff will give him/her a full medical and behavioural assessment. This ensures that we can give them the best possible care and attention and helps us to know what home will suit him/her best. Your completed Canine Care Card application form is extremely useful as we have all of the information about your canine companion to hand.
Before your companion can be re-homed, all adopters are asked to attend a pre-adoption talk at a re-homing centre, to discuss how to make their new dog feel welcome and settle in with a minimum of stress. At Dogs Trust, the re-homing process does not end when your dog goes to the new home. Our staff will be there to provide new owners with advice, support and information whenever they need it.
| Handy Hints! |
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| Please be sure to leave instructions in your Will confirming that you would like Dogs Trust to look after your dog(s). This is essential to ensure that there will be no confusion about your wishes. The suggested wording is, “It is also my wish that Dogs Trust care for and re-home any dogs I may own at the time of my death” |
| It’s also a good idea to notify friends and family of your wishes |
Every gift left in a Will to Dogs Trust is precious to all the dogs that currently receive our love and care, as well as the many more that will need us to be there for them in the years to come.
Every year we care for nearly 17,000 stray and abandoned dogs at our 21 re-homing centres around the UK and Ireland. We treat each one like a beloved family pet and we never put down a healthy dog. Looking after so many dogs inevitably involves a lot of food, bedding, veterinary care – and plenty of TLC! We currently spend around £3 million on vets’ bills alone – with medical treatment ranging from the day-to-day kind to emergencies, serious operations and long-term care.
Dogs Trust relies completely on voluntary donations, with more than a third of our income coming from gifts in Wills. By remembering us in your Will, whether it’s £100 or £100,000, you really can help save the lives of countless dogs in the future. And on behalf of all of the dogs in our care, we would like to say a huge thank you for considering it.
To find out more about the Canine Care Card scheme or leaving a gift in your Will to Dogs Trust, please don’t hesitate to contact your local Supporter Relations Officer using the details below:
Rebecca Calver
Telephone: 01953 498 012
Email: Rebecca.Calver@dogstrust.org.uk
Website: www.dogstrust.org.uk
We would love to hear from you
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