What about your pets when you die?

Recently a conversation about death and dying moved on to the topic of what happens to an owner's pet(s), when he dies.

If you have a family at home, it's probably a pretty simple answer, assuming the rest in the household and the pet(s) get along okay.

But what if you (or your parent or sibling or friend with the pet) lives alone?

Just as you really ought to have a Will that says who gets all your "stuff" and who gets stuck with settling the Estate, have you made any arrangements for your dog or cat or horse? I myself have never considered a horse as a "pet", but I hear that some do. Certainly someone has to feed and care for it, and he or she is going to need to know where it is. And, if it is a pet of value (i.e, with breeding papers and pedigree), where are those papers?

Is there a surviving-pet care plan in your Will? Is it legal to "will" your cat to someone, with a back-up provision in case that special someone says, "Oh, no, you don't." Or maybe someone in that person's house is severely allergic to your cat and, although the family would like to inherit your cat, they aren't willing to do so.

Has any reader already made a plan? Care to share it?