By: Christine Crosby, Editorial Director, GRAND – The Digital Magazine for GRANDparents and Families
When I had to put down my 14 year-old Doberman a few years ago, I felt as though I had lost a child. I still get choked up when I think of him. We used to refer to him as my youngest daughter’s brother. She fussed about him like a younger brother who came in her room and messed it up or when he chewed up one of her dolls. After my daughter left home for college, it was just me and “her brother” left at home.
Today, more and more people treat their pets as family members; from buying them gourmet food, expensive outfits, taking them on vacation, buying insurance policies, providing expensive medical and psychological care and more. There is even a service to set up a pet trust. According to the 2006 American Pet Products Association survey, 500,000 dog and cat pets are placed in shelters when their owners die. So now there is a Trust Attorney, Chris Jones, who has created a legally binding Pet Trust that is simple and takes 15 minutes. Click here to complete this online.
Bottom line; family members can have two legs, four or more. Giving love and receiving love and being there for each other through “thick and thin” is what REAL family is all about.