Hi James,
Thank you so much for your email and questions. In addition to my answers below, I am attaching the information I send to any potential clients, which includes our Pet Placement Plan. This plan can be used by any pet parent, even if they do not use our program. Please let me know if there are any questions I have not answered or if you have any additional questions.
1. Customization Options: Can you provide more details on the types of funding options available and how flexible they are? It would be great to know if there are different plans based on individual financial situations.
We do not have different plans based on individual financial situations at this time. We base the funding on the pet's age at the time the funding is set up. If the pet goes into the next age bracket before they come into our care, the pet parent can reduce the funding amount if they choose.
The funding for each pet is ear marked specifically for that pet. For any pet where the total amount of funding is not used, the remainder will be put into a fund to help other pets. One of the uses of this fund will also be if the cost of any pet's care exceeds the amount that was set aside for them.
These are our current costs for care:
Cat Dog
Age Cost Age Cost
1 year - 5 years $15,000 1 year - 5 years $20,000
6 years - 10 years $10,000 6 years - 10 years $15,000
11+ years $5,000 11+ years $10,000
Funding options:
- As a beneficiary In Your Will
- As part of a Pet Trust
- As a beneficiary of your IRA or other retirement plan
- As a beneficiary of your Life Insurance Policy
- As a beneficiary of a POD (Pay on Death) or TOD (Transfer on Death) Account with your bank or brokerage firm. You can pay into this account over time to accumulate the money needed.
All of these funding options are totally flexible since they can be dissolved at any time if the pet parent changes their mind about using us as their plan. We do not take a deposit to secure a space for any pets. Once the funding option is set up, we just ask for proof of the funding and that we are designated as the choice of care and we send an agreement, which commits us to the pet. This agreement is not binding and may also be dissolved at any time. For these options, we do not get the money until we get the pet.
Currently, the only exception to this is if someone goes into a nursing home or assisted living. Then we would need the funding at the time we take the pet.
Any donations we receive for the program will go into the fund I mentioned above that will eventually help people that may not have enough funding for the program. Once we reach a certain financial goal, we will be able to offer this option, but we are not quite there yet. We do not need donations to fund the program because the shelter received a private donation to be used for a special program, so the property and homes are fully covered by this donation. Overhead costs will be paid by the shelter since it is a program run by the shelter; it is not a separate entity.
When we have more money in this fund, we will also offer monthly payments to anyone going into assisted living or a nursing home. This way if they stop making payments, we will have the funding to care for their pet. If this scenario happened, we would not want to take any legal action and, of course, we would continue caring for the pet, so we want to make sure we have enough funding in the account to cover this situation before we offer a monthly payment option.
2. Care Standards: How does the Leesburg Humane Society ensure that pets receive the same level of care and attention they are accustomed to? Are there any testimonials or case studies from current participants?
We currently do not have any pets under our care for this program. We only started promoting it about six months ago because it is for future care, so we started promoting as we were making plans for the homes to be built on the property. We had a delay in construction, so our new completion date is October of this year. We currently have four clients who have set up funding for care, one paid in advance and three that have funding set up through one of the options above. In the meantime, if there is a need for care for any of these clients, we have a plan for transitional housing until the homes on the property are completed.
Our shelter is on a ten-acre property and we purchased an additional eight acre property next door for this program. We are building two homes on the property. The Executive Director of the shelter will live in one home and will be the caregiver for any dogs in the program. I will reside in the other home and take care of any cats. The homes will also have secured outdoor spaces for the animals to be outside safely.
The Director has worked for the shelter for twenty years and I have a background working for several shelters and veterinary practices. I also have experience with a variety of special needs cats throughout my adult life. Since 90% of my work can be done from home, I will be on the property a majority of the time and the Director will be right next door so there will be someone there almost 100% of the time. We also plan on having cameras so we can remotely watch the pets at any given time if we are not in the homes.
Medical care will be provided by the veterinarians that provide care for the pets in our shelter. This practice is owned by one of our board members. But, of course, under any urgent circumstances, they would be cared for in the same way as our own pets if they need to go to an emergency vet outside of normal business hours. If any medical issues arise, the care they would receive would be the same as our own pets and euthanasia would not be an option unless it is deemed the humane option and all medical options have been exhausted.
3. Program Details: For pet parents who are not local to Leesburg, FL, how does the transition process work? Are there partnerships with local veterinarians or pet transport services to make the move as smooth as possible?
One of the items in our agreement addresses the issue of transportation and this should also be planned in advance. I have relationships with several volunteer transport groups that run nationwide and for which I have volunteer in the past. This is something that will be worked out on a case-by-case basis because in some situations, funding may need to be set aside for the transportation. For example, I am working with an out of state client, who is arranging for a family member to transport his pets because he wants them to be transported by someone with whom his pets are familiar. The plan for transporting will be specific to each individual. Also, we discuss the need for immediate care until transportation can be arranged.
4. Long-term Commitment: Given that this is a lifelong commitment for the pets, what measures are in place to ensure the program's sustainability and continued quality of care over the years?
This is something we have been discussing because we also have to consider our own future and if something should happen to either me or the Director. Once we are moved to the property, this will be a top priority. We will need to designate who will take our place if we are no longer caring for the pets. The shelter has been in existence for over sixty years and we are going to assure that this program will continue in the future because the commitment to any pets in the program is a priority.
Heidi Gaumet, Program Manager
Volunteers - Outreach & Events - Forever Home Pet Trust
Website: Forever Home Pet Trust - Leesburg Humane Society
Facebook: Forever Home Pet Trust | Facebook
fhpt@leesburghumanesociety.org
352-669-3348
Forever Home Pet Trust
41220 Emeralda Island Road
Leesburg, FL 34788
Leesburg Humane Society
41250 Emeralda Island Road
Leesburg, FL 34788