Is There A Dog In Your Will?

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236 – August, 2020

By William Given

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” said Benjamin Franklin, in a letter he penned to Jean-Baptist Leroy in 1789. It has been my experience, more often than not, that when the “Grim Reaper” comes calling, we see that the tax man follows. It should be remembered that on the federal level and in the vast majority of states, dogs are considered livestock and may be taxed as such.

If and when they are, and they almost always are, the tax may become a burden on the decedent’s estate as is the cost of feeding and caring for his or her dogs. So, with the passing of the owner, and often to avoid additional costs to the estate, the dogs are liquidated for a fraction of their true worth and generally on a first-come, first-served basis.

When the exigency of death removes the name of a man or woman from the honored roll of dedicated dog breeder and the champion stock and young dogs are disposed of in the usual haphazard manner, all of the time, money and energy put into the planning and execution of his or her breeding program is quite literally cast into the wind. Well-established, successful breeding programs have been unexpectedly terminated with the passing of the breeder, and the names of many great breeders are disappearing from the pedigrees of their breed. If these dedicated breeders had foreseen the disposal of their cherished canine companions and the end of the lineage, it is quite possible they would have planned to ensure the continuance of their labors.

With love and concern

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236 – August, 2020

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