The Queen of Pet Trusts

By Amy Fernandez

Lately, we hear plenty about supersize trust funds for pets. We know all about Leona Helmsley and her Maltese, Trouble, Muriel Siebert and her Chihuahua, Monster Girl. Occasionally, a little ink gets spilled on behalf of other notably generous pet lovers like Doris Duke. But we rarely hear about the undisputed queen of dazzling pet bequests.

Today, the oil and railroad heiress, Eleanor Ritchey, is best remembered as a significant donor to Auburn University’s vet school. Granddaughter of Philip John Bayer, the founder of the Quaker State Refining Company, she funded the school’s Scott-Ritchey Research Center, which bears her name. There is no question that her generous donation has had an incalculable impact on many lives. But like most things, there is much more to the story.

Her association with the school came via her veterinarian Dr. Ivan Frederickson. She was undoubtedly one of his best clients. An inveterate dog lover, Ritchey’s 180 acre ranch outside of Fort Lauderdale was home to 150 dogs when she died in 1968. Then 58 years old, she lived alone, never married and had no children. Her estate included 113,328 shares of Quaker State Oil common stock, bonds, T-bills, and real estate holdings. A cool $4.5 million from this fortune was earmarked to ensure the lifetime care of her dogs.

Her will appointed a bank trustee to supervise the care of her dogs until they died. Money that remained after the last dog’s death would go to Auburn University to fund veterinary research. Needless to say, her family contested the will.

After five years of litigation, a Florida appellate court ruled in favor of Auburn. By then, over half of the dogs had died. But the school was responsible for the 73 that remained. Auburn alumni stepped up to the plate on behalf of their school and all of the dogs found good homes. The last of Miss Ritchey’s dogs, Musketeer, died in 1984 at age 16. By then, the original $4.5 million had grown to more than $14 million.

Her endowment was used to create a state-of-the-art 42,000 sq. ft. research facility with a full time faculty and technical staff. Their work has led to important breakthroughs in molecular medicine, infectious diseases, inherited diseases, nutrition, and reconstructive surgery.

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