Can Your Pet Inherit The Penthouse ?

It’s no secret that in recent years, our pets have become more than just an extension of our family, but part of our actual family.

This growing bond has brought innovation and a boom in products and services catered to our four-legged family members, and we wanted to tell the stories of not only our best friends but of the people driving this industry forward.

There’s never been a better time to enter the pet market!

Happy 4th of July!!! Happy regular Tuesday for our readers outside the US! While hotdogs are an essential part of this annual celebration, unfortunately so are running dogs. Every 4th of July, more dogs go missing than on any other day of the year. For some dogs, the sound of fireworks can be so terrifying they tremble in fear and sometimes even manage to run away.

So to avoid that, here are 7 tips to keep your dog not only safe but calm this 4th of July!

1. Make sure the doors are closed while the fireworks are booming.

2. CBD oil can help calm your pup(consult your vet).

3. Make sure they have their “safe spot” a place they can easily access and feel safe. For some dogs, their crate makes them feel safe.

4. Tire them out before, a tired dog is a calm dog.

5. Keep them distracted when the fireworks are going off with their favorite toy and/or activity.

6. Keep them home, don’t take them to watch the fireworks show.

7. Try drowning out the noise with music or the TV.

You may have heard stories of devoted pet parents that left their homes or estates to their dogs or cats, and thought to yourself ha? While this is not common, it’s not as rare as you might think. Here is a list of animals that inherited huge sums of money.

So, let’s dig into the business of dog inheritance and who really benefits from it.

If you follow the (bizarre) news, you may have seen a few stories lately about dogs & cats inheriting ungodly amounts of money. From the famous German Shepherd Gunther VI who recently starred in the Netflix documentary “Gunthers Millions” to a recent story of a Florida woman who left her mansion to her seven cats. 

The question everyone asks when they hear these stories is, can a dog (or a cat) actually inherit an estate?

The short answer is: they can’t.

So how does it work? Well, different rules apply to different states and countries. Generally speaking, pets are still considered private property in most places, and therefore, legally they cannot inherit money. However, there are always loopholes and this is how it goes. The pet owner must set up a pet trust, then the trust establishes a manager, or a “trustee,” to manage assets included in the trust, and a beneficiary who receives the benefits of the assets. The beneficiary of the trust would be the pet itself, while the assets typically consist of funds designated for the pet's ongoing care and well-being. The trustee assumes the role of the designated caregiver, caring for the pet with the expenses covered by the trust's assets. You fund the trust by contributing assets to it during your lifetime and by leaving assets to the trust in your will.

Usually, there are 3 types of pet trusts:

1. Honorary - Leaving an amount of money to whoever will care for your pet after you die. This person will only receive funds from the trust as long as they are caring for the pet.

2. Traditional - Leaving your pet to someone in your will, just like with an honorary pet trust. However, there are no conditional bequests involved. Instead, the trust has a trustee who regularly dispenses funds as necessary to care for the pet.

3. Statutory - Leaving your pet to the trust itself. The trustee arranges for the pet’s caretaker and dispenses funds as necessary to care for the pet and meet the trust’s instructions.

While there are enforcers who should be overlooking that the funds are used properly by the trustee, here are where things can get murky. Once the pet owners are deceased, the “trustee” gets to decide how to use those funds for the pets in the best way they see fit.

As the story with Gunther goes, the trustee, entrusted with managing the assets, abused their power and squandered the money - buying Madonna’s house (and recently selling it for $31.75 million), buying other multi-million dollar listings, sports teams, and more, all on behalf of the “betterment” of Gunther.

While Gunther VI (the latest Gunther) is definitely living the lavish life - flying private, having a chef cook all his meals, and living in Madonna’s former master bedroom, his current “trustees” are living just as lavish (if not more) of a life. Here lies the rub. Unlike humans, dogs cannot tell anyone if their manager is doing something illegal or immoral. If a “trustee” misuses their power and spends money frivolously it is quite difficult to stop them.

This isn’t to say that pet trusts are bad. On the contrary, it’s amazing that people love their pets so much that they decide to take care of them after they’re gone. The issue is that when a lot of money is involved, it can at times encourage the wrong behaviors. This is why it is so critical to find someone you can trust who will be able to run the trust even when millions of dollars are involved.

Unfortunately, there are no silver bullets here. We love our pets more than ever, and we spend more money on them than ever before. This trend will not cease or slow but grow and expand. Some argue that the rich could use that money more effectively rather than leaving millions for a pet who probably does not need as much. But we ask a different question, if your pet makes you happy and as we know, is unequivocally loyal, isn’t it a kind act to look after it when you fall off the perch? All of these things are ultimately, very personal. If you do establish a trust, make sure you have the right people in the mix.

PAWS right there!!! Don’t forget to subscribe 👇👇

• Netflix for dogs - Music For Pets was just acquired by US tech giant Create Music Group.

• Hill Pet Intern - Hill’s Pet Nutrition is looking for a ‘pup-tern’ and ‘kit-tern’

• Cat pain detector - A Japanese company has launched an app to help (mostly) Japanese cat owners figure out how their cats are feeling.

• 🥳 🎉 🎂  - 1-5 pet parents throw their dog a birthday party, 4 in 10 have their own spot on the couch, 1 in 3 sleep in their owners bed, and 35 percent plan holidays around them.

• Cultured meat - BioCraft Pet Nutrition has announced a new line of cultured chicken.

• Expanding - Good Vets just opened its 20th location with the goal of reaching 50 hospitals by mid-2024.

• Financial Injection - Pet Circle, the Australian pet company received a $75 million investment retaining its $1.125 billion valuation.

Business adversity

Let's face it, starting a business is not for the faint of heart. We salute you for jumping into this roller coaster head-on. Some days you are at the top and others you feel like it just keeps going down. So let's talk a little bit about that and how to get through it:

Cash crunch - More likely than not, running out of cash / not getting the traction you expected is likely to be one of the first challenges you face. Why is that? Is it because you thought you'd have more customers? Because you thought you'd be able to charge more? It is important to objectively consider what "the market" is telling you. Secondly, you still need to get through this cash crunch, so how do you do that? Can you offer new services which perhaps your customers have asked you about? Can you run your business while doing a part-time role elsewhere to give you that cash flow? This is only a minor setback in hitting your long-term goal so treat it as such.

Disputes - This one is never fun. You may experience business disputes with a customer or a supplier. Perhaps someone is refusing to pay you? Perhaps someone still owes you some goods? The key here is to be pragmatic. You may be 150% right. But, is “going to battle” worth it? These things can take time and money, and so, as difficult as it may be, does it make more sense to be "smart" instead of being "right"? You have a purpose. A vision. What's the most efficient way to get there? Treat these disputes as a way to practice your creative deal-making skills to get a better outcome. This skill will be invaluable in the long run.

General mood - This is the trickiest of them all. Getting a business off the ground is difficult (we know!). You will meet a lot of nay-sayers and sometimes the doubt creeps in. Don't let that happen. If you have a partner (in business or life, talk to them about it). Secondly, we find that a routine works in getting through these patches. One of the amazing things about our pets is that they live in the moment. So try and due the same - focus on what makes you feel better (mentally and physically) and focus on the small wins you’ve had.

Remember, although a cliche, this is a marathon, not a sprint. You got into this business because you are passionate about pets, so the key is to achieve your dream, whether now or in five years time.

You reached the end, you deserve a treat 🍖

Be part of the pack - follow us on social media (links below) and fur - ward this to your best human friend.

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Finally, Can a bear dance?

Yes, but just barely.

See you Thursday!

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