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Welcome, Pet Owner!
IS YOUR FUR BABY PART OF YOUR FAMILY?
DO YOU THINK OF YOUR DOG OR CAT AS YOUR CHILD?

The majority of pet parents love their dogs and cats like people love their children.
They take care of them in sickness and in health, spoil them, and miss them like crazy when
they’re apart. Most importantly they worry about…

What if??

I get hurt and can’t walk?

What if??

I have to stay in the hospital?

What if??

I die?

You’d probably do anything for your dog or cat.
That’s why you’re here.

You know that the future is uncertain and you have to be prepared. With this in mind, making pet care plans for your fur baby is important if something should happen to you.

You’ve come to the right place.

We understand your needs.

Who will take
care of your beloved
dog or cat?

How will they know what to do?

You could designate a Caretaker for your pet in your Will. Subsequently, you can leave that person a random amount of money for pet care services. All things considered, your heart is in the right place. Nevertheless, the outcome may not be what you had in mind.

The Downfalls
of Using a Will for
Your Pet’s Care Plan

A Will does not protect your pet because there is no follow-up once the designated Caretaker receives the money you intended for your pet’s care. Too often, as a result, we see these things happen:

• Your dog or cat is surrendered to a shelter after the designated Caretaker accepts your money

• The Caretaker might use your money on big purchase items for themself and not for the care of your pet

• When the money runs out, your pet winds up in a shelter because your Caretaker was in it for the wrong reasons

• The Caretaker doesn’t take care of your pets the way you did and might treat them poorly

THE BEST WAY TO
PROTECT YOUR
DOG OR CAT IS
WITH A PET TRUST

Unlike a Will, Pet Trusts have
built-in components that
protect your pets & money.

• You designate a Trustee who is in charge of the Pet Trust finances and oversees your pet’s care plan

• The Trustee has a fiduciary responsibility to act on your behalf and allocate the money to be used for your pet’s care and pet care services as long as the guidelines of your Pet Trust are followed and your pet’s needs are being met.

• Equally important, there are successors named in case someone you designate cannot fulfill their responsibilities for your pet’s care or pet care services

• The Pet Trust includes your Pet’s Care Plan. These are the instructions on how you want your pet to be cared for. As a result, this enables your pet to continue living the lifestyle it has always known.

• Furthermore, Pet Trusts are legally enforceable.

LET US HELP YOU PROTECT YOUR PET

You’ve realized that you have to be prepared in case something happens to you. Consequently, you know you need a Pet Trust with an explicitly detailed pet care plan in place. In other words, a well-designed Pet Trust with an individualized and comprehensive Care Plan is the most effective way to keep your pets safe and properly cared for. Undoubtedly, you’ve come to the best place for help! We understand the problems and complexities associated with preparing a Pet Trust and we offer the solutions.

Here’s how:

  • We are the only organization that helps you to develop a comprehensive and individualized Pet Care Plan, like an instruction manual for taking care of your dog or cat
  • Utilizing a three-session interview process with a multitude of questions, we learn about your pets, your pet’s care, and the pet care  services you want them to receive
  • A carefully itemized worksheet will help you to determine your Pet Expense budget so you fund your plan for future pet care services properly
  • If you don’t have someone to provide pet care services for your dog or cat, we have a pool of background-checked, fingerprinted, and trained Foster and Caretaker volunteers for you to choose from

The Result:

  • Our process incorporates a multi-layered system of oversight to help ensure your pet is cared for the way you want.
  • Our services, offered at affordable nonprofit rates can save you on some of your legal fees
  • Your attorney can use our Pet Care Plan as an exhibit in the final Pet Trust document so future people will know how you want your pet cared for.
  • We partner with other 501(c)3 organizations and can offer subsidized and full grants for Pet Trust care.**

* An elder or estate planning attorney is needed to prepare your final Pet Trust document

**Conditions apply

Our 4P Promise to you:

PLAN. PREPARE. PAMPER. PROTECT.

Guardian Pet Trust promises to PLAN the details of your Pet Trust with you, PREPARE an individualized Care Plan for your pets, PAMPER your pets according to your directions, and provide oversight to PROTECT your pets to make sure they’re being loved and cared for the way you intended

How will someone know how to take care of my dog and cat?

YOUR PET’S CARE PLAN

Guardian Pet Trust meets with you by phone, Zoom, or in person for 3 intake sessions. We ask you many questions to find out all the details of how you take care of your pet. We discuss your preferences regarding your pet’s care services, and how you want future Caregivers to take care of your pet.

Then, we work with you on an itemized Budget worksheet to accurately determine how much money you spend on your pet’s care each year. Your Pet Trust should be funded according to our Budget findings.

All your answers are recorded on the intake form and are used to design your pet’s individualized Pet Care Plan which is like an instruction manual. It will cover these areas:

• Products you use in the care of your pet

• Your pet’s diet

• Medical history and medications

• Routines

• Services Provided

• Final Disposition

• Pet care Budget

Who will take care of my pets?

YOUR PET’S CARE TEAM

Your pet’s Care Team is responsible for taking care of your pets when you are not able to. Anytime during your lifetime you get sick, injured, or incapacitated in any way, your Care Team quickly prepares to rehome your pet. They will love your dog or cat and strive to maintain your pet’s current lifestyle. The team works together and follows the guidelines of your Pet Trust and Pet Trust Care Plan. As a result, your pet is surrounded by familiar products, services, and routines. This helps your pet adjust to life without you.

The Foster

• The person providing immediate care to your pets

• Nurtures your pets to help them adjust during this transitional period

• Remains in your pets’ lives to provide oversight of their care

The Caretaker

• The person providing the forever home for your dogs or cats

• Must be willing to comply with the guidelines of your Pet Trust

• Needs to cooperate with the Foster’s oversight

The Trustee

• The organization or person chosen by the Pet Owner to manage the funds of the Trust

• Acts in a fiduciary manner and as an advocate for your pets

• Helps ensure your money is only spent on the care of your pets

 Guardian Pet Trust can act as your Trustee*

*special conditions apply

The Veterinarian

• Is not an automatic member of the Care Team and must be invited to join

• Helps to provide another layer of oversight for the care of your pets

• Must be willing to follow the guidelines of your Trust

IF YOU’VE
MADE IT THIS FAR

If you’ve reached this point, you are really serious about finding out how a Pet Trust can protect your pets’ future. You understand that life happens and it’s possible you might not be able to care for your pet due to sickness, injury, or death. All of a sudden, your pets will be confused, worried, and stressed by your absence.

By preparing a Pet Trust, your pets will be surrounded by familiarity which will help them to adjust to life without you. The time you spend preparing your Pet Trust will be like an everlasting hug. It’s the best thing you can do for yourself and your pets.

That’s why we are here. We want to help you and your pets.

We Know You’re
Here for Your Own Pet…
But Preparing a Pet Trust
Helps Many Pets…

Deciding the best Pet Care Plan for the future is not easy. You’re probably getting your own legal papers in order and now you’re also worrying about your pet. It’s not only your pet, however, that feels the love of your Pet Trust. From the moment your Pet Trust is enacted, the impact is felt in your community!

PREPARING A PET TRUST
IMPACTS YOUR COMMUNITY TOO!

Here’s How:

For every pet that has a Pet Trust with a designated Foster and Caretaker:

• One less pet gets surrendered to the local shelter when their owner becomes sick, injured, or dies. Under these circumstances,  one less cage is taken. Your pet who would usually be older or unhealthy, will be rehomed. Hopefully, the pet filling the space will be younger, healthier, and therefore,  more adoptable.
• Two pets will now have homes and neither pet will have to be euthanized.
• Your Pet Trust helps keep the population in the shelters down. This decreases the spread of illness.
• It also decreases the number of pets euthanized.
• In essence, Pet Trusts keep families together. They rehome pets so they can continue to live the lifestyle they are familiar with. As a result, there is a decrease in overcrowding, illnesses, and euthanizations in your neighborhood shelters.

The impact of preparing a Pet Trust is widespread. It sets a lot of events into motion that help protect and save the life of your pet and the lives of dogs and cats in your community. Saving lives starts at home.

Knowing all that should help you say YES!

Still have questions? No problem!

If you’re thinking of something else, you can shoot us an email to

[email protected] or call us at 561-575-5788

Still Undecided?
This is the story behind Guardian Pet Trust.

Brenda’s Story

The Beginning

Brenda and Edwin had a magical love story with each other and for their house full of pets. When Edwin passed away, their pets had already passed and Brenda was heartbroken and lonely. She decided to adopt a new dog, a 2-year-old toy poodle she called Mishka. Since Brenda was a senior citizen, she asked herself the “What if” questions most pet owners do. “What if something happens to me, who will take care of my loving dog? How will they know what to do?

The First Pet Trusts

Brenda had heard about Pet Trusts so she had an attorney prepare one for Mishka. When she received the completed document, Brenda was disappointed. It didn’t contain enough information for anyone to really know how to take care of Mishka. She also realized that she didn’t have anyone she could count on to give Mishka a home either.

When talking with another attorney about Pet Trusts, Brenda asked them to prepare a new Pet Trust for Mishka. The attorney did but the result was similar to her first experience. It was a well-written document but it did not explain in enough detail how Mishka needed to be cared for. No one would know that she ate scrambled eggs on Sundays, showered on Thursdays, and took special vitamins daily. Brenda was disappointed for the second time and constantly worried about “What if”

Starting a Private Foundation

So, Brenda decided to talk to her good friend and advisor, David Meyers, about her experiences. That’s when she decided to take matters into her own hands and open a private Foundation to teach people about Pet Trusts. She dedicated it to her beloved soulmate, Edwin. In 2017, Edwin D Marks Animal Foundation was born.

The Foundation wanted to help people actually prepare Pet Trusts, not just teach about them. Due to regulations, the Foundation could not provide this service. As a result, Guardian Pet Trust was born. We help people write the Pet Care Plan associated with the Pet Trust, supply Fosters and Caregivers, and provide oversight of the pets’ care.

The Celebration

Brenda had a third Pet Trust prepared, with a Pet Care Plan by her own Foundation. It now contained enough information, like an instruction manual, for future people to know how to care for Mishka and which pet care services she received. David was named Trustee and everything was now set to take care of the “What ifs.”

Enacting Her Pet Trust

A short time later, Brenda fell and fractured her hip!! Thank Goodness she had a Pet Trust!!! She was no longer able to walk Mishka and needed help. Her own Foundation was able to provide a Caretaker who agreed to follow the guidelines of Mishka’s Pet Trust.

Mimi was the best thing that could happen to Brenda and to Mishka. She opened her heart and her home to Brenda’s fur baby and takes care of her the way the Pet Care Plan states. She has more than enough money for pet care services including vet bills and does not have any out-of-pocket expenses. Mishka is still living with Mimi because Brenda uses a walker and she could trip over the dog. Mimi’s son is the happiest of all!! Now, he has a dog to love that the family couldn’t afford previously.

The Fairy Tale Ending

Imagine Brenda’s happiness when Mimi agreed to bring Mishka to visit her every week! If she didn’t have a Pet Trust, Mishka would have wound up in a shelter! Now, she has two mommy’s and a new big brother who love her with all their hearts. Mishka is a very lucky dog!! Brenda has peace of mind knowing that Mishka is well-cared for now, receiving all her pet care services, and will continue to live the pampered lifestyle she always has. She has adjusted to her new life and what could have been a tragedy has ended up like a fairy tale because everyone, especially Mishka, is living happily ever after!

Brenda’s story reminds us that:

• Life happens and people become sick, get injured, and die.
• Our dogs and cats need care even when we’re not there
• A Pet Trust is the best way to protect your pet’s future.
• Your pet does not have to be placed in a shelter if you have made plans in your Pet Trust for short-term and long-term rehoming

• A comprehensive Pet Care Plan enables your pets to continue living the lifestyle they are accustomed to
• If you don’t have a friend or family member to care for your pet, Guardian Pet Trust has a carefully screened pool of candidates for you to choose from.
• Oversight helps ensure your pet will be taken care of the way you want.
• A Pet Trust covers all pet care expenses with a detailed budget so there are no out-of-pocket expenses for the new Caregivers.

BE PREPARED FOR THE WHAT IFS!
CONTACT GUARDIAN PET TRUST
TO START PROTECTING YOUR PETs NOW!

MAKE YOUR INTAKE APPOINTMENT TODAY!
TOMORROW MIGHT BE TOO LATE!

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