Thoughtfully Planning For Your Beloved Pets

Frank Fletcher had been a cat lover his whole life. He had also been a committed supporter of Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV) for over 30 years. Frank and his wife, Peg, had adopted cats from us several times throughout their marriage. When Peg passed away in 2012, Frank started to worry about what would happen to his cherished cats if something happened to him. He heard about our Pet Guardianship Program, which allows pet owners and HSSV supporters to create a plan for their beloved pets in the event of the owner's passing. From there, Frank became even closer to our mission. He visited often, and when his favorite cat passed away, he decided to adopt two orange tabbies from us. Ginger and Freddie were active teenage cats, and though they could be a challenge at times, Frank loved them deeply.

Last fall, Frank was diagnosed with brain cancer. He continued to visit us and stay in touch, and consistently checked in to make sure we would make the process of taking in his cats a smooth one. We promised we would. In July, Frank's neighbors contacted our team. He had suffered a major stroke and passed away soon after. We immediately picked up Frank's cats, Princess, Ginger and Freddie.

Ginger and Freddie were still fairly young kitties, but their transition back to shelter life was jarring for them. They were shy, terrified and spent the first few days hiding. Our behavior team spent time with them, working on getting them more comfortable with coming out to greet people and accepting attention. Within days, Freddie and Ginger were different cats. They were soliciting attention, playing and starting to enjoy affection. After about a week on our adoption floor, Ginger and Freddie, who had spent their whole lives together, found a new home together.

Princess' journey wasn't so easy. At 19 years old, Princess was in remarkably good health. She was a little shy but came around quickly. We decided that we would do everything we could to get her ready for adoption and find her a new home. Princess had severe dental disease. She would need some teeth removed, and the rest would need to be deep cleaned. We decided to break up her dental surgeries into two separate surgeries to decrease the amount of time this senior cat was under anesthesia at one time. She lived in a foster home in between her dental surgeries, where her sweet, affectionate personality quickly began to shine. Her dental surgeries went well, and once she recovered, she was adopted by one of our foster volunteers who was deeply moved by Princess' story on social media. Frank would have been so happy to learn all his kitties are now in new, loving homes.

For more information on the Guardianship Program, contact Bridget Keenan at 408.942.3006 or bridget.keenan@hssv.org.