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Pet planning sheet

Print a care sheet for each pet, plus a wallet card that says they're home alone.

The sheet maker needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser. The notes below still say what to write down for your pets, who should get a copy, and where to find help if no one can take them.

Step 1 of 17

Which pets is this for?

Every pet gets its own sheet.

Pet 1

For example: dog, cat, parrot, rabbit.

With what you've typed so far. Anything you skip prints as lines to fill in.

No account, no door codes. Nothing you type leaves your device.

This tool organizes information and is provided as is. It isn't legal, medical, tax or financial advice. Before you sign or rely on anything, check with a licensed attorney in your state or province. Terms

Why plan for your pets

If an ambulance takes you tonight, who feeds your dog tomorrow? With no spouse or kids at home, often nobody knows the dog is there. We found no US state or Canadian province that makes anyone look after your pets while you're in hospital, and the clock is short: in Washington, a shelter adopted out a hospitalized man's dog four days after he was admitted, because staff couldn't reach him (Auburn Examiner, 2021).

Your sheets tell the people who step in what they need to know: who takes your pets for the first days and who takes them for good, whether each one has said yes, what your pets eat, what medicine they take, how they act with strangers, and where the leash and carrier are.

How to use your sheets

Answering the questions

Every question is optional. Skip one and it prints as lines to fill in by pen.

Ask about two jobs, not one

The ASPCA's pet planning guide separates an emergency caregiver from a permanent one. Someone who'll feed your cat while you're in hospital may not want her for ten years. Ask each person which job they're saying yes to, and ask again once a year: people move, get sick, or change their minds.

Where the copies go

  • The wallet card goes next to your ID, so whoever finds you knows a pet is waiting at home.
  • One sheet on the fridge, or wherever your pets live, for whoever comes in.
  • A copy with each person on the sheet.

What the sheet can't do

It says who and how. It gives no one legal authority, and it can't set money aside.

  • Getting your pets out of a shelter. In Maine, a shelter must release a hospitalized owner's pet to a person named in a letter the owner signed (Maine Revised Statutes, Title 7, section 3919-B), and after 10 days the shelter owns the pet. Other shelters want their own form: San Diego Humane Society's needs your signature, a witness or a notary, and a copy of your photo ID.
  • Paying for care while you're alive. A financial power of attorney can let the person you name spend your money on your pets (WillMaker by Nolo). It ends when you die.
  • Money after you die. Looking for a pet trust form? A pet trust is a legal document that names someone to hold the money and someone to care for your pet, and the rules differ by state and province. A lawyer drafts it. This sheet is the care notes you take to the lawyer and give the caregiver.
  • The microchip. Ask the registry to add your person as the second contact. It's who the registry calls when it can't reach you.

If no one can take them

Some humane societies run pet guardian programs: you sign up, often with a gift in your will, and they rehome your pets after you die. Signing up is what counts. The Humane Society of the Nature Coast in Florida takes enrolled pets in 24 to 48 hours, its program FAQ says, while pets that aren't enrolled wait weeks or months. Naming a shelter in your will without signing up is a request, not a reservation.

A few examples, not endorsements. Terms change, so check before you count on one:

  • Seattle Humane's Pet Guardian Program: a one-time $1,000 for up to 5 pets, with pickup within 100 miles.
  • Kentucky Humane Society: no minimum gift, but you need a named person who can get into your home.
  • Hamilton/Burlington SPCA in Ontario: a minimum gift in your will of $10,000 (Canadian) per pet.
  • AARCS in Calgary: free to sign up, with a gift in your will.

For a hospital stay, a few programs give temporary care: Operation Foster in the US, ElderDog for dogs in Canada, and the Toronto Humane Society, for 2 weeks to 6 months (it isn't an emergency service). Many free programs only take a referral from a professional. In hospital, tell the team your pets are home alone and ask for the social worker.

Most programs still need a person to open your door and bring your pets in. Put that person on your sheet too.

  • Estate planning for pet owners with no family.
  • Who looks after your pet while you're in hospital, and free emergency pet boarding.
  • Who will care for your pets when you die, and pet guardian programs compared.
  • How a pet trust works, and what a pet trust costs.
  • A letter that lets a friend collect your pet, and your microchip's second contact.
  • Boarding a reactive or aggressive dog.

Other free tools

This sheet is general information, not veterinary or legal advice. It prints what you type and doesn't check it.