Wills and Trusts and Dogs and Cats

July 16, 2008

 

The Story of Pepper-A Life of Luxury

 

My family owns a cat named Pepper. Pepper is small and pretty and rather delicate. She has long black hair with an immodestly fuzzy white bib and white paws. Even as a kitten (she is middle aged now,) Pepper has always been precise about the little details of her dress: for example, although around her own humans she sometimes appears without decoration, she would never even consider leaving the house without her usual pink collar studded with rhinestones from which dangles her little silver tag that proudly bears her name. As for her recreational pursuits, Pepper occasionally indulges in catnip, but only catnip of the highest quality. She has the run of a large, tastefully appointed 1923 historic home. She sleeps in any human’s bed that meets her whim. She has several faux mice to play with, and an old champagne cork to bat around the kitchen floor.

 

Even by human standards, Pepper is well off. In the animal kingdom, she is considered more than merely affluent. She’s really rich. She is the envy of animals everywhere that sleep in cold snow only to wake up and chase around other miserably cold animals hoping to eat.

 

The Story of Roshanara, A Very Rich Dog

 

But Pepper is not the richest animal, not by a long shot. Consider Sir Mahabut Khanji, the Nawab of Junagadh in India. According to the July 5, 2008, UK Edition of The Times Online, his Highness had 800 dogs. Each was assigned its own room, a telephone and a personal servant.

 

In 1922, Muslim clerics officiated at the wedding of the Nawab’s favorite dog, Roshanara, to a golden retriever named Bobby. Richly perfumed, the bride arrived carried on a silver palanquin. The groom was nattily attired in a gold necklace and silk cummerbund. About 50,000 guests celebrated the happy couple.

 

The story of Trouble – An Even Richer Dog

 

And most recently there is the story of Trouble, a 9-year old Maltese poodle owned by the late hotel heiress Leona Helmsley. In her will, Ms. Helmsley created a trust fund in favor of Trouble in the amount of $12 million. Now, in fairness to Pepper, Trouble did not end up with all of the money. According to The New York Post, as reported in the Baltimore Sun Times Online, two disinherited grandkids had challenged the will claiming Ms. Helmsley was incompetent when she signed it. The grandchildren eventually settled with the executors of Helmsley’s estate, with the blessing of both the state Attorney General’s Office, which oversees charities, and a state court judge. Among other things, the Manhattan judge ordered the sum reduced from $12 million to $2 million. 

The trustees of Trouble’s fortune didn’t contest the agreement, saying the dog could probably somehow survive on a little less than $12 million. According to Carl Lekic, the dog’s guardian, “Two million dollars … would be enough money to pay for Trouble’s maintenance and welfare at the highest standards of care for more than 10 years, which is more that twice her reasonably anticipated life expectancy.”

Lekic put the dog’s annual expenses at $190,000: $60,000 for his guardian fee, $100,000 for the dog’s personal security squad, $8,000 for grooming, $3,000 for miscellaneous expenses, $1,200 for food and anywhere from $2,500 to $18,000 for medical care.

And Pepper?

Pepper, who has always loathed dogs for their drooling compliance with the will of even the weakest humans, their servile fawning, cringing obedience and smelly breaths, takes no notice of dogs.