Your pets are family. Planning for their future can help ensure they continue to receive the love and care they deserve if you are no longer able to care for them.
The Cape Coral Animal Shelter’s Legacy of Love Pet Care Plan allows you to make arrangements for CCAS to care for your pets in the event of your passing. When the time comes, our compassionate team will welcome them, provide the care and support they need, and work to find them a loving new home.
It is a difficult possibility to think about, but having a plan in place can give you and your loved ones peace of mind knowing your wishes for your pets are clearly documented.
Planning ahead helps CCAS understand your wishes and prepares our team to care for your pet when needed.
The first step is to contact Cape Coral Animal Shelter and schedule an appointment with Executive Director Liz McCauley, at 239-573-2002 or [email protected]. We can discuss the Legacy of Love Pet Care Plan, answer your questions, and explain the information and paperwork needed to participate.
Make sure the appropriate people in your life know about your plan for your pets, including the individual designated as power of attorney for your will. Keep CCAS informed if this information changes.
You should also discuss your wishes with your attorney or estate-planning professional so your legal documents accurately reflect your intentions.
No one knows your pet better than you do. Providing detailed information about their personality, routines, health, behavior, and preferences helps our team understand their individual needs and, when the time comes, find a home that is a good match.
Complete a separate Pet Information Form for each pet included in your plan.
Download the Pet Information Form
We ask that you keep this information current, particularly if your pet’s health, medications, veterinarian, behavior, or care needs change.
If your pet is not already microchipped, please have them microchipped and designate Cape Coral Animal Shelter as a secondary contact.
This is an important safeguard. In an emergency in which you are transported by ambulance and your pet is transferred to Lee County Domestic Animal Services, the microchip can help identify CCAS as a contact so we can be notified of your wishes without waiting for estate documents to be located.
Provide CCAS with your pet’s current veterinary information, including their veterinarian, medical conditions, medications, allergies, vaccinations, and other ongoing care needs.
Please also let your veterinarian know that Cape Coral Animal Shelter has permission to access your pet’s medical records in the event of your passing.
As part of your planning, CCAS will also provide a Statement of Surrender outlining the transfer of your pet to Cape Coral Animal Shelter and important information about their care and potential outcomes.
Download the Statement of Surrender
Please read this document carefully, complete the requested information, and contact us with any questions.
When your pet enters our care, our team will use the information you have provided to better understand their health, behavior, routines, and individual needs.
Every pet receives the time, space, and care they deserve. Our team carefully evaluates each pet’s health and well-being and works toward placing them in a loving, permanent home suited to their individual needs.
Our goal is always to give each pet the opportunity to find a loving home. Medical and behavioral evaluations are an important part of that process, and decisions regarding an animal’s care are made with their quality of life, safety, and best interests in mind.
Your Pet Information Form includes details that may seem small today but can make a meaningful difference later, including:
Favorite food and feeding routine
Where they sleep and whether they are crate trained
How they interact with dogs, cats, children, and adults
Walking and travel habits
Commands they understand
Fears, behavioral habits, and personality traits
Medical conditions, allergies, medications, and supplements
Veterinary and pet insurance information
The more we know about your pet, the better prepared we can be to care for them and help identify a future home where they can thrive.
No. Cape Coral Animal Shelter does not require a monetary donation for your pet to participate in the Legacy of Love Pet Care Plan.
CCAS is a private, nonprofit organization, however, and the cost of caring for and rehoming an animal can be significant. If you choose to include a gift to CCAS in your plans, a donation of any size is greatly appreciated and helps support the care of your pet as well as other animals in need.
Pets’ lives change, and their plans should change with them. Please contact CCAS when there are significant updates to your pet’s:
Health or medications
Veterinarian
Behavior or care needs
Power of attorney information
We also recommend keeping current photos of your pets on file with CCAS.
Planning for a time when you may no longer be there for your pet isn’t easy. The Legacy of Love Pet Care Plan can help make sure they have somewhere safe to go and people prepared to care for them.
To learn more or begin planning for your pet, please contact our Executive Director, Liz McCauley, at 239-573-2002 or [email protected]
“I had been researching options for care of my cats in the event I was no longer able to care for them or if they outlived me. Many agencies never returned my phone calls/emails or they didn’t provide the type of program that I was interested in. Liz McCauley, from the Cape Coral Animal Shelter, not only responded to my email but invited me to see the shelter and all they had to offer. The Legacy of Love Pet Care Plan was an answer to my prayers! My cats would be welcomed and cared for! I was given a tour of the shelter and information about how to enroll my cats in this program. My cats are now enrolled and I have such a peace of mind knowing that they will be loved, safe, and well cared for.”
-Laura F.