Dan got serious news from the doctor. He was told to get his affairs in order because he had less than a year to live. Dan had no family and wanted to leave his home to the Brandywine Valley SPCA, but he didn’t want it to go through probate. After some research, the Brandywine Valley SPCA figured out how to transfer the property with no lag time and no expense. The organization became a tenant in common on the property with Dan. Now, Dan can spend his remaining days in his home knowing that his property will be cared for after he’s gone and that the homeless animals in his community will benefit from his gift.

Emma’s mother loved cats. She helped cat rescues, supported the Brandywine Valley SPCA and had several cats as pets. When she passed away, her daughter inherited her estate except for $10,000 which was given to the Brandywine Valley SPCA. Emma contacted the Brandywine Valley SPCA because she wanted the funds to be used for helping people who couldn’t afford treatment for their pets. Her lawyer explained that the money was given without restriction and could be used however the Brandywine Valley SPCA chose. But after speaking with Emma and hearing of her mother’s desire to help people keep their pets, they restricted the use of those funds to carry out Emma’s mother’s request. In the end, 95 families benefitted from this bequest.

Sam loved big dogs. He knew that they were harder to place and noticed that the Brandywine Valley SPCA was doing everything possible to find them homes. He decided one holiday season to help by sponsoring the adoption fees for big dogs for the two weeks around the holidays. He enjoyed seeing the pictures of the dogs going home and decided to make it a permanent event. He rewrote his will to include provisions for a special fund to be set up in perpetuity. Even after he passes, Sam's gift to the big dogs in our community will keep on giving.