August is Make-a-Will Month

Samantha’s Story: Creating a Better Future for Animals

By Samantha Krettler

When I moved to Oregon more than 40 years ago, one of my neighbors told me about the incredible work being done at Oregon Humane Society. As an animal lover, I felt called to support their work to help ensure the safety and well-being of all animals.

Luckily for me, I met and later married, Tom, who turned out to be as much of an animal lover as I was, and he understood and supported my desire to donate to OHS. Together we have been avid supporters of OHS and their mission of Creating a More Humane Society.

Today, we have two sweet cats, both adopted from OHS — Jake in October 2020, who started out shy but quickly bonded with Tom, and Josie in May of 2022. Josie is a Second Chance kitty who came from a small shelter in Pendleton. A facet of OHS that we both admire is their work aiding smaller shelters around the west coast.

We have at least 10 kitty beds in our house — many situated near windows so Jake and Josie can see what’s going on in the neighborhood, survey their kingdom, and take cozy naps. They are both very playful and love a game of fetch. As a bonded pair they race and play throughout the house together. Needless to say, they both bring so much joy into our lives!

After an extensive heart surgery in 2015, I got serious about drafting a will. Both Tom and I agreed we wanted to ensure we provided for Jake and Josie, should anything happen.

A will is a legal document that relays what we want done with our estate upon our death.  It documents how we want our estate portioned out and to whom. Every will is different, but we felt called to continue our support of OHS, so we set up ours to ensure OHS would be the sole beneficiary of our estate.

We also enrolled Jake and Josie into OHS’ Friends Forever program. Should there ever come a day where neither of us are able to care for them, OHS will take them in and find them both a new loving home. Knowing that our plans are made, and that Jake and Josie will be well cared for in the future brings us both comfort and peace of mind.

There are a variety of ways to complete your will. You can consider readymade will programs or work with an attorney. It took me almost a year to draft the first version of our will, as I did substantial research on how a will was to be made, the language needed, and what things a will should contain.

Whatever method is chosen, having an estate plan is important to provide the instructions for how you want your estate to be distributed.  

Tom and I know and trust Oregon Humane Society to maximize our bequest and use the monies where it is needed the most. OHS has great leadership, staff, and volunteers who know how to effectively run an organization and care for animals in need.

Our love for Jake and Josie motivated us to create a will and keep our estate plan up-to-date. We would encourage you to do the same and consider supporting Oregon Humane Society and all the good work they do for animals.

And remember, file a report if you see any evidence of animal abuse or neglect, and if you have pets of your own, treat them humanely with love and kindness.