If you have found your way to our website, it’s likely that you love dogs as much as we all do here at Oldies Club, currently have a treasured canine companion and/or have very fond memories of dogs you have opened your heart to in the past, and share our great appreciation for these precious beings when they reach sugar-frosted older age.
We would like to ask you, therefore, if you might consider leaving a legacy to Oldies Club in your will, to help us continue to rescue and rehome older dogs in the UK in the years to come?
While making a will and leaving a legacy is not the easiest or most lighthearted of topics to discuss, it is an important one and a way for our supporters to assist us, as we plan for the future of Oldies Club. It is vital for Oldies Club that, along with ensuring that we have sufficient funds to look after the older dogs in our care currently, we also are in a position to provide for the dogs who come into our care in the future. Legacies can make a very important contribution here and opting to include Oldies Club in your will would be a wonderful way for you to help us continue our work in the years ahead and for your love of dogs to live on.
Many of the dogs coming into Oldies Club care require extensive veterinary treatment while in foster, before they are ready for adoption, and veterinary bills account for the majority of our expenses, amounting to many thousands of pounds every month. We also have a growing number of sponsor dogs in our care. These are dogs where we consider, usually for health reasons, that it is preferable for the dog to remain in permanent foster care, meaning they live out their lives in a home environment (most often their original Oldies Club foster home), with the charity covering the dog’s vet bills for the rest of their life.
We take in older dogs, aged seven plus, from all sorts of situations, including strays – after they have gone through the legal process of the relevant local authority system – and also often directly from their previous human guardian(s) for a variety of reasons. Dogs find themselves in our care after their person has very sadly passed away, moved into a care facility or other accommodation that does not permit animal companions, or due to other significant life changes for their human family. With the significant events of recent years, including the cost-of-living crisis many people in the UK are very sadly facing at present, it is expected that more animals will be in need of rescue spaces as their loving families struggle to care for them, while also dealing with increasing food and fuel costs and energy bills.
We hope that if you are making your will, as a dog lover, you will consider leaving a legacy to Oldies Club. As with all fundraising, donations of all sizes are very welcome and we would appreciate, and make good use of, any amount you would like to leave us. Your future donation, in the form of a legacy, could contribute to helping a dog such as Wilma, featured, and now very happily adopted by her Oldies Club fosterer, who came to us in need of substantial veterinary treatment. The before/after photos speak for themselves. A wonderful transformation in Oldies Club care.
If you would like to include Oldies Club in your will, you can find information on how to write a will on the Gov.uk website here:
https://www.gov.uk/make-will/writing-your-will, along with how to make sure your will is legal here:
https://www.gov.uk/make-will/make-sure-your-will-is-legal
If you opt to leave 10% or more of your estate to a charity, such a donation can contribute to a reduction, where applicable, in the estate’s inheritance tax rate:
https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/leaving-gifts-to-charity-in-your-will and
https://www.rememberacharity.org.uk/leaving-a-gift/why-leave-a-gift/
We are unable, as a small dog rescue charity, to offer any legal advice on such matters, but the above links provide some initial information and we recommend consulting a solicitor for further assistance. If you would like to ask any questions relating to legacies for Oldies Club that don’t require a legal expert, you are welcome to contact us via email.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please do share with any dog-loving family and friends. Our sincere gratitude, from the dogs and volunteers at Oldies Club, if you do decide to include a legacy for us in your will.