Leaving our animals in our will..............Isn't it great living in this country? I wouldn't have it anyother way. REALLY!

Here's the point....the dog doesn't know what money is or what it can do.....all it recognizes is how it is treated----with respect or not.......compassion or not etc etc.....it doesn't know how it got to where it lives,,,doesn't know any other lifestyle,,,,but still has the need to eat, clean and take a crap.....

Maybe our view of $$ is what screws us up.......

Would the dog survive on the streets without it's millions???? Or, will the will of the dog be broken by his 'socialist' lifestyle???

I must repeat myself here....sure the dog was left $12M intrusted to some human being. HOWEVER...can we make note that the lady left BILLIONS to charity? Perhaps $12M is a large sum of money to us...but obviously to Ms. Helmsley, it wasn't! SHE LEFT THE BULK OF HER ESTATE TO 'CHARITY'!!!!

http://www.dailygazette.com

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Helmsley property
to be auctioned off
    NEW YORK — Now that Leona Helmsley’s dog has been allotted its $12 million inheritance, her estate is taking steps to liquidate her art, furniture and silver.
    Christie’s will hold 15 sales of personal property from the real estate billionaire’s homes in New York, Greenwich, Conn., and Sarasota, Fla., the auction house said Tuesday.
    The luxury hotelier, who died in August at age 87, ordered in her will that her property be sold, with proceeds going to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
    The Christie’s sales, scheduled through spring of this year, will include such categories as American silver, Chinese ceramics, European furniture and old master paintings.
    In 2007, Forbes magazine ranked Helmsley as the 369th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion. In recent years, she contributed $25 million to New York Presbyterian Hospital, $5 million to Katrina relief and $5 million after Sept. 11 to help the families of fi refighters.

http://www.dailygazette.com

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Animal advocates eager to receive share of Helmsley fortune
The Associated Press

    NEW YORK — Animal welfare groups were elated Wednesday at reports that Leona Helmsley wanted her vast fortune — estimated at up to $8 billion — to be spent on dogs.
    Sometimes called “The Queen of Mean” for the imperious way she treated her staff, the real estate baroness died last August. She left instructions that her estate be spent on the care and welfare of dogs, The New York Times reported in Wednesday’s editions.
    While the instructions are not part of her will and there may be wiggle room for the estate’s trustees, courts consider expressions of intent, the Times said.
    At least two groups, the Humane Society of the United States and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said they will be suggesting programs and applying for funds if Helmsley’s billions really end up funding dog welfare.
    “You could solve the pet overpopulation problem,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society. “You could attack dogfighting. You could attack rabies in China and India, where there are tens of thousands of cases a year. You could take care of dogs left behind in disasters.”
    The hotel queen’s will named her own dog, Trouble, as a beneficiary, while explicitly leaving out two of her grandchildren. But the Maltese isn’t quite as well-heeled as she used to be. In April, a Manhattan judge reduced the trust fund for the 9-year-old pooch from $12 million to $2 million. The grandkids got $6 million each.
    That added up to a tiny fraction of the estate, and the animal welfare groups would love to get the rest.
    Ingrid Newkirk, co-founder and president of PETA, said Helmsley’s money “could make such a difference.”
    She said at least 3 million dogs are put to death each year for lack of spray and neuter programs.
    “Many people cannot afford the surgery for their dogs,” she said. “In these hard times, with house foreclosures and people trying to pay for food and fuel, the last thing they’re going to think about is the care and sterilization of dogs.”
    She said Helmsley’s brother, Alvin Rosenthal, who is one of the five trustees of the estate, has been a PETA donor in the past. A message left at Rosenthal’s Manhattan home was not immediately returned.

That is sooooooo brilliant----almost like the Big Oil profits.....

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estimated at up to $8 billion — to be spent on dogs.

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“Many people cannot afford the surgery for their dogs,” she said. “In these hard times, with house foreclosures and people trying to pay for food and fuel, the last thing they’re going to think about is the care and sterilization of dogs.”

Maybe planned parenthood could help??????