Gone to the Dogs (And Cats!)
A Tennessee woman left her estate to homeless pets.
Glenda Taylor DeLawder, a citizen of Carter County, Tennessee, bequeathed her $1.2 million estate to help care for the county’s shelter animals.
DeLawder, who had worked as a telephone operator for AT&T in Washington D.C., passed away at age 72. She left a gift of $540,000 to the Elizabethton Carter County Animal Shelter, which plans to use the money to expand the dog and cat holding areas and to purchase a van for transporting animals to adoption events and to spay and neuter clinics. Plans for the shelter also include setting up a Veteran Companion Animal Program.
Carter County Mayor Leon Humphrey announced the gift on the county website. “The shelter is truly blessed and honored to be given such a tremendous gift,” Humphrey wrote, “one of the largest private gifts ever given to the County for our citizens (human, feline and canine).”
The generosity of Ms. DeLawder will help countless pets find their new families. It truly is a gift that will keep on giving for years to come, helping animals in shelters make the best possible transition to a new life.
---Tracie Hotchner
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