Shelter Gets Million Dollar Bequest
by Charlotte LoBuono
A recent bequest to an Australian animal shelter is believed to be the largest ever left to the organization.
When Lyndsay Joan Boles' will was finalized, her $1 million estate became the property of the Lost Dogs Home and Cat Shelter in North Melbourne.
This fortune represents the combined wealth of Mrs. Boles and her husband, Australian accountant and artist Bernard Boles.
According to friends, the couple loved animals and wanted their estate to help needy companion animals.
Mr. Boles had planned to leave the shelter as much as $2 million, but Mrs. Boles' medical and nursing home bills depleted their savings.
The couple always cared for at least one cat, who, regardless of his or her gender or color, was always called 'Collingwood' by Mr. Boles.
Their last cat is now being cared for by the staff of Preston's Hilltop Private Nursing Home, where Mr. Boles died in 2001 and Mrs. Boles died in April, 2003.
The cat, now renamed 'BB' by nursing home residents and staff, has been promised free veterinary care for life by Dr. Graeme Smith, managing director of the Lost Dogs Home and Cat Shelter.
The donated money will be used for renovations to the shelter, which has been largely unchanged since it opened in 1914.
© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.
A recent bequest to an Australian animal shelter is believed to be the largest ever left to the organization.
When Lyndsay Joan Boles' will was finalized, her $1 million estate became the property of the Lost Dogs Home and Cat Shelter in North Melbourne.
This fortune represents the combined wealth of Mrs. Boles and her husband, Australian accountant and artist Bernard Boles.
According to friends, the couple loved animals and wanted their estate to help needy companion animals.
Mr. Boles had planned to leave the shelter as much as $2 million, but Mrs. Boles' medical and nursing home bills depleted their savings.
The couple always cared for at least one cat, who, regardless of his or her gender or color, was always called 'Collingwood' by Mr. Boles.
Their last cat is now being cared for by the staff of Preston's Hilltop Private Nursing Home, where Mr. Boles died in 2001 and Mrs. Boles died in April, 2003.
The cat, now renamed 'BB' by nursing home residents and staff, has been promised free veterinary care for life by Dr. Graeme Smith, managing director of the Lost Dogs Home and Cat Shelter.
The donated money will be used for renovations to the shelter, which has been largely unchanged since it opened in 1914.
© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.
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