When their mom passed away, Sophie and Ernie found themselves without a home. They were lucky, though―their mom's granddaughter-in-law came to their rescue and adopted them.

Life is short, unfortunately, but worse yet—we don't know how short, and there's no way to know for sure. You can adopt a "Que sera, sera" attitude, but if you have any dependents, including dogs, you may want to think long and hard about what might happen to them if you should suddenly keel over or be in a fatal car accident.

There's no point in being morbid about it—but it does pay to be prepared. Just the thought of an animal control agency scooping up my beloved pooches and placing them in a home that I might not approve of or separating the ones who love each other gives me a panicky feeling. But there's no need to worry about it at all if you plan ahead for the worst-case scenario.

Luckily, PETA's got you covered. We just launched a new Web feature that gives you all the ins and outs of planning for your animals' future on the off-chance that you happen not to be in it. It's called "Planning for Your Beloved Animal Companions." Through this site, you can order a comprehensive "Companion Animal Planning Packet" that includes a booklet with more detailed information, an emergency wallet card with space for information about your animal companions, three emergency animal care instruction sheets for friends or neighbors who could come and take care of your animals in an emergency, and "Please Save Our Animals" stickers for your front and back doors.

Approaching friends or relatives to ask them to become your dog's guardian in case of your demise is something that you can't do after you're dead, so you want to get this done in the present moment. You also don't want to just secretly name them in your will as your dogs' new guardians and hope for the best, because even good friends and close family members might not be able to accept that enormous responsibility. And if they refuse it, you won't be around to come up with a Plan B. So make arrangements now. And put them in writing.

Wills aren't just for rich people who can afford to leave a lot of money to someone. When you're gone, your dogs are going to need a new home no matter how much or how little money you had, and now is the best time to figure out where and with whom that home should be and to include that information in your will.

Also, write down all the things that Fluffy loves and hates and is accustomed to. That way, her new guardian won't have to start from scratch. She'll continue to get to eat her favorite foods, enjoy scratches in all the right places, and engage in her favorite activities and games. This will go a long way toward easing the transition.

It should be said, though, that for a very old, very ill, very nervous, or very unsocialized animal who would likely suffer a lot going through such a transition, euthanasia might be a kinder option. I don't say that lightly, because I always tend to hold onto hope and try to be optimistic. But I don't think it's fair, looking at it from the animal's point of view, to force a dog into a frightening new situation in which there is very little chance of a successful adjustment and a strong likelihood of prolonged and intense grief. There is nothing on this Earth more heart-wrenching than a grieving dog.