8. Eleanor Ritchey left an oil fortune for the benefit of over 100 dogs
Eleanor Ritchey was the granddaughter of Philip John Bayer, who founded the Quaker State Refining Company and created a fortune. Eleanor never married and had no children, preferring to live alone in her Ft. Lauderdale home. She wasn’t really alone though, as she spent her days being driven around the Florida city, looking for abandoned dogs which she would take home with her. Eventually the number of her canine charges forced her to purchase 180 acres in Deerfield Beach to provide room for the 150 animals which she had rescued over the years. She was still in the process of moving them all to their new home when she died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of just 58. Her will included over 1,700 pairs of seldom worn shoes which she left to the Salvation Army.
The rest of her estate, which included over 100,000 shares of Quaker State stock, extensive Florida real estate holdings, and cash, bonds, and Treasury notes, totaling more than $4 million was left to her dogs in the form of a trust. The trust was created to manage the dogs’ home and provide for their care until the last of the dogs died. After all the dogs had either been adopted or died the remainder of the estate was bequeathed to Auburn University’s School of Veterinary Science. Though relatives contested the will they were successful in obtaining only about 15% of the estate. In 1984 the last of the dogs died and in accordance with the will the principal, by then in excess of $12 million, went to Auburn University, where it was used to support research into canine diseases and behaviors.
