Heirs and Assigns

To the list of people who like their inferiors better than their peers was added last week the name of Mrs. May Marguerite Shaw.

Mrs. Shaw shared the comforts of her big Long Island home with 23 Pekinese, named Yummie, Fuzz Wuzz, Cuddles, Baby Dear, Honey Child, etc. She also had a Brussels griffon, a black Persian cat and a dachshund named Poopchin. When Mrs. Shaw died last month, her will asked an old friend, Mrs. Ita Mae McGuire of Napanee, Ont., to adopt her 26-pet menagerie, left her a trust fund of $100,000 for their comfort.

Last week Mrs. McGuire, owner of 40 dogs herself, hurried to Long Island to condole with Poopchin and the Pekes. To congratulations on her own good fortune she said stiffly that the $100,000 would be "no more than enough" to take care of the pets in the style to which they had been accustomed. "Each one will travel to Napanee in his own box," she explained. "And they'll have their own beds and toys. I'll have to have a moving van for the trip. And of course I promised Mrs. Shaw that they'd never have to stay in the kennels with my other dogs. They'll sleep in the guest room Mrs. Shaw had when she stayed with me."

Other news of U.S. animal lovers last week:

P: I In San Francisco a divorce suit slowed almost to a halt while Lieut, and Mrs. Rudolph Samson wrangled over custody of an English bulldog.

P: In Sacramento another bulldog named Rummy Girl was summoned by a possessive mistress in a will directing that Rummy Girl be killed, placed in a casket and buried in a cat-&-dog cemetery.

P: In Dedham, Mass., eight relatives and an ex-employe of the late millionaire attorney, Woodbury Rand, prepared to contest his will. They were indignant at discovering that he had canceled $20,000 in bequests because of their "contemptuous attitude" towards his male tiger cat, Buster (TIME, Aug. 21). Rand left Buster $40,000, and added in his will: "Any personal property of mine which would add to his comfort, such as my radio, sweaters, three electric fans . . . shall be at his disposal."

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