Animals still benefit from the love the accused murderess had for dogs.
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| Lizzie Borden and one of her Boston terriers |
In 1892, Lizzie Borden was accused of killing her father and stepmother with a hatchet. In 1893, she was acquitted. Her father was worth almost $10 million in today's money, and Lizzie and her sister Emma inherited a significant portion of his estate.
Lizzie loved animals, especially dogs. In 1913, she helped fund the start of a rescue center in her hometown Fall River, Massachusetts to care for abused draft horses. In 1914, the center called Animal Rescue League was in business, and in 1917, it expanded its mission to dogs and cats.
Lizzie had a fondness for Boston terriers, and before her death in 1927 she owned three of them named Royal Nelson, Donald Stuart and Laddie Miller.
After her death, the Animal Rescue League (now named the Faxon Animal Care and Adoption Center) was to receive money from her trust if they agreed to take care of her three dogs. They took care of them for the rest of their days, and today the center continues to receive money.
In addition, the center also receives donations from the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast Museum - the family home where the brutal killings took place.
All three dogs are buried in the Pine Ridge Pet Cemetery in Dedham, Massachusetts under one headstone with the words "Sleeping Awhile".