ohmidog!

Kenneth Munzert, a wealthy Baltimore man who died last year, left what could turn out to be more than a million dollars to animal welfare organizations — much of it in memory of his loyal German shepherd, Beauregard.

According to a will filed in Baltimore last month, Munzert left an estimated $990,228 – three-quarters of which is directed to animal protection groups. That amount doesn’t include his house in Federal Hill, overlooking the Inner Harbor.

The house, which appears in the Al Pacino movie, “And Justice for All,” will be auctioned March 31, with proceeds going to the SPCA of Richmond, Va., an organization that had agreed to care for Beauregard if Munzert preceded him in death.

Munzert — a private and eccentric man who sometimes slept with his dog on the floor — died last year at 88, with no close family. A story about Munzert and his bequest appears in today’s Baltimore Sun.

On the Richmond SPCA website, CEO Robin Starr Starr explains how she came to know Munzert.

“I came to know Ken a number of years ago when his attorney contacted me because Ken was deeply concerned that he might predecease his beloved dog, Beauregard, and he had no friends or family who could give Beau a good home for the remainder of his life.

“The attorney asked me if I would consider accepting responsibility for Beau, with a promise not to euthanize him unless medically necessary for the remainder of his life. I had not made a practice of accepting responsibility for people’s pets after their death but, after I spoke with Ken, I agreed to do so for Beau.

“When I heard Ken talk about his love for his dog and his fear that Beau would not be cared for were he to die first, I realized that Ken was just the sort of pet owner that we wished everyone would be. I could not justify to myself not helping him. So, I agreed to take Beau on were Ken to pass away.

“That was the beginning of my years of friendship with Ken. Ken loved animals deeply and was intense in his viewpoint that their lives were just as sacred and just as valuable as our own. Ken was very religious and felt strongly that his God cared equally much for all of the species that were His creations.

“Ken could never understand the arrogance of people who believed that they were superior to other animals simply by virtue of intelligence. It was his view that our intelligence only obligated us to be responsible and compassionate stewards of other species.

When Beau died before Munzert, she says, “it was a loss that Ken never really recovered from.”

Starr never asked Munzert to remember the Richmond SPCA in his will, but, she says, “he was clearly deeply grateful for our willingness to take responsibility for Beau and wanted to make that gratitude clear.”

The Richmond SPCA recently started a new program in the name of Munzert’s dog.

Through Beauregard’s Program, owners can make arrangements for the Richmond SPCA to find homes for their pets after their death. “We decided to name it Beauregard’s Program in honor of the dog whose loving human started it all. Under Beauregard’s Program, we will give loving pet owners the comfort that their pet will be loved and cared for after they are gone.”

Starr visited Munzert’s home shortly after his death, and took with her as a souvenir — it now sits on her desk — an old water bowl she found on the floor. Around the outside of it are written these words: “To man’s best friend, his dog.”