SACRAMENTO — Buzz and Hilda love to ramble around their Elk Grove home, taking naps or chasing after their chew toys by day, curling up in the family room recliner at night.

Nancy King, their devoted owner, doesn’t want that routine to change much once she’s gone. So King, a librarian for the California Energy Commission, set up a pet trust, which spells out exactly how and where her dachshund duo will be cared for, if they outlive her.

King, 67, wanted to ensure that her pets have “as little disruption as possible” once she can no longer care for them.

With an estimated 71.4 million U.S. households home to at least one bird, fish, reptile, cat, dog or bunny, pets are definitely our beloved companions in life. But what happens to them after we’re gone?

Some wind up in animal shelters. Some are euthanized. Others are farmed out to willing family or friends.

But to ensure there’s no uncertainty, it appears more Americans are specifying exactly what happens to Fido and Fluffy when they’re gone. That arrangement can be as casual as a friendly agreement with a grown child, a sibling or friend, or as concrete as a legally drafted trust.

“It’s definitely a trend, and it’s caught on because people understandably value their animals and want to make sure their pets are looked after,” said Mary Randolph, publisher of Berkeley-based Nolo and author of “Every Dog’s Legal Guide: A Must-Have Book for Your Owner.”

How to prepare for your pets’ lives after you’re gone? Here are some choices:

The easy route: The simplest and least costly way is an informal arrangement, asking a trusted friend, neighbor or family member to assume care of your pet should something happen to you. “Make sure the person is willing and able to take your animal, both financially and (life) circumstances,” said Nolo’s Randolph. And since the average dog or cat costs an estimated $1,000 a year in food and vet bills, it’s a good idea to provide some financial help, ideally in either a will or a trust. (For more of Randolph’s tips, look under “Pet Law” at nolo.com.) For those who don’t have a pet caretaker, many animal shelters and organizations such as the SPCA have “guardian care” programs. “Some people simply ask that we find a good, permanent adoptive home for their animal after they’re gone,” said Steve Potter, development director for the Sacramento SPCA. “Some are more specific, like Fluffy doesn’t go to a home with children or to a home with other pets.”

Pet trusts: If you want more assurance and supervision over Fluffy’s long-term care, consider a pet trust, which names a trustee to ensure your wishes are carried out. Sacramento estate planning attorney Mark Drobny has done more than 100 pet trusts over the years, including: The Wilton couple with no kids and seven mules, whose trust names a caretaker to live on their ranch for the mules’ natural lives, which can be 40 years or more. Or the reptile lover, who arrived for an attorney visit with a snake draped around her neck and two more in a carrying case. (Her pet trust places a caretaker in her home until the reptiles’ demise; the remaining estate will be donated toward an SPCA adoption center for turtles, iguanas and other reptiles.) A pet trust can cost from $750 to $2,500, depending on whether it’s part of a new living trust or added to an existing estate plan.