He’s been in solitary for years–locked in a cage or bathroom. Standing in his own urine and feces. He was never allowed outside. He received no love and his only communication was someone yelling at him. He was flea infested, had a wounded tail, and most of his teeth are missing from trying to bite out of the cage he was kept in. He was finally rescued by someone aware of the situation but unable to help for years.
That person immediately took Max to All About Animals to be treated for fleas, and tested for heart worm. Unfortunately, Max tested positive for heart worm and was started on his 30-day pre-treatment.
4 paws 1 heart will cover his heart worm treatment and neuter at one of our partner veterinary clinics. Please pray for Max that his body and spirit can recover from so much abuse. – diana https://4paws1heart.org/donations/ P.O. Box 84, St. Clair Shores, MI. 48080
1/17/25 – Hollow was one of two, black, 12 week-old kittens who were rescued with their mom. Their rescuer, Amber, who contacted us on October 20, discovered a colony of cats/kittens near her job. Her plan was to TNR approximately 5 other cats she had seen but was able to catch the mom and two kittens more easily and felt she could socialize them first.
The one kitten, Hollow, had an infected eye which was oozing pus and Amber was afraid she was blind. We authorized the sick kitty, Hollow, to be seen at a full service partner veterinary hospital and the others were authorized at All About Animals. Hollow was seen and thankfully did not need the eye removed.
She was given meds which cleared up the infection totally. She was also tested, vaccinated and spayed there. In my follow up with Amber,
I learned she had a horrible house fire where only Hollow had survived; her other pets and mom and baby were also lost. Please say an extra prayer for Amber and her family. – diana https://4paws1heart.org/donations/
1/16/25 – It was mid-October when we were contacted about Summer who had taken up residence between the rescuer’s home and her neighbor’s. After about a week of feeding Summer and carefully offering her pets, Summer started to feel comfortable enough for Colleen, the rescuer, to have her checked for a micro-chip; unfortunately, there was none. Colleen couldn’t take in the cat because she had a prey-driven dog and her son was allergic to cats. She had contacted several rescues without success.
I suggested she contact Rosie’s Kitty Catfé and tell them that if they could help with placement, we could take care of the medical–we’ve worked together in the past. Happily, Rosie’s was able to get a foster and Summer was transferred within a couple of days and was tested, vaccinated, and spayed complements of 4 paws 1 heart.
In December I checked in with Colleen and learned that Summer was doing great, was still with the foster, and had a possible adopter. It truly takes a Village.- diana https://4paws1heart.org/donations/
1/15/25 – Over the 15 years I’ve been taking care of the operational needs of 4 paws 1 heart, I have met (personally and in-writing) so many amazing people with huge hearts for animals. The family who saved Big Boss is one of those people.
It was December 30 when Nancy contacted us. Earlier that day as her son was letting out their dogs a “little beauty” invited himself into her home. Nancy advised that he was the tiniest and sweetest orange and white kitty she’d ever seen. Upon further inspection, though, Nancy noticed what she thought was a missing eye: the kitty was also very thin and sneezing. Understandably, Nancy was hesitant to let the kitty stay in the house because she didn’t want anything contagious to be passed on to her pets so she set up a comfortable spot in her garage with a warm bed, food, and some toys and checked on him every hour.. The little sweetheart was just full of love and snuggles.
But from a personal standpoint, this baby’s rescuer, a 911 dispatcher, was unable to cover any medical expenses for this sweet orphan. Nancy had her own medical issues, is a single mom with two children, and was paying the medical bills for a friend with stage 4 cancer. But she couldn’t turn her back on this very sweet kitten who the family quickly fell in love with and who quickly fell in love with them.
The son named him Big Boss because even as a little orphan, this kitty was pretty bossy and quickly getting used to the good life. We authorized Big Boss to be seen at Orion Animal Hospital where the doctor diagnosed an upper respiratory infection; there was an eye but because of the infection, his eyelid was closed. Big Boss was given medication for the infection and later was tested, vaccinated, and neutered. Today he is doing great. He is “besties” with the family’s pet dog — they can never be far apart from each other.
As said many times — it truly takes a Village to save those most vulnerable in our communities. Thank you to the rescuers, our veterinary partners, and our supporters! – diana https://4paws1heart.org/donations/ P.O. Box 84, St. Clair Shores, MI. 48080
1/12/25 – On December 21, 5-week old Coraline was found under Bev’s husband’s car. They took her to an emergency hospital where she was told that Coraline had a pelvic injury which would heal on its own. She had no use of her back leg; they gave her gabapentin . She wasn’t urinating or defecating on her own at the time although she is now. She was eating and drinking on her own.
The rescuers continued to be concerned and took to their vet. The doctor there said Coraline had a fractured pelvis and no use of her back legs as well as no control of her bowels and bladder, although the rescuer said that she had been going regularly on her own. The vet did x rays, etc. and said they would get an opinion from an orthopedic. The vet thought Coraline was in pretty bad shape.
The orthopedic report stated that the fractures appear to be healing on their own. Also, Bev reports that Coraline is doing a little walking. Somewhere along the line Coraline was diagnosed with a hernia. So, with the good news from the orthopedic, we authorized Coraline to be tested (if not done already), vaccinated, and spayed which would include the repair for the hernia.
The rescuers fell very much in love with this beautiful girl and have already spent a great deal of their own money to help in her recovery. She is on crate rest and will be seen by our partner veterinary at Orion Animal Hospital. – diana https://4paws1heart.org/donations/
1/11/25 – RIP Grandpa. Grandpa showed up at Joann’s door a few around New Year’s Day. He had been around her home in the past; he would come and go. According to Joann, when he showed up that day he was in bad shape. She was able to get him into her small bathroom to care for him. He was limping badly on his front left leg. He had a few wounds on his back and sounded congested with eye discharge. He also had a lump on the right side of his face/neck. He is an older cat, not a kitten and he appeared to have been neutered. He was very skinny.
We authorized Grandpa to be seen at Patterson Veterinary Hospital; he was seen yesterday, January 10. Unfortunately, Grandpa has a tumor the size of a baseballl in his left front arm pit which was causing his limp. He was physically in very bad shape with an infection, the tumor, the weight loss and many wounds on his body. He also tested positive for FIV. Both the doctor and Joann believed the best option for senior Grandpa was humane euthanasia. Joann, understandably, was totally heartbroken over this outcome but she took comfort in knowing that Grandpa knew love in his final days with lots of attention from her, a warm bed, delicious food, and treats.
Joann said he was a fighter and thanked our organization for what we do to help “these beautiful souls”. We couldn’t do it without YOU! – diana
1/10/25 – I just had to post Oliver Winston’s story as I received it on January 7, 2025
“Hello, I was referred to you by someone who said you might be able to help us with our stray cats. On January 1st, 2025 I heard meowing for the 5th time and I followed it like I always did. It sounded like it came from outside but this time, I followed the noise to a vent in my house and noticed the flaps were closed off. I opened them to find the cutest big yellow eyes and orange little head peeking through meowing. This little guy was under the house for about a week and in our vents. He was so scared and dehydrated and hungry. We just fell in love with him. My son’s birthday was yesterday. He has been wishing for an orange little kitten and it literally popped up in the vent. lol However, I am concerned about his breathing and lungs. And I can not afford to get this cat his shots, or get him fixed. We would love to keep him. I just need help with shots and getting fixed. Any help would be greatly appreciated. – Donyelle”
Well, of course, we were able to say “YES” to this handsome little guy. He’s authorized to be treated, tested, vaccinated, and neutered at Orion Animal Hospital.
These kitties can pop up in strange places and Oliver Winston is the second case we’ve received in the past couple of weeks for a cat found in one of the house’s vents. He will be in great hands. – diana
1/10/25 – Meet Emerald and Furry Krueger. Emerald was one of three kittens dropped off at Jessica’s home — we have helped Jessica with prior rescues and all have found their way into loving homes. A little girl told Jessica that kitten she was able to catch was named Emerald. Shortly after Jessica had contacted us about Emerald she contacted us about the Furry Krueger. Jessica had turned on her street after leaving Kroger’s and there was a litter of three kittens just hanging out in the middle of the road. There is a gated area for a small business and they were all running from there. Furry Krueger went in the live trap within 5 minutes but when Jessica went back to catch his siblings 2 days later the owner of the business was verbally abusive and threatened her. He said that he feeds a feral colony and wants them as shop cats. Jessica tried to explain that the cats needed to be TNR’d. There appeared to be a mom with kittens and other cats hanging out there. She told the business owner that it was important to remove the kittens before they were hit by a car but he didn’t want to hear it. She didn’t know if she would be able to catch the other two kittens without making him angry but she is very concerned for the safety of the other 2 kittens–they just run back and forth from his area to a neighbor across the street– a very sad situation. She saw 2 deceased cats in that area within the last month. It’s so very frustrating with so many ignorant people in our communities when even offered assistance, refuse to spay/neuter stray cats and allow them to propagate like weeds. More authority and dollars are needed by our municipal animal control shelters to take strays from the streets and at least pay for the neuter/spay — even if it means returning this back to the streets from which they came. Instead, very often the situations are either ignored or people are fined and the authority just walks away without actually taking care of the problem which is leaving cats without being spayed/neutered.
Furry Krueger is very sweet and follows Jessica wherever she goes and loves to ‘make bread’ as we say in the cat world. Emerald is doing good and Jessica will again be looking for furever homes for her little rescues.
If you are interested, please contact Jessica at: [email protected]. – diana
1/10/25 – We were contacted by the son-in-law of the man who rescued Buddy from the streets of Detroit. An owner could not be located and the family wanted to give this very sweet dog a furever loving home.
Buddy was seen at Orion Animal Hospital for testing, vaccinations and neuter. Thankfully, Buddy, is no longer on the streets, especially during this frigid weather. – diana
1/8/25 – As the rescuer, Lisa, said, “Who names a kitten Baby Sheriff?” Well she did and she has fallen in love with him. Baby Sheriff came into Lisa’s life around Thanksgiving when he came up to her while she was walking back from the store in the pouring rain. She couldn’t turn him away and brought him home. When Lisa called All About Animals to make an appointment she was told that appointments were 6 months out and they told her to contact 4 paws 1 heart. Lisa did just that and now Sheriff Baby will be tested, vaccinated, and neutered at Five Mile Animal Hospital with one of our favorites, Dr. Mina. We are thankful for the many generous people who made donations over the holidays even though the economy continues to be difficult.
Orphans like Sheriff Baby would die on the streets if it weren’t for our amazing village. – diana
