Monthly Archives: March 2016
Somerset – Now the Beautiful Sophia
3/191/16 – Remember Somerset now known as Sophia? Look at her now!
Sophia lost a large section of skin on her chest and front leg. She needed daily body bandages for weeks. It was an extensive healing process that stressed me out beyond belief. Not only was I worried she might not heal, but she was such a risk for viruses because her immune system was so compromised. She also went to Michigan State where they reconstructed her scar tissue. She’s doing great and I’m so happy that our friends Venus and Jeff have adopted her! She is where she belongs and I couldn’t have found a better home for her.♡ Gina
Cookie – Another Sleepover with Gina and Angel
3/19/16 
Cookie Update,
I took this little doll home for the weekend to give her some loving. She had more radiographs taken on Thursday, and now we know why she is so painful. She has a spinal lesion between her 2nd and 3rd cervical vertebrae (neck), she has a calcified disc and spondylosis at T11-12 and disk space narrowing between vertebrae T9 and T10. This is why her back is haunched, her neck hurts, and she is at times unsteady on her feet. She has to wear a harness instead of a collar, restricted jumping, and pain/antiflammatory meds as needed. The injuries don’t look new and we don’t know the cause. All we know is she has been in pain and untreated until she was brought to us. At least now she is being loved and cared for by all of us. ~ Gina
Cole (aka Coal) – Update
3/19/16 – We have had so many tough cases lately that I thought our friends, who have made second chances possible, would enjoy some happy updates. This is Coal (aka Cole). Here was his story in February, 2014 when he was brought dying into the emergency hospital:
“2/7/14 –This under 2 year old male kitty (see first two photos) has been through more than enough in his short little life but his strength and sweetness goes beyond words. Cole recently underwent a major operation because he was having trouble urinating on his own. The decision was made after several attempts to treat urinary tract infections and unblock his urethra. Cole was also treated for an ear infection, intestinal parasites, and fleas. He has been feline leukemia tested negative, vaccinated, dewormed, and neutered. The amazing Dr. Pillsbury and Animal Urgent Care doctors and staff have all been so good to this little lover who has been hospitalized for 4 weeks now. ~ Gina”
Here is Coal today with one of his fur buddies. Thank You Eric Young for taking such good care of him. ~ diana
Carlos – Takes Over Chance’s Facebook Page
3/16/16 – 
Ahem! Ahem! Yep, I’m in the official Cat Room…up on one of the official Cat Beds and doing the official Nitenite post…becuse I’m officially family now! Thankyou everybody for all your congratulations, sweet comments and lovely messages. It means so much to Mom, Aunt Shelly & all of us…especially me😊 We are all going to snuggle in and go nitenite now and we’ll see you all tomorrow! Love, Carlos ❤How’d I do Chance?
Purrrrfect Carlos, Purrrfect
Romeo – Safe and Loved in His Furever HOme
Cookie – Does a Sleepover with Gina
3/17/16 – 
I took Cookie home tonight to give her some love…here she is laying on my lap. She just looks up at me with those lost eyes, but she is coming around. The good thing is, she is receptive to love. Thank you all for the prayers and positive thoughts and any donations towards her medical care. We are going to work on scheduling to remove her mammary mass/infection and spay her this week. Paws crossed for a safe recovery and a non-cancerous biopsy result. Gina
Buttercup – Recovering
3/17/16 – 
Buttercup update..
This puppy has come a long way. She had a very large open wound (fistulas) around her anus due to ruptured anal glands. The skin was gone and she was a huge risk for incontinence and ultimately humane euthanasia. We took her into our care just before it was too late to save her. Dr. Graves provided a detailed treatment plan consisting of several medications required to save Buttercup. It worked awesome and we are all so thankful!!! It has been 2 weeks of hospitalization and I can say that Buttercup is ready for the next chapter in her journey. Thank you for all the prayers, and if you made a donation towards her care to help us, we certainly appreciate it!! Buttercup needs to be fixed and vaccinated and then she is ready to find that forever home!! ♡♡♡ Gina
Cookie – In Severe Pain and Great Fear
3/16/16 – 
I wanted to post an update and let everyone know how she’s doing. The last 24 hours we have closely observed behaviors in Cookie that strongly suggests fear and pain. She is very traumatized and in need of someone who will hold her and love her. Last night spinal radiographs were taken because she has possible trauma to her neck/spine. The fact that she is super terrified on top of it makes it hard to diagnose pain from fear. She has not made a sound since she arrived and we know she is hurting. We started her on pain management and she is finally eating small amounts. She will only eat for a couple of us because she is very nervous about trusting anyone. I just got her to eat some chicken from my hand and last night she ate some turkey for me. Once she is healthy enough we will get her fixed and then address the mammary gland abscess. Thank you, Gina
Cookie – Given Away and Then Dumped
3/15/16- She was given away to a relative because her previous owner could no longer care for her. The relative kept her for 3 months, and then decided to dump her in a school parking lot. This dog didn’t realize she was being dumped and left on the street, so she followed the relative to another family member’s home nearby. That family member had this dog for 1-3 weeks and claimed they couldn’t get her to eat. Last night when the call came into the emergency vet hospital, the story was that a stray dog had appeared on this person’s porch 3 weeks ago and “it is now dying”. The hospital offered to see the “stray dog” and assess her current state. The family members that brought her in strongly smelled like Marijuana. They set her on the exam table. She was very thin, twitching, and off balance. It is possible that she was exposed to a drug or unknown toxin, but she did not appear to be dying.
That is when the story kept changing, and finally, what we now assume to be the truth, was told. We were able to get the owner to surrender the dog to 4 Paws 1 Heart so that we could try to save this little lost soul. That’s the best outcome for this very sweet girl who did not deserve this. It literally breaks my heart every single day, and when I held this little 12 pound life in my arms I didn’t want to let her go. She was wagging her tail at the slightest bit of attention given to her. She refused food and hung her head low when placed in a cage. I promised her a good life from now on…I told her that she will be ok now…and that we will make sure she is loved and treated right for the rest of her life.
I’m putting this story out here for awareness because the reality is that animals are getting thrown away. We can get upset and judge the previous family all day long, but at the end of the day this 7 year old dog is starting her life over. Her world is upside down and she has no idea nor is she holding a grudge. We can just be thankful that she found her way to our organization.
I would like to close by saying that I do not enjoy asking our supporters for donations, but this is another example of where your dollars are going and why we need you so much. This girl needs medical care that will consist of supportive care and surgery. I estimate it will cost between $600-$1000. Please consider helping her today even if you say a small prayer.
Thank you, Gina