Our mission is to reduce the number of homeless cats & dogs by paying for needed medical treatment and assisting with the permanent placement of these animals through our partnerships with local rescue groups.
8/24/22 – Daisy was brought into Advanced Animal Emergency when he was found with a gun shot wound to his paw. We were contacted by the hospital to see if we could help. Daisy’s paw was successfully treated and she was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time. While in the hospital, a woman was there with her own animal and she was asked if she would like to adopt Daisy, she said she couldn’t but knew someone who would — her mom and dad. Daisy is very sweet and getting lots of love. She will be getting spayed and vaccinated and will be on her way to a wonderful life. – diana
8/23/22 – Wilder Update. You might remember that Wilder is a friendly feline who showed up in a cat colony we were assisting along with the help of Debbie, owner of Comfort’s Place. Wilder tested positive for the deadly disease, Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). He just recently started an experimental drug which has proven to be very successful (in our experience) but until it is approved by the FDA, it continues to be very expensive to utilize. Here is an update from Wilder’s rescuer and foster mom:
“Wilder has now made it into his second week (today is day 11) of his GS treatment for his ocular/neurological FIP. His first week was full of ups and downs, one day he seemed to do a little better and the next he seemed worse again. After this last weekend, I can definitely say he seems a tad better. Friday’s are our weigh in day since that is the day of the week that we first started his treatment. He weighed in at 5.4 lbs–a 1 lb gain for Wilder as he was 4.4 lbs at diagnosis. Yay! His gait seems to be a bit better and he isn’t shaking constantly like he was. You can still tell he is a bit off when he tries to walk or run, and his third eyelid in the left eye is still showing on and off in that one eye. I am also happy to report that his appetite has returned! We are coming down to the almost halfway point with his tablets, so I will keep in touch with Deb. So far, we have raised only $230 ($225.92 after fees) toward his medication. We are planning a bake sale for the week of the 29th to hopefully get more toward the remaining medication he needs. Geez, it is absolutely brutal raising any funds for anything right now. We won’t give up! Thank you for all of your help with this sweet boy, we greatly appreciate it. – Jessica”
Dear Friends, your donations do make a difference. Not only in saving one life, but as a village, we are committed to using every resource possible to make a difference in the lives of the animals we love and who give us unconditional love. We pray there will be a time when the scientists have the time to review and approve these drugs so that it can reduce the cost and make them more available for use by the average family and rescuer. Thank you in advance for any help you can give. – diana
He was about 12 weeks of treatment and was examined and the FIP was confirmed with one of our doctors. The pills are between $70 and $90 each and the dose is based on weight and changes as the cat hopefully starts recovering. The total cost can be between $1,500 to $2,000. But every case taken on can be further proof of its efficacy. There are advocates trying to get this approved for standard treatment. – diana.
Sharing information about a possible, new deadly virus.
We are getting questions from our clients about this illness that has been seen in Northern Michigan, and now is being reported on social media here in Macomb County. We don’t know much but here is a link to an article from Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine Diagnostic Lab. It appears to be a viral vomiting and diarrhea illness similar to parvo virus in younger and mostly unvaccinated dogs. For now I would consider keeping my pets away from areas where lots of dogs congregate like dog parks and even daycare. If we learn more legitimate information I will share it here. – Orion Animal Hospital
8/22/22 – On August 18, 2022 we posted about Lady and asked for prayers for her pending surgery which was August 19. Lady was found by a very caring Detroit EMS worker who found Lady rummaging through the garbage. In the past week, Lady started showing signs of distress and was losing weight. Lady was taken to a veterinary clinic where an obstruction in her stomach was found. Although we tried to get Lady into a clinic the same day the original vet would perform the surgery, we weren’t able to get her in until the following day. The appointment was made with our amazing doctors at Orion Animal Hospital (which anyone who has tried to get a pet into a clinic over the past two years would agree, was amazing). And, very sincerely, this says everything about Dr. Zalac and her staff who are always placing an animal in need above all else.
On Friday morning I received a personal message from Dr. Zalac:
“Lady was 22 lb. and should weigh at least 40 lb. The previous vet didn’t send the x rays so I did my own and confirmed foreign material within her intestine. We explored and found multiple foreign objects from the stomach to the small intestine with a string connecting them all together. This is called a linear foreign body. Along the line of the string there were numerous bowel ruptures with leaking intestinal contents (i.e. bacteria) into the abdomen. One area of rupture was particularly challenging as it was a deep rupture between the stomach, small intestine and pancreas. I made the difficult decision to contact the rescuer and recommend euthanasia as her prognosis was guarded to poor. As the rescuer was considering this decision, Lady started having even more trouble with blood pressure and anesthesia, so I called again and told her there was really nothing to be done. We let her go while she was anesthetized.”
Chelsea, Lady’s rescuer, contacted me the following morning. She had been exhausted from crying over Lady and contacted me after receiving my e mail the next day advising we would cover Lady’s private cremation. I was thankfully able to contact Dr. Zalac at home on Saturday afternoon and asked if we could have Lady privately cremated. The vet office had been closed already and the doctor called the crematory who advised that Lady had not yet been cremated and they would be able to cremate her privately.
Lastly, through several contacts with Chelsea, Chelsea said: “Thank you for everything. I can’t say enough how grateful I am that you and your organization exist. If we weren’t able to get her into surgery to find out the problem I’m sure she would have passed in pain, although she never cried or showed complaint in anyway, I did notice in the short time I had her that if she hurt herself or I accidentally stepped on her foot she didn’t yelp or anything which I found odd but idk if a prior owner abused her if she made noise or that was just her own choice….Thank you so much!! She wouldn’t be coming home without you. I am forever grateful. I’m so glad she saw your message. I will feel a lot better I think having her ashes here. It has already been quite an adjustment as Lady was literally glued to my side no matter where I went for the last 2 months. I think I would just feel more at ease if she were at home.”
May you rest in peace sweet Lady. Just know that you were very loved in your final days in this life. – diana
8/19/22 – As we mark our 12th year of making a difference in the lives of the homeless, I ask for your continued support. Without the generosity of our supporters, veterinary hospitals, and good samaritans, so many animals would be forced to die on the street — alone and prey for others.
You might remember Honey and Sweet Potato. They were trapped together in that Sweet Potato had been by the side of his buddy for weeks. Honey had a wound on his back and his eye appeared injured. After Honey was trapped his finder reported that Honey’s eye appeared to be missing. Honey was barely moving but he was still breathing and enjoyed being petted.
Honey and Sweet Potato were both seen by one of our partner vets and Sweet Potato was tested, vaccinated, and neutered and it turned out that he also had a wound on his back which was treated. Honey had to have his eye removed so his neuter was scheduled for the same time as the eye surgery. His wound was treated on his first visit.
Today everyone has been taken care of and are doing good. They both are looking for their furever home so if you have that purrfect family, please contact Melissa at: [email protected]
Here is a post surgery photo of Honey and photos when the boys were first trapped. – diana.
8/18/22 – Happy 12th Anniversary to 4 Paws 1 Heart and those once orphans who are still enjoying their second chance at life because of our many donors, rescuers, and veterinary partners.
Today, I ask for your prayers and good vibes for Lady. Tomorrow she will be undergoing surgery for an obstruction which may have been in place since she was found rummaging in garbage for food. Yesterday, I received the following e mail requesting help:
“I found a sweet pit in my garbage rummaging for food about 2 months ago. She came right up to me and rolled over so I could pet her tummy. I was on my way to work at that time (I work 911 in Detroit), I opened the car door to see if she wanted to come with me and she hopped right in. My partner and I bathed her and got her food. She was slowly gaining weight and then about a week and a half ago she stopped eating then suddenly lost so much weight. I took her to vet and they did X-rays. She has a bowel obstruction.”
We worked through out yesterday to try and get her into one of our doctors and, thankfully, Dr. Zalac will be doing her surgery tomorrow. Lady has had a bowel movement so we know it isn’t a total obstruction and her rescuer has been in contact with the initial doctor who diagnosed her. Thank you for your support! – diana.
Lady and I say thank you! For all your thoughts and prayers. She is resting peacefully right now in the bed with me before her surgery tomorrow. This picture is from last night at work. She loves to inspect the ambulances to make sure they are ok! -Chelsea
8/18/22 – Today is our 12th Anniversary and Muffins’ continuing journey is just one of thousands of challenges we have faced over the past 12 years. Only with your donations can we give these orphans a second chance. – diana. P.O. Box 84 St Clair Shores, MI 48080
Happy 12 th anniversary to an organization I’m blessed to call home. 4 paws 1 heart brings balance to my life in such a rewarding way. We are able to give so many animals a 2nd chance at a wonderful happy loving life. The updates and the difference we have made makes my heart full. I’m grateful for all of the doctors, staff, supporters, family, friends, and board members for everything you do to complete us. It takes a village. There are challenging cases all the time and Diana works endlessly on 4 paws 1 heart. Thank you Diana for all you do every single day.. Have a wonderful day everyone
Update: 8/17/22 Six weeks of medication every single day, nebulizing with saline in a chamber 1 to 3 times a day, 3 different oral liquid antibiotics, wiping her nose every hour all day every day, 3 different kinds of eye medication, several trials of food until finding the perfect one for a kitten who couldn’t smell, a horrible ear infection treated with a topical, and FINALLY an answer to how to cure this. Muffins tested positive for Mycoplasma on pcr 4 weeks ago but despite treatment her nasal discharge wasn’t any better. Last Friday I sedated her to culture her nasal discharge again, flush her snot, run bloodwork, x rays of her sinuses and chest, fungal culture and yesterday part of her test came in. She has a bacteria called “Proteus Mirabilis” in her nose and it is treated with an antibiotic called Zeniquin. It runs $120 for a script. It was ordered today and she will hopefully be better after the treatment. This has been extremely stressful to not have answers and watch her struggle to breath. I’m very relieved at this point and I’m praying for this to go away. Thank you to everyone involved and especially 4 paws 1 heart for paying for her care Bambi Pesti Hartter and her friend for donating toys, food, and supplies. Lindsey Bate for meeting wth me today and donating a few pills to get her started right away, and we still have a long way to go with basic veterinary care, vaccines, spaying, etc. But for now if she can recover from this I’d be ecstatic! -Gina
8/17/22 – One more day before our 12th Anniversary and the serious cases keep coming. This is Aaron. It was late June when he was literally dumped on the porch of a rescue friend who we’ve helped with many cat cases. The person ‘dumping’ was actually caught on camera. The little guy was about 3 months old and appeared to have a hernia and it also looked like his tail had been slammed in a door in that it was crooked.
We arranged for him to be seen by one of our partner vets. The hernia was confirmed but Aaron was also found to have a heart murmur and suggested he be seen by a cardiologist before having any surgery. We then approved his cardiology visit which was done on July 27. There it was found that Aaron has an abnormal muscular ridge in the middle of his right ventricle which increases the resistance to blood flow through the right side of his heart. The doctor recommended treating Aaron with a beta-blocker to reduce the resistance to blood flow and believed that Aaron was able to be anesthetized.
On August 13, Aaron had his hernia and neuter surgery with one of the best vets in our community, Dr. Zalac, and he came through with “flying colors”. His foster mom tells me that he is now on his daily meds and acting “like the wild child that he is”.
Never think that your donations don’t make a difference. These little lives would never go on without our supporters. – diana.
Thank you for taking care of Aaron. Although at first I was angry he was dumped on my porch, I truly believe God knew what he was doing, as thanks to 4Paws1Heart he has a fighting chance to live a good life however long that might be. Had he been dumped anywhere else I shudder to think what would have become of him. Please donate to help other Aaron’s.- Patricia
8/16/22 – And we continue to lead in to our 12th Anniversary of changing the lives of orphans and those amazing people who save them. Besides the many serious cases which we are currently handling, we have taken on the medical care for TNR projects. Here are some of the cats and kittens found in a mobile home park and some on a golf course which was looking for help. I once again want to thank All About Animals Rescue, Comfort’s Place, and the Humane Society of St. Clair Clair because without them we could not afford to assist the thousands of cats tnr’d in the past 12 years. Fuzzy, Old Gray, Mama, Red, Sammy, were found in a mobile home park where there are some 20 cats needing tnr. Twin Lakes 1, 2, and 3 were just taken in with about another 17 more to catch.
Just think, if everyone who ‘liked’ our posts gave a donation of $5 each, we could ‘rule the world’. Just kidding — but you can imagine the good we could continue to do. Thank YOU in advance.- diana.
