2/8/25 Baxter Update. A crew from a fire department in Detroit was taking care of this stray kitty, who kept wandering in and out of the department. One of the guys named Leo, had a soft spot the stray said he’d love to take him home, but was afraid of how he would do since he was an outdoor cat. One day, the kitty now named “Baxter” showed up with severe trauma to his right eye and it needed to be removed.
We were contacted for help and offered to pay for surgery, neutering and vetting. Baxter is now living his best life with the firefighter and he has no desire to go back outside ever again.
2/6/25 – I had to post a quick update on Cocoa Bean, who is now named JoJo.
We always say that it takes a village, and that is the truth especially in this case of neglect. I was able to see this sweet girl yesterday to recheck her weight and to say my heart was full, is an understatement. JoJo gained 20 pounds since her last visit!
She lived her entire 14 year life, tied to a tree, sleeping on the concrete through all types of weather. She was malnourished, bald spots all over from the pavement, she had parasites, a bladder infection, arthritis, she was broken and defeated.
Until, it took one person who would not give up to start the ball rolling and ultimately save this girl who I believe, would have frozen to death this winter.
I feel fortunate to have been a part of her new journey in life and because of your support, we were able help get JoJo onto the best path.
2/4/25. His new name is Albert which totally suits this handsome boy. He was brought into a local vet hospital after showing up at someone’s door during the frigid temperatures that we had. He was desperately crying to come in and had gotten into a fight with another cat outside. There were scratches all over his face, side, and neck. The rescuer suspected he was dumped. No microchip, not neutered, and no one came looking for him.
We offered to help get him examined, neutered, and vaccinated. His rescuers fell in love and decided to give him a forever home inside where he belongs.
2/3/25 Happy Monday! Meet Wolfie and Beryl two very cute kitties who were found playing outside together with not a care in the world. The rescuer contacted us for help to get them checked out and in a better situation. They will never be homeless again. Thank you for your continued support.
Effective tomorrow, February 1, 2025, 4 paws 1 heart will be turning over a new chapter in the journey of 4 Paws 1 Heart. With much thought, I will be moving on to my ‘second retirement’ and turning over leadership to our Co-Founder and Passionate Animal Advocate, Gina DeLuca Jenio. As many of you know, Gina is a licensed veterinary technician whom over the past 15 years has not only been an integral part of 4 paws 1 heart but has continued to be a rescuer, a foster, and an adopter. Gina is the reason that I, along with a couple of colleagues from Leadership Macomb, created an organization that would fund the medical treatment of stray, abused, and abandoned animals in Michigan–predominantly in Macomb, Wayne, Oakland, and Genesee Counties. To date, we are $5,000 away from reaching the $2 million mark of funding medical treatment for stray animals. And, this could not have happened without the financial support of so many generous animal advocates in our communities.
I sincerely appreciate the thousands of people who have supported our organization and helped make our mission a reality. We’ve been blessed to have so many veterinary hospitals as our partners — Patterson Veterinary Hospital, Orion Animal Hospital, Five Mile Animal Hospital, Moore Veterinary Hospital, Center LIne Animal Hospital, Comfort’s Place Affordable Spay and Neuter Clinic, Animal Rescue Services, all of the All About Animals locations, Groesbeck Animal Hospital, West Flint Animal Hospital, The Kitty Clinic, The Paws Clinic, Humane Society of St. Clair, Pawsitive Steps Rehabilitation & Sports and Advanced Animal Emergency. The doctors and the staffs have been beyond amazing to work with especially during a very difficult time which started with Covid and continues to impact the ability of our veterinary hospitals to meet the needs of our stray animal communities.
And of course, we would not be needed if there weren’t the many good Samaritans in our communities saving and caring for stray and abused animals every day. I can’t express my sincere appreciation for the many relationships I’ve built with rescuers, donors, doctors, and vet staffs over the past 15 years. Some of which will be lifelong.
So, in closing, I’ll still be around to assist Gina with some of the ‘back office’ stuff but no longer the ‘face’. Thank you and sending much love and God’s blessings to our many friends. diana
1/31/25 – To close out January–a Happy Update but first:
11/25/24 – On October 31 we posted Pooh’s story. He was found on the street by a friend of Brooke’s. The friend took care of having Pooh vaccinated and neutered but it became obvious that he had something wrong with an eye — it turned out to be a condition called entropion which will result in blindness. The friend could not afford this and Brooke decided to take him in and ask us for help.
Pooh had his surgery and this past Friday Brooke sent us the following update: “Living his best life we moved to a bigger home and he’s loving it with his kitten brother 🩷 – Brooke” Today his new mom advised that Pooh has gained 4 lbs. since his rescue and is now the “King of the House”. Here are some photos of Pooh’s journey. – diana
1/30/25 – Scottie, a neighborhood stray, is said to have been thrown out by his family when they were evicted from their home. A good Samaritan, Shannon, had been feeding him but one day he showed up looking as if he had a face wound (although it looks like he is bleeding from the eye, it wasn’t); she could also see a small chest wound. Eventually she was able to get within 20 feet of him and catch him. Shannon brought Scottie (named after her uncle who also was “a rascal”) to a vet where he had two visits to treat his wounds and an upper respiratory infection but he still needed full vetting and she did not have enough funds to cover that. Shannon had Scottie in a large crate in her basement while he was recovering and hoped to make him her inside pet once he was tested for fiv/felv, vaccinated, and neutered.
We authorized Scottie to be treated at Five Mile Animal Hospital. Today Scottie is being tested, vaccinated, and neutered. We hope that Scottie will learn the value of being a family cat and be fully recovered soon. – diana https://4paws1heart.org/donations/
1/29/25 – It was January 3, 2025 when I was contacted by Julie who is with Kitty Kat Rescue. Jack had showed up at a cat colony which had a caretaker. The poor kitty, at 16 pounds and intact, was being picked on by the other cats in the colony and his food was being eaten by the others.
The owners of the colony said they thought maybe he had something wrong with his eyes so Julie agreed to take him in and once Julie had him she thought he was partially blind and also thought he had the “eyelid condition where his eyelashes are scratching the corneas”. She estimated Jack to be four or five years old and said he is a little teddy bear. Julie did take him to All About Animals where he tested negative for fiv/felv and he received his rabies vaccine. But she did not have the funds to take care of his eye issues.
Jack was seen by one of the veterinary doctors at Orion Animal Hospital where it was determined that Jack does have entropion of his lower lid. Again, this is a condition where the eyelashes have grown into the eye and if left untreated, will result in blindness. Jack is scheduled for surgery which will include neutering and a distemper vaccine. He will be looking for his furever home but is safe and happy in the mean time. – diana
1/27/25 – Baby Boots, about 9 months old, showed up at the right house in early December. The family took her into their home and contacted us to see if we could assist with getting Baby Boots tested, vaccinated, and spayed. Baby Boots was taken to our partner veterinary hospital and her rescuer made sure she was microchipped so she would never be homeless again. – diana
1/27/25 – Toucan jumped in Kim’s vehicle while she was trying to rescue an injured kitten. Toucan was very emaciated and his fur was severely matted. Kim took him to get groomed and with a little time he started to gain some weight but now it appears he is having trouble eating. He will be seen at one of our partner clinics for an assessment of the issue and what will be required to get him healthy. Kim named him Toucan because he loves to hang out on shoulders. – diana
