Lewis is sick and our friends at Better Life Canine Center needed help!! Lewis was saved from a shelter, went through Heartworm Treatment a few months ago, and is now sick :-(. He’s was tested to determine if he still has a few live heartworms, and for some reason he’s lethargic, vomitting, and has other stomach problems too. 4 Paws 1 Heart is happy to send some medical dollars to help Lewis.
Category Archives: Dogs/Puppies
Ruby Got Adopted
Foster mom to Ruby (Joanne) in the middle, and now proud parents on the ends.. Huge thanks to Joanne for your love and commitment to many of our 4 paws 1 heart animals. Joanne is also the one that rescued Snickers and brought him to us for emergency medical care. She is GREAT!!! ~ Gina
R.I.P. Sweet Annie
It is with a very heavy heart that I post the following from Gina ~ diana:
“R.I.P. Sweet Annie…
Our sweet Annie was humanely euthanized the other evening because she was getting progressively worse. It was a heartbreaking decision but she let me know it was time. Annie had no further will to live; I think her spirit began to die that day, January 15, 2013, when she was hit by a car.
When Annie arrived to the emergency, it took us several hours just to stabilize her because her body was ‘crashing’ from being in a critical state of shock. She had at least seven broken ribs, nerve damage in her leg, a broken tooth, and trauma to her liver, and probably more that we don’t even know existed. Maybe I should have let her go then but I would have always wondered if we could have saved her. I wanted to try for her and for the sake of finding her owners and giving them the chance to continue her care or say goodbye to her.
4 Paws 1 Heart is about giving animals like Annie a second chance. Funding for medical care is very expensive and a ‘stray’ animal is generally put down immediately because of cost and the lack of an owner. This is where our group has been fortunate enough to make miracles happen for injured stray animals.
Annie had a guarded to grave prognosis from the start but we did everything in our power to save her life. We really believed that with love and everyone’s prayers, she could recover. But, her injuries were too severe. After eight days of intensive care, Annie officially gave up and I couldn’t let her suffer. The doctors did all they could do and said that we went above and beyond for her, so I knew we made the right decision.
I got down and held her tightly, kissed her on her forehead, and told her what a special, sweet girl she was as she slipped away in my arms. No more pain…
Our group wants to thank all of you for your support and for all of the prayers you said for Annie during her hospitalization. I will never forget her. ~ Gina”
Annabelle: Protect Your Pet
This story occurred last week-end but because we wanted to protect the dog, we wanted to control the information but now we have the story and the happy ending.
A personal and 4 Paws 1 Heart friend who has adopted a couple of homeless kittens and dogs, found this senior German shepherd mix roaming the streets of Detroit. Although the dog appeared to be well taken care of, there was no collar or identification tags. After searching through the area, he took the dog home, contacted us, and proceeded to try to locate the owner through “For the Love of Louie” and a Craigs List posting. 4 Paws 1 Heart agreed to cover the medical costs for the dog to be taken to the vet for a check up (as well as check for a micro chip). And our friend paid for Front line application.
Our friend took the dog to the vet and the female dog was found to be about 10-12 years old, very arthritic, had a bloated belly making her appear pregnant, unspayed, and with a mammary tumor. Our friend kept the very sweet and friendly dog in his home while still trying to find the owner and then, miraculously, the dog’s owner ended up going to the emergency to see if the staff had seen a dog meeting their lost dog’s description. Through what we feel is fate, Gina happened to be in the ‘front’ and heard the conversation and everything the people said met the description of the dog found by our friend.
The bottom line — Yes, this beautiful sweet dog did belong to the people who just happened to walk into the emergency at the right time. They had been searching for a week but didn’t know about media like “Louie’s” or Craigs List. After carefully making sure of the ownership and Gina having a very serious discussion with the owners about their responsibilities, the family and dog were reunited.
Although we all had some consternation about the fact that this very mild-mannered dog had not been spayed and not properly tagged, the bottom line is that this dog did belong to a family and, outside of the medical issues, seemed to have been well taken care of and loved. The family and the dog, our friend named her Annabelle, left with a collar with the family’s number on the inside and a stern warning that should the dog get lost again, they may never see her again.
The obvious moral to the story is to make sure that your pets are always secured on your property. Never leave it to chance that all gates are closed and locked. You never know when a meter reader or others may inadvertently leave a gate open; watch for holes dug under you fence; and most importantly spay/neuter, microchip, and have an identification tag and collar on your pet. ~ diana
Vixen, a 12 Week Old Yorkie Puppy
1/20/13 This is Vixen. A 12-week old, yorkie puppy that needed surgery to save her life. Without major surgery to remove the intestines that were being strangulated inside of this puppy, she would have died in a matter of hours. Tiny, and weighing in at only 1.05 pounds, this puppy survived the surgery two nights ago and she is recovering great! Thanks goes to Dr. Venet and LVT Dawn who literally saved this puppy’s life. 4 Paws 1 Heart, is paying for all medical care and hear is a photo of Vixen giving me kisses the day following surgery. How something like this could have happened, we will never know because it was a rare case. Part of her intestine had to be removed and for such a tiny puppy this was a miracle that wouldn’t have happened without our awesome staff! I’m so lucky to have the opportunity to work with such amazing people! ~ Gina
1/20/13 – Vixen’s belly is stapled closed and an IV catheter is in place to keep her stable while she heals from major abdominal surgery. She is on IV antibiotics, pain medication, and receives several blood draws to make sure she is healing properly. Her intestines were strangulated cutting off blood supply, not allowing function, and causing severe pain, shock, infection, and necrotic tissue.
Prayers are welcome for this sweet baby who was surrendered. ~ Gina
A Message from Our Big Boy ~ Hercules
A MESSAGE FROM OUR BIG BOY — HERCULES ~ diana
Hello from Hercules!
I have discovered lots of very cool things about Michigan in the winter. Snow is fun! It is wet and cold and disappears when I chew it. I can hide in it – that’s why I have my own jacket! I can run and play in it! I get to go for long walks in the woods when it snows and track new scents and paw prints. It is especially nice when I can go to Partridge Creek and visit friends with the colorful lights on while it is snowing. I miss the snow!
See you soon!
Hercules (& Dr. K)
Dr. Tari Kern
Certified Veterinary Medical Acupuncturist
Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner
Tari Kern, DVM, CVMA, CCRP
Pawsitive Steps Rehabilitation & Therapy for Pets
NO ONE STOPS TO HELP A DOG HIT BY A CAR…..EXCEPT ONE WOMAN
1/13/13 NO ONE STOPS 
TO HELP A DOG HIT BY A CAR…..EXCEPT ONE WOMAN. Tonight this female stray was hit by a car and was laying in the road until a caring woman stopped to help. She spent an hour trying to wave down traffic but not one person stopped to help her get the dog in the car. While she watched this dog, she called the ER vet twice, We told her to bring the dog in and 4 Paws 1 Heart was able to offer the dog help because of, “our mission”. The woman said, ” the dog kept trying to walk but immediately fell down over and over”. The dogs paw was hurting and injured. Finally, someone stopped to help. The dog was then rushed to emergency. Our assistant carried her 60-pound, limp body to the treatment area. She was critical and on the brink of DEATH. We treated her for hypothermia and SHOCK. It took three hours for her vitals to stabilize. If treatment had been delayed much longer, she wouldn’t be alive. This poor girl was drenched in water from rain and puddles of melted snow with a temperature almost 10 degrees below normal. She has at least 7 fractured ribs and an injury to her front paw. We have her on I V Fluids and medications. I will post an update this evening. ~ Gina
1/16/13 The pain for Annie has just been unbearable… Day 3 of hospitalization.. The doctor has had to up her pain medication twice since she was brought in. Finally, she is resting more comfortably on a constant IV drip with several additives. Her broken ribs, injured paw, and broken canine tooth, on top of her being up there in age, has made it quite challenging for her to endure. There is something about this girl that is so special. Maybe it’s because she fought so hard to stay alive and she was on the brink of death when she came in. I truly feel like she belongs to someone who is missing her terribly. I just hope I’m right, but for now we are doing everything medically that we can. Tonight she was eating a mixture of yummy canned food out of my hand, but she hasn’t been interested otherwise. I’ve cooked some ground beef and diced up some chicken to bring to her for breakfast. Hopefully, she will have a better appetite tomorrow. ~ gina
Mary (Lilah) Update
We want to again thank our very good friends at LOVEABULL PAWS RESCUE for the following update and photo:
Remember Mary(right)? Our pretty little girl who was rescued by 4 Paws 1 Heart last July after she was shot in the shoulder and lost all of her unborn puppies. Look at her now! She is now named Lilah and has a pretty pittie sister named Miley, they are both spoiled beautiful girls! 🙂 ~ Loveabull Paws
Pregnant Dog At the Macomb Animal Control Shelter
So, last night I was lucky enough to be home when Michelle from A Rejoyceful Animal Rescue called wondering if I knew of any rescues who could help out with a pregnant dog she had just seen at the Macomb Animal Control Shelter. A Rejoyceful Animal Rescue had just rescued Holly from the shelter and didn’t have any room. I made a few contacts, and our very good friends at Heroes for Homeless Animals agreed to meet Michelle in the morning at the shelter. Well, here is momma. She is safe in the ‘arms’ of Heroes and it looks like she may be having 8 puppies. 4 Paws 1 Heart will help with medical dollars. Another example of lives saved by groups working together. ~ diana
Yankee – Another Life Saved
ANOTHER LIFE SAVED:
While Portia from Heroes for Homeless Animals was at the shelter rescuing ‘pregnant’ mama, she saw this very emaciated, neutered, 1-2 yr. old male needing immediate rescue — which she did. Yankee has kennel cough and whipworm; he is very sweet, loves to fetch and knows some commands. Again, 4P1H will help with medical dollars and once again, we thank our rescue friends for making such a difference in the lives of these abused and abandoned dogs. ~ diana