12/13/21 – Meet Patches. This past weekend I received a text from a good friend of 4p1h about a beautiful cat who has been hanging around her yard for the past 3 weeks and using her shelters during these very cold and windy nights. During this time, Jo (our friend), has been trying to find an owner but only learned that Patches had been spotted at another neighbor’s house where the family also fed her. But no owner could be found. Finally, Jo couldn’t hold out any longer and contacted us for medical assistance. Today, Patches saw one of our partner vets and was found to have a double ear infection, an eye infection, and an upper respiratory infection — all of which, left untreated, could have resulted in going deaf, having difficulty with her balance, and losing an eye. We are so very thankful that Jo was able to get her and take her in. She was treated and sent home with medications and, paws crossed, Jo may have already found her a furever family. She is scheduled to be seen again in 10 days and if healthy will be vaccinated (and spayed if needed). Jo believes she may have already been spayed but that will be checked also. – diana.4paws1heart.org/donations/

12/12/21 – 2020 and 2021 will always be remembered as the years of the Covid Pandemic. Many lives were lost or changed. Restrictions were put in place for humans and animals. The subsequent result was that many more animals, especially cats were born on the streets needing medical treatment which often was unavailable, restricted, or delayed. The number of requests for help far exceeded my ability to post their stories. But eventually all of these beauties were helped by 4 Paws 1 Heart and, as always, every single one was spayed/neutered, tested, and vaccinated as a minimum. Some may have needed more serious medical treatment for infections and injuries but thanks to the generosity of our supporters we never had to say “NO”. Here is Waylon, Roman, Frankie, Gracey, Shadow, Chesterfield, Kit, Bernie, and Reese. – diana4paws1heart.org/donations/

12/10/21 – Last Sunday I was notified about a cat in Sandusky, MI who was rescued after being attacked by an unknown predator. The cat’s tail was severely damaged and infected. This little 4 lb. female was friendly but an owner could not be found. The rescuer brought Panther to a vet who treated her with antibiotics but within just a few days the finder reported that the tail was “falling off”. Although we have no veterinary partners in this area of the Thumb, we recognized the criticality of the injury and approved Panther’s tail to be amputated at a vet near the finder. The surgery was completed December 8 and Panther was also spayed and vaccinated at the same time. She was picked up yesterday and is doing very well. The rescuer, Jodi, can care for Panther until she is recovered but she doesn’t have the means to keep her.

12/9/21 – Meet Zeus, Tiger, Ursula, Athena, Buck, Lebron, Jasmine, Hades, and Cruella. They are from two litters who were brought to an independent rescuer in November after they were found on the street at about 9 weeks old. Tomorrow they will be going into the hospital to be spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and one of each litter will be snap tested.

P.S. Remember that a female cat can start reproducing at 4months old. And, that female can reproduce 3 times a year. What does that mean? For every intact female, 15 or more kittens will be born each year for almost her entire life. AND, with every female born from that one female, the cycle continues. Think about it — 1 female on the streets, even if she only lives for 3 years (the average for cats on the streets), she could produce 45 kittens who will go on to overpopulate our streets with innocent animals. Lastly, we all know that a female can’t reproduce without a male, so it is equally important to neuter all males. And this is why your donations and our community low-cost clinics are so very important. During this Christmas season, please consider saving a life from hunger, danger, and illness. May God Bless those who are the voice of the voiceless.

12/8/21 – Continued prayers for Noel. This poor baby who had surgery last week for a severe prolapsed rectum woke up this morning and her rectum had prolapsed again. Her rescuer, Kim, who tried for at least 3 months to catch this poor girl, immediately took her back to our veterinarian and here is Kim’s report:”The prolapse rectum was tacked up in there with a purse string which was removed this past Monday. The doctor did the surgery again today. This time the purse string will be left in longer–at least 2 weeks. If this doesn’t work there’s 1 more surgery the doctor can try. I feel so bad for Noel and who knows how many months she was actually out there like this. I know it was just days short of 3 months that I was trying to get her. – Kim”As an added note, our doctor is not charging for the repeat surgery and I add this so that our supporters know how amazing our dedicated doctors and their staffs are to the stray, abandoned, and abused. – diana4paws1heart.org/donations/

12/8/21 – Happy Update!! You might remember Rocky who was found on the streets last February, very sick. He had cigarette burns on his body and it was thought that his jaw was broken. The Village came together and he was medically treated and loved and taken in by Saving Innocent Souls Rescue. There he found his forever family. Here he is when he was rescued and today almost one year later looking forward to Santa Paws.

12/7/21 – Mama Leah and her 3 babies, Crunch, Marble, and Moose were found hanging around a local restaurant in Warren, MI. They were probably hoping to find food. Fortunately, Jennifer saw them and decided to rescue them but she couldn’t afford to pay for their medical. Fortunately, someone she knew was aware of 4 paws 1 heart and suggested she contact us. She did and we were happy to have feral mama Leah spayed, vaccinated and tested, and the kids were all spayed/neutered and vaccinated. Mama will be returned to her territory but Jennifer will be trying to find a home for the kittens. If you are interested, please contact her at: [email protected] Here is a message from Jennifer:”i just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your help and kind generosity. knowing leah and her babies are getting the care they need to stay healthy is the best gift i could ever ask for. leah and her kittens send you a giant thank you as well. i’m also so grateful for Little Deb for setting this all up. much love and many thanks to you and your angel of a heart. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – Jennifer”

diana

12/6/21 – Artimus was found with two litter mates, Eva and Jamie, in July of this year. All of them were spayed and vaccinated but Artimus appeared to be blind in one eye. Though the summer and Fall Artimus continued to be treated for eye infections but he didn’t seem to be getting better. We arranged for Artimus to see another doctor for a second opinion and that doctor recommended that his blind eye be removed. The doctor was confident that if this was done he would no longer be in pain and have to deal with infections. The surgery was done this past Friday and today I received the following update from our friend and his rescuer, Patricia:
“Today was the day Artimus had his eye removal surgery. He did very good and he is now home relaxing on the couch next to me. Although he does have some discomfort for now, this surgery will prevent any further infections he had been dealing with. As he was already totally blind he won’t be missing anything and will be able to move on to a new life soon. He holds a special place in my heart especially after loosing our Stevie earlier this year. Thank you for being there for us. This is a bright spot in my life after a very tough year. On a funny note he was very agitated on the way home and he preferred listening to music over hearing my voice. I tried not to be offended lol. Being blind I am sure his hearing is so much more acute and the noise from the car and highway noise had him anxious. First pic was just before we left. Second after we returned home. Thank you for all you do for the abused, abandoned and sick and injured animals that would never otherwise have a second chance at life. – Patricia”
In addition to the before and after surgery photos, I am also posting the photos of Eva, Jamie, and Artimus when they were first rescued at about 6 weeks old. Thank you to our many supporters for helping us save lives. – diana
4paws1heart.org/donations/

Nearly 10 years ago this handsome guy came into our lives. Only weeks old but broken and abused; both back legs were broken by an evil owner upset because Herc got into the garbage. You can follow his journey on our website. Hercules is our canine mascot and he is loved by all who meet him. Much love and thanks go to Gina, another Board member Lori Jobak, and Herc’s mom (Dr Tari Kern) and dad (Chris Moceri). – diana4paws1heart.org/donations/

“A few weeks ago I was able to have a wonderful visit with Hercules. This boy is so so very special to my heart. His story began about 10 years ago when I was contacted by animal control after he was taken from an abusive home. I fostered him for several weeks and then he went to his forever family. This video is an incredible example of strength, love, and recovery that took place during his journey. Watch video with sound at link below.. https://youtu.be/eS6aJr6IN8wThank you Dr. Tari Kern and Chris Moceri for hosting dinner and for allowing me to spend quality time with Hercules. – Gina”

12/2/21 – He was found wandering on the streets with no hint of an owner. He was taken to a clinic for vaccines and neutering but was found to be positive for heart worm. He was infested with fleas which may have been the reason for him looking like he had mange. The clinic could not take care of the heart worm treatment and neutering and that is when we were contacted. The rescuer named him Shariff so that he would live up to his name, ‘protector’. We have made arrangements for Shariff to be treated for heart worm and afterward to be neutered. The rescuer believes he may have been used as a bait dog but from here on out he will have fur siblings and a loving home. God bless those who don’t turn their backs on animals in need.- diana

4paws1heart.org/donations/