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As a child, Susan Edstrom was allergic to cats. It goes without saying that she never expected to become an animal advocate. Yet when her home town of Trophy Club was in need of a program to rescue stray animals in 2012, Susan stepped up to create a robust foster network to support animals in need. With over a decade of advocacy and more than 90 dogs, cats and critters currently in their care, Susan continues to find forever families for pets as the founder and president of her nonprofit, Four Paws One Heart.
MY ANIMAL ADVOCACY JOURNEY BEGAN WITH… the Humane Society of North Texas. One day, I was walking between buildings at my office, and I saw all of these animals in cages. The Humane Society brought these animals for employees to adopt, and I wanted to volunteer for future events. I just couldn’t resist those adorable faces. After getting more involved, I ended up managing the adoption alongside my colleagues.
WHEN TROPHY CLUB MOVED TOWARD A… part-time animal control officer (ACO), we needed to find a solution to take care of animals outside of shelter hours. The ACO only worked four hours a day for four days a week, so it really came down to filling a need. I started dipping my toes into social media and created a Facebook page called Trophy Club Animals to post lost and found pets, help them get cared for and reunite them with their owners.
IT ALL STARTED WITH… me and one other foster mom taking in two to three kittens at a time. Everybody knew me because they kept contacting me about stray animals they would find. Eventually, I decided to start my own 501c3, and in 2019, Four Paws One Heart was born.
MY GOAL FOR THE FIRST YEAR WAS TO… rehome 75 animals. We got off to a strong start with six kittens getting adopted at our first event and our first foster mom taking in 11 kittens. When everything went virtual in 2020, so did we. I got together all of our fosters and told them everything would be online. We would host events and post bios, videos and pictures so people could ‘meet’ their future adoptions remotely. We still host those virtual meet-and-greets to this day.
AS WE CONTINUED RESCUING ANIMALS, I GOT… a scanner to help reunite owners with their lost pets in the field. If they have a microchip, I just scan the animal, call the number on their file and reconnect them with their family without ever having to take them to the shelter. I always advocate for people to microchip their animals, because you can’t lose a microchip. Just be sure your information is up to date.
SINCE STARTING FOUR PAWS ONE HEART, OUR NETWORK HAS… grown to about 30 active fosters throughout the Metroplex, including in Trophy Club, Carrollton, Garland, McKinney, Keller, Fort Worth, Roanoke and Southlake. Last year was one of our biggest years yet with over 538 kittens, cats, puppies and dogs adopted. To date, we’ve adopted out, reunited and rehomed well over 700 animals throughout the Metroplex.
WHEN WE TAKE IN MOTHERS AND THEIR LITTER, WE’LL USUALLY KEEP… the adults for much longer. Moms typically stay with us for six to nine months, whereas babies usually fly right out the door. I would love for people to rethink that. Just because they’re 1 to 2 years old doesn’t mean they’re not going to bond with your family. If you treat them well, they’re going to love you and be yours.
I HOPE PEOPLE REALIZE THAT… everybody can do something. Whether you foster, volunteer or transport animals, every effort put in is very much needed and necessary. Even something as small as a post on social media helps us because you have access to an entire audience that we may not even know about. Find out what it is you’d like to do to help in whatever small way because small contributions make everything that much easier.