‘Rescue takes a village.’ North Texas woman’s nonprofit helps pets find safe homes

Like most young people, Susan Edstrom longed for a puppy or a kitten as a pet while she was growing up in New York. But because of her severe allergies, all she could do was wish and watch as other children enjoyed furry companions.

“My family had fish and turtles as pets,” she recalled. “I always wanted more — I just couldn’t have them.”

Now, however, she’s grown out of the allergies as an adult. Not only does she have a plethora of her own pets, but she also helps others connect with four-legged friends (and sometimes other animals) through her nonprofit organization in Trophy Club, Four Paws One Heart.

The organization’s mission is to rescue and find homes for stray animals or those in overcrowded shelters, reunite lost and found pets with their owners, and re-home pets upon request to reduce overcrowding in shelters. She also strives to educate the public on the needs of rescues, shelters and animals in need.

“We are mainly a kitten and cat rescue. However, I do help find homes or other rescues for stray animals that turn up in Trophy Club — mostly dogs that have been abandoned here. I also have helped with puppies when the need arises,” she said.

There’s probably not an animal alive that Edstrom wouldn’t help if she could.

“We’ve had a couple of tortoises go missing over the last year or so, and we’ve helped get them home successfully,” she said. “However, we mainly receive calls about cats and dogs.

“Cats are a bit easier to find fosters for because of space. They don’t require much as little kittens. I have found fosters when needed for puppies on occasion. I just seem to find more who want to foster cats and the need is huge.”

Edstrom simply wants to see animals and people be happy. She believes the best way to do that is to bring together a loving animal with an animal lover.

She’s seen the horrors of what happens when an animal belongs to someone who doesn’t care for them — or worse yet, is downright mean to them.

“My first knowledge of the absolute horrendous abuse inflicted on animals was a dog in New York City named Patrick. It spurred me to become more educated about abuse, the plight of the pit bull and misconceptions about the breed,” she said.

Filling a need

Four Paws came to be as the convergence of several things, Edstrom said. Her employer hosted two on-site adoption events with the Humane Society of North Texas (HSNT). She then started volunteering at HSNT, and eventually took over management of those events and volunteered weekly at HSNT’s facility in Keller.

“The more I learned about the needs of animals in our area, Texas and across the U.S., the more I wanted to be involved,” she said.

“Trophy Club is a town that loves its furry friends, and Susan is the beacon in the dark for those that are lost,” Trophy Club Police Chief Patrick Arata said. “As the chief of police we run the animal control program, but Susan is a large part of the program’s success. ... We can not thank her enough for her tireless efforts in saving our loved furry family members.”

In 2012, Trophy Club didn’t have a full-time animal control officer, so she offered to manage a page to help reunite lost and found pets. She made yard signs to help reunite pets with their owners.

She eventually even bought her own scanner so she could listen after hours and weekends for reports about lost and stray animals. That started the Trophy Club Animals Facebook page. People reached out to her to re-home their animals, find pets and reunite pets.

Trophy Club’s current animal control officer, Brian Hall, said he and the community owe a great debt to Edstrom.

“With all her work, our area proudly boasts a 100 percent return-to-owner or adoption rate. I do the animal control, and I could not do the job without her help.”

In 2019, she applied to become a nonprofit and changed the name to Four Paws One Heart Inc.

It takes a village

Edstrom said that during the coronavirus pandemic, more people have adopted animals as they have been confined at home. Since December, Four Paws has adopted out almost 200 cats and kittens, she said.

“Susan is amazing. There are so many animals out there dumped, found abandoned,” said Barbara Diamond, an animal foster parent. She’s always open to preserving lives no matter what. So diligent about making sure the cats, dogs go to secure and well-vetted homes.”

And now that she can be around animals without the allergic reactions, she’s making up for lost time in her own home.

“As a family, we got our first dog when my daughter was in middle school, and we’ve now rescued five others,” she explained. “Two of our adopted dogs had cancer, and we knew that. We took them home and they lived three and five years and were the sweetest dogs. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

Edstrom is also quick to acknowledge that she is not alone on her mission.

“Rescue takes a village. I know you probably hear that a lot about different things but without shelters, rescues, transporters, fosters, donors and adopters, I couldn’t function as a nonprofit,” she said. “I depend on these folks every day, and people willing to help donate to help us do what we do. I’m blessed and grateful. I have an amazing village.”