Happy Hearts by Joan

Happy Hearts by Joan Let us help you and your pets live happier! Dog walking, cat sitting, animal transportation; and now providing Pet Chaperones/ Wedding Services!

We do more than walk and feed pets, we love them and treat them like family. Whether it is a lunchtime walk, daily visits with your kitties or a ride to or from playcare, we will make your furry family members - and you - happy!

Who throws a cat from a car? Please help if you can.
09/06/2025

Who throws a cat from a car? Please help if you can.

💔 Meet Vivi — Our Brave Little Fighter 💔
😭 We believe she may have been tossed from a car, but thanks to a Good Samaritan who rushed her to our PetSmart partner location, she’s safe now and finally getting the care she needs. She came to us with severe injuries, including road rash on her face and a degloved bottom lip

❤️ Vivi has already undergone two surgeries to repair her mouth, and she may need more procedures in the future. Despite everything she’s been through, she is pure love — purring, cuddling, and proving every day just how strong she is. 🐾❤️

We are asking for help covering her medical bills and supplies as she continues her healing journey. Every donation, no matter the size, helps us give her the chance at a healthy, pain-free life.

Please keep Vivi in your thoughts as she faces her next surgery. Together, we can show her that she is safe, loved, and never alone again. 💖

Please help animals in need. Be the person they need you to be.
08/24/2025

Please help animals in need. Be the person they need you to be.

We had closed the doors due to a shortage of funds, carers and having almost 270 cats in care. Then I received a call from my vets.

A mumma cat had been found in someone’s yard with her little ones, and upon no neighbours claiming her, she was taken to a local vet, my vet. Beth, the vet nurse, texted me, “She is messed up so bad,” so I drove over there immediately.

I have struggled all day to write this post as the emotions that hit me over the next hour were just all too much. I went out back to meet mumma cat and her little ones before Beth took me to show me an x-ray. This poor sweet girl’s spine was totally severed. None of us had seen anything like it, and it wasn’t a fresh injury as she had awful sores on her legs and feet from dragging herself around trying to tend to her little family. She was incredibly thin, her gums were pure white, she was dehydrated and giving her all to save her babies.

I have seen a lot of horrible things in all my years of rescue, but this mum just broke my heart. She was simply amazing, fighting to keep going despite her spine being snapped in two pieces and she would have been in so much pain, but she kept going and going to save her babies. The sores were not fresh, so she had been like this probably since the babies were born.

I was picturing her in my head, crawling around on her front half searching for food and water, and going back and forth to her babies each day to keep them safe and make sure she was back to feed them and keep them warm. This just made me realise why I do what I do, and I knew even though I really should not take this family on I HAD to, I owed this mumma to take over and make sure these babies thrived and got to loving homes.

I sat with her for a while until the vets were ready to close for the day and watched her babies suckle as mumma purred. Tears filled my eyes knowing this would be the last time for this, as sadly mum’s spine was not able to be repaired and she was on her last legs having done so much for her little family. She had nothing left to give.

I stayed with her until the very end, holding her as she crossed the Rainbow Bridge, whispering to her she was an amazing mum and had looked after those babies like no other mumma before her. I also promised her I would take over watching her babies, so she could let go.

She had no name as we don’t know where she came from, but I don’t like them crossing without a name and someone there to hold them. So I whispered to her also that I was calling her Liberty, as all I could offer her was freedom from this world and freedom from having to continue to give everything she had and more for those little ones. Liberty crossed the Rainbow Bridge quickly and peacefully. She was ready to go knowing her babies were safe, and she was just so depleted and in so much pain, so she let go in seconds and was gone.

I have sat through many Rainbow Bridge crossings in my years of rescue, and while they all affect you, some hit you more than others. I gathered her babies and walked back to my car where I sat, and I bawled. I cried for Liberty who had been through so much and given so much; her story of what she went through on the streets with a broken spine to make sure her babies were looked after just drilled into my heart. I cried for those babies who were now orphans and were sitting in the carrier crying for their mum, I cried with frustration knowing if she had responsible pet owners she would have been safe inside and she would have been desexed.

It’s been a pretty emotional and rough week in rescue, one I wanted to throw up my hands and walk away from, but I know Liberty made her way to me to remind me why I do what I do, why I must never give up, why I have to continue to be their voice when they have none, and why I hope that her owners see this post and think twice about EVER getting another cat again. If they do, I hope they realise they need to desex their cat and keep them safe inside.

Fly free, Liberty. I am sorry your humans failed you, I am sorry we couldn’t save you, but I will keep my promise and those little ones of yours will be safe and well loved.

Hello friends. It is with mixed emotions I tell you that, after a decade of caring for local cats and dogs, Happy Hearts...
03/02/2024

Hello friends. It is with mixed emotions I tell you that, after a decade of caring for local cats and dogs, Happy Hearts by Joan has officially closed. My clients were the BEST and not a day passes that I dont miss one of my furry friends. I learned so much from each one and try to pass that knowledge on to other pet lovers still. Although I am no longer caring for others’ pets, I am still involved in animal welfare and you have not heard the last from me! Love your animals. You are their whole world. Involve them in your life, take them on adventures, and your life will be all the richer for it. And, no matter what, make sure you can trust those who care for them in your absence. If you have any doubts, pay attention to those doubts and find someone new. Your animals deserve the best.

Hello all. Remember Charlie with the eye issue from October? Turns out he has entropion, a very painful comdition where ...
02/02/2024

Hello all. Remember Charlie with the eye issue from October? Turns out he has entropion, a very painful comdition where the eyelashes grow inward toward the eyeball, causing ulcers to form. He is scheduled for surgery February 5 for his right eye only. One eye will cost $250 and we are in need of donations to help get him out of this horrible pain. Before it got so bad, he showed signs of being friendly but now he wants nothing to do with anyone or anything and who can blame him? he seems ok around other cats as far as we can tell. Since we dont know how friendly he is and he has been cooped up for so long, a barn home has been secured for him. Once he heals and we know his left eye is ok, he life will improve so much. If you can make a donation to help this poor guy out, we would appreciate it and so would Charlie. Payment options are in the comments section. Thank you for helping us, help him 😻🥺

Address

Williamsburg, VA
23185

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 6pm
Tuesday 8am - 6pm
Wednesday 8am - 6pm
Thursday 8am - 6pm
Friday 8am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+17577840789

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