about us
4 Beloved Paws is a non-profit organization, established and managed by photographer Sandra Musone. We are dedicated to helping homeless pets from Lithuania find loving and safe homes in Denmark, and in some cases other countries as well. We work entirely based on the help of volunteers and kind people who are willing to help. We do not earn anything, we invest what we can of our own. We want to enrich the lives of people who want a pet in the family while saving lives for those who did not get the chance in their homeland.
The sad situation is that there are far too many pets in shelters in Lithuania - more than there are people to adopt them. We encourage adoption, whether local or international. We are also happy to help dogs in need in Denmark. But we just want to expand your options, and then You can find exactly YOUR dog that, in fact, may be waiting in the Lithuanian shelter right now.
We started in a small 2 room apartment over 5 years ago. Now our dream to move into our own house became a reality. From 2020 4 Beloved Paws have more opportunities to help and foster dogs, from the comfort of their own house, which is, no surprise, dedicated to dogs. We look very much forward to what the future brings.
Vision - We hope to bridge the gap between those in need and those who can help. We want to be an example you want to follow.
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4 Beloved Paws family
Sandra Musone
Sandra is an professional photographer, educated in multimedia design, digital concept development and marketing. She is German, raised in Lithuania and for the past 14 years, resident in Denmark. Since she was born, she has always had a mini zoo at home. Her mother was sure she would grow up to become a vet or run away with the circus. Her life, however, turned in a different direction, but the dedication and love for animals has never changed. Animals are her priority and emotional support in life, and she is not shy to say she would gladly choose their company over most of the people.
Sandra is doing her best to live her life eco-friendly and cruelty free. She also fights to stop BSL (breed specific legislation) as she has grown up with the American Staffordshire Terrier and Pitbull . Now she is a mother of 5 dogs (4 of them are from Lithuanian shelters) and 2 African snails.
JOsie
sjuzi
lucy
popsicle
Josie
A mixture of French bulldog, beagle, pug and Danish / Swedish farm dog. She's the reason 4 Beloved Paws exist. She is Sandra's soulmate, love at first sight and meant to be. Josie's face is also our logo. She was born in 2014. She loves balls and chasing the beetles, they drive past home. She is most loyal companion and best big sister / friend to Sjuzi.
Sjuzi
A mixture of basenji. She was the first dog adopted through 4BP. She was born on boarding school and noticed by Sandra when she was 1 month old. After 2.5 months of waiting, Sandra flew on her birthday to Lithuania and took her from boarding school. It was the best gift ever. Sjuzi loves balls more than anything else in the world. She is most spoiled and respected by all. She keeps everyone in order and responsible. She is fearless. Sjuzi was born in 2015.
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Lucy
A friend send Sandra a picture, from a Lithuanian dog shelter of a dog, while she was there visiting with them with a donation. She wrotte to Sandra - "I have found your dog!". It started out as a joke. It was agreed that Lucy, at the time named Rina, come to 4BP care and we will search for her a home. She was delivered to the shelter very very thin and hyperactive. Those who have delivered her say that they have found her running around their home, but we don't know the real truth. After arriving to Denmark, you could see that she also has a lump in her neck and a large scar on her back, which resulted in one of her hind legs moving a little harder.
It was love at first sight. After 3 days of thinking about all the reasons why she can't stay, it was clear that Lucy should stay in the family. It was not the ideal situation , but it was the right dog, everything else could be figured out with time. Lucy herself chose her name because Rina didn't fit her. Lucy is a special dog, with large emotional scars that result in aggression. She still has to have a muzzle on in some situations. But she is the most loving, sweet creature in the world, and we are incredibly proud of her progress in the time with us. Lucy is between 6-7-8 years, it's hard to say.
Popsi
Popsi was found on the street, pregnant. She lived by a gas station for several years. Her name was original Saurida. She should alsohave been a foster dog, but became a foster fail. For a long time there was no right applicant for her. During that time she has worked incredibly hard to become part of the family. We have noticed that she is a good balance between 3 dogs and eventually she became Lucy's best friend. Because of Lucy's aggression towards other dogs, she has had only few friends, but no one who was not afraid to play with her at full speed. So we decided to keep Popsi because she was the missing part of the family of 3 dogs with strong personalities. She is now our social worker. It was Sjuzi before. She seems very calming and very motherly, therefore she is good help with other dogs, dogs in fostercare or with dogs we meet on the street. She chose her name as well. Popsi is about 4 years old.
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NEWEST FAMILY MEMBER - LU
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LU, former name Laume, was rescued in 2018 from a place where over 14 dogs were confiscated in poor condition. As nearly a puppy, Lu was locked in a small, dark warehouse, on a short leash and forgotten. She was not given food or water, she was not talked to or was going for walks, she was just forgotten. She has survived only because of some neighbors that have thrown in food leftovers from their table for her, from time to time, while she was living on her own pee and feces.. She was the largest dog confiscated that day. LU IS BLIND. She is blind because she was in the dark all the time. She had been found incredibly thin, with ribs popping out due to hunger, and her uterus had fallen out, the infection was deep, so she was in terrible pain for a long time. Once she was rescued, she needed to have emergency surgery, but her body was so weak that she stopped breathing several times during the surgery. But eventually she survived. After that, she was 2 years in a shelter because no one wanted big blind dog.
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I saw her in January (2020) and was in love, I was sure I can find a home as in my eyes she was amazing. But I also knew that then there is a risk that it will never happen and she might have to stay. At that time I have had no opportunity to take in a more, large dog so I have decided to wait until summer and see what happens. In June 28, she came to me because I have decided she should not end her life in the shelter. I was very optimistic that I would find her a home, but after a month of absolutely no one interested, I took another decision that enough is enough and she should just enjoy her life, so I adopted her in August.
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I have never planned to have so many dogs, Lu, Lucy and Popsi were not planned. But each of them has found and has chosen me for one or another reason, I could not say no. I believe no one understands them as I can, so on through all the worry and risk, I was ready for anything. My priority is and always will be, quality life for my dogs and balance in the pack. I would never take in a dog if it would risk to become quantity instead of a quality and the pack would be in distress. Now each member has their part to contribute in the pack and each role is important.
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LU is about 4 years old, but due to her start in life, her body is much older and requires a little more care and vitamins than normal. She still sees about 5%, like shadow and shapes, so in good lightning conditions she orients herself really well, in other circumstances she just rely's on me to navigate her. At some point she will miss her eyesight fully, but I believe she will handle it like a champ with my help. She is my black shadow, always by me. It is absolutely incredible how a dog with such a horrible start in life can be so loving, loyal, well behaved and filled with joy of life. It is something we as humans must learn from them for sure.
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Integration with the rest of the pack was not easy and it is still sometimes in progress. But, everything feels very natural and my love for her at first sight has not changed.
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I love all my girls and they are all special in so many different ways, but LU is something completely different. She is someone I know most about from the past. She is also someone who shows that dog with some disability should not be scary or complicated. Everyone asks me if it's hard to have a blind dog and I always say NO because she's MY dog and I see her as LU, my big goofy teddy bear and not as a blind dog. I often forget where she came from because one can not notice it on her. Only her different type of body gives a hint of rough start. But I always like to share her story because it shows how important it is not to give up when things get difficult or seem impossible.
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I am adding some videos of her so you can see where she comes from and how we meet. When we met, she was in full panic, peeing herself and screaming at every touch. It took about 5 minutes for her to calm down and become my best friend. But you must know when you look at these videos - she is very well now and everything is OK :)
Full 4 Beloved Paws family