A Heart for Baby

Hackel's message was loud and clear, "The cows belong to me, and if you try to interfere, I will make them suffer." Diana Danton had no reason to doubt the farmer's cruel words. After all, Hackel Miller was a beef farmer, and following Swiss tradition, cows should be slaughtered—not rescued.

Diana Danton had left behind a career and family to move to Switzerland to be with the man she loved. Little did she know that her relationship with "Baby" and the rescue effort to save her life would plant the seeds of animal activism that would shape her life in ways she could never have imagined.

"Was I destined to save Baby, or was she destined to save me from myself?"

"Was it a coincidence, or a blessing that Baby bore a perfectly shaped white heart on her leg?"

"I, too, was one of those flesh-eating monsters until Baby opened my eyes to the difference between property and the sentient creature who captured my heart and soul."

"That was the manifesto of the beef farmer: take no responsibility for your actions, decide the fate of sentient creatures using all methods of torture and abuse available, and do it all in the name of profit."

Would Diana Danton be able to rescue Baby from the clutches of the evil farmer? The answer is not clear . . . Perhaps it lies within the heart and the desire to change oneself.

Diana Danton’s life in Switzerland was not what her newly married husband had promised.

What was lurking in the foothills of the Swiss Alps would change her life forever, including the lives of the animals she came to love and care for despite the risks.

She ultimately took a leap of faith embarking down a path that was dangerous, lonely—and at times laden with heart-wrenching sadness. But she persevered, and her journey of self-discovery, in the end, became her rebirth.

And, it all began on the day . . . she lost her heart to Baby.

A gripping tale of animal abuse, corruption, and power.

For anyone who’s ever had and loved an animal.

D.C. Danton is an animal rights activist and novelist. She fondly remembers her first encounter with animals at the tender age of two when she road on the back of a giant Labrador Retriever called "Mike." Even at an early age, she rolled up her sleeves, and with a smile in her heart, she set out to conquer the world.

She always had a love for the great outdoors, having spent many summers camping in the Maine wilderness. She fondly remembers when a pair of raccoons invaded her family campsite and emptied the cooler of food. In their haste to escape, they had left behind a pair of new sneakers that were exactly her Dad's size and which he wore proudly for the rest of the trip.

She dreamed of becoming a park ranger and then a veterinarian but married and moved to San Francisco and started an engineering company representing a Swiss company involved in clean water technology. She supported her local animal shelters and provided homes for several dogs herself. In 2010, she moved to Switzerland, settling in a small town on the shores of Lake Constance, not far the Swiss Alps. The lake's beauty and surrounding area were breathtaking, but behind the pristine façade lay a darker picture.

A picture of animal abuse and cruelty which Diana Danton couldn't ignore. Baby, the cow had entered her life, and the fight to save her from the slaughterhouse had set her on a new path from which there was no return.

She embarked on a new career as an animal rights activist and novelist and continues to live with her husband and rescued cat L.C. on the shores of Lake Constance. "A Heart for Baby" is D.C. Danton's first novel. She also lobbies on behalf of animal rights and animal welfare and promotes veganism across the world.