06/24/2025
I am heartbroken that we have lost another rescuer to su***de and this one hits so close to home. We don't talk about it often on this page but we too have been bullied and people who have tried to help us help dogs have been bullied. I know hurt people hurt people and I have compassion for whatever trauma created the hate but when rescues and rescuers hurt other rescues, its just downright mean spirited and it is not animal first. It's ugly and it has to stop.
💔Of all the tributes to Mikayla Raines I have read this one speaks volumes. Thank you Ashley Nicole Miller for finding the words to express what we are all feeling . It's a big read but it's an important read....
🦊🌿 "The rescue world didn’t just lose a bright light… it lost a warrior. Mikayla Raines, founder of Save A Fox Rescue, took her own life after enduring a relentless storm of cruelty🌪️ not from the outside world, but from within the very community that was supposed to stand with her 🕊️💔.
She didn’t just rescue 🫶🏽 she fought. She saved 🦊 500 foxes from a fur farm… gave them a future… and built a sanctuary with her own two hands. She should’ve been met with love. ❤️ With gratitude. With protection.
But instead, she was met with gossip, gatekeeping, backhanded cruelty, and calculated silence. Her pain was ignored until it was too late.
🌿🦊 Now people are saying they wish they had done something to stop the bullying…
But where was that courage when the damage was being done? 🕊️💔
We say we love animals. We say we believe in kindness. But too often, that kindness stops with the animals ❤️ and turns vicious toward the people who are out there doing the hard work.
Mikayla was one of those people. She was targeted, picked apart, and ganged up on… for doing something extraordinary. For saving lives. For dreaming bigger than most ever would.
And some of the loudest voices who criticized her? They came from inside the rescue world.
Not from strangers. Not from fur farmers. From other rescuers.
💔 Even rescuers can cause harm.
💔 Even “animal lovers” can become aggressors when they let ego and ideology eclipse empathy.
This doesn’t just happen to Mikayla. It happens all the time 😔 to good people doing good work.
And it needs to stop.
I know that pain she felt, because I’ve lived it.
I’ve had animals stolen. I’ve been cyberstalked. I’ve been called an abuser by people who don’t know my story… who never met the animals I’ve poured my soul into.
There’s a toxic corner of the animal welfare movement that feeds off judgment. That tears down ethical sanctuaries, preservation breeding efforts, and education-based programs… labeling them all as “wrong” simply because they don’t look the same as what someone else is doing.
Preservation efforts are not the enemy. There are people out there working hard to protect the future of rare, ancient breeds… spending more than they make, putting in years of education, requiring animals to be returned to them if a home doesn’t work out, and prioritizing health, behavior, and lifelong commitment.
That is not exploitation. That is responsibility 🐾.
And no, ethical efforts like that are not what’s causing shelter overpopulation.
The ones doing it right are not the problem.
But extremist rhetoric doesn’t want the truth. It wants control. And people like Mikayla 💕 passionate, vulnerable, and bold 🫶🏽 are often the first to be targeted.
💬 It does not make you a hero to destroy someone’s life’s work.
💬 It does not help animals to silence those who are out there saving them every single day.
Mikayla gave everything for the animals 🫶🏽 and she was left to carry that weight alone. One of her tormentors also hurt others. This is bigger than just one story.
Kindness should never come with conditions.
And regret means nothing if it only shows up after someone breaks 💔🌫️.
🌸 Every soul 🫶🏽 wild or bred, stray or cherished 🫶🏽 deserves the light of compassion 🌞.
💬 Speak up.
🛑 Stop the cruelty.
🌱 Choose compassion 💕 even when someone’s path looks different than your own.
If you want to honor Mikayla’s legacy, support the animals she left behind at www.saveafox.org 🦊🌼.
And if you’re struggling 💕 please know: you matter. Your work matters. Your life matters.
Text or call 988. You are not alone.
Let this be the wake-up call.
Not just for the animals… but for each other.
To Mikayla’s family… I am deeply sorry for your loss.
With truth and love"
🌿 Ashley
