[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
The animal rights community has tragically lost a standout member.
It’s with broken hearts we report that Mikayla Raines, founder of the Save A Fox animal rescues in Minnesota and Florida, has sadly died by suicide at just 29 years old.
Her husband Ethan revealed the shocking news on Monday in a lengthy video shared to her Save A Fox YouTube channel, which boasts over 2.4 million subscribers. Through tears, the broken father, who shares young daughter Freya with Mikayla, shared:
“A couple days ago, Mikayla Raines passed away. This is the most hurtful and difficult time of my life.”
Discussing her mental health and how it connected her to fighting for animals, Ethan revealed:
“As many of you know she was on the autism spectrum and while that made her life very difficult, it allowed her to hyperfocus on one thing — and that one thing was obviously animals. From a young age she dedicated every waking hour of her life to helping them, whether it was helping a snapping turtle cross the road or saving 500 foxes from a terrible fur farm. She was never in it for fame, money or personal gain. She was truly one of the most selfless people I have ever known.”
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He added that in addition to foxes, she was known to help birds, reptiles, sheep, squirrels, and other animals:
“Over the course of her life, she was responsible for saving into the four figures of animals.”
Wow.
Sadly, her mental health recently spiraled when an online hate campaign consisting of strangers AND friends targeted her:
“For her entire life she struggled with autism, with depression, with borderline personality disorder, and more. She was always in an out of different kinds of therapy trying various mood stabilizers and meds, but nothing really seemed to help.”
Ethan described Mikayla as incredibly “sensitive,” which he said was “a double-edged sword because on one hand it allowed her endless empathy for those in her care, but it also means that she took everything negative to heart.”
He continued:
“Words, whether spoken in person or written online, can affect someone. For a few years, a group of people have been throwing dirt on Mikayla’s name and the rescue. Most of these are people she knew, and some of them are other animal sanctuaries. They consistently spread ridiculous claims and rumors, and being the sensitive human being that she was, Mikayla took it all to heart. And it hurt her. It hurt her a lot.”
The heartbroken husband went on:
“But she pushed through. For years, she pushed through the pain of people trying to bring her down, and the mental challenges she faced, and she still rescued hundreds of animals and changed the lives of so many. But recently, more of the rude words, accusations, and name-calling came from some of those she considered close friends.”
Ethan believes the hate “stems from jealousy and envy,” and noted Mikayla “felt as if the entire world had turned against her.” He continued:
“She always battled with borderline personality disorder causing emotional instability as well as impulsive behaviors, but this time it went too far. She couldn’t bear what she was feeling any longer and she ended her life. And it breaks my heart that someone who is selfless and devoted her life to animals could have so much negativity pointed at her.”
Towards the end of the video, he issued a sobering message directly to those who took part in bullying Mikayla:
“To those of you that pushed her to this, every one of you that had been responsible for making her feel this way, I wish you had to see me find her, and I wish you had to watch me perform CPR on her for 15 minutes until the first responders arrived. And I wish you had to watch helplessly as paramedics attempted to revive her lifeless body. And I wish you had to hear the screams and the cries of her family. I wish you had to see tiny, heartbroken Freya try to understand why she can never see her mommy again. I wish you were understanding what you were doing before you did it. Before it had to go this far. And I wish you understood that words do have real and terrible consequences.”
That is so incredibly traumatic. There are no words.
Ethan urged listeners to “please reach out to someone” if they are “feeling lost and hopeless.”
You can hear him talk more about the devastating situation (below):
How truly terrible.
Mikayla founded Save A Fox in 2016 when she was just 20 years old. In the video, Ethan vowed to continue furthering her life’s work at the organization.
Her final video, which features her rescuing an 11-year-old bobcat, was posted on Saturday.
Rest in peace. Mikayla. Our hearts are with her loved ones.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, help is available. Consider contacting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, by calling, texting, or chatting, or go to 988lifeline.org
For resources on mental health, visit https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help
[Images via Save A Fox/YouTube]
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