SaveAFox YouTuber Mikayla Raines’ husband, Ethan Frankamp, is giving an update on the rescue organization after her death.
“I want to start this video by apologizing because I should have made this update sooner than now, I’ve just been putting it off and really dreading it,” Frankamp said in a Wednesday, December 17, Instagram video. “On a positive note, things have been going pretty well at the rescue.”
Frankamp explained that the organization has taken in some new animals while also creating new enclosures, but noted that the “purpose of this update” was to discuss the deaths they had been facing at the rescue.
“There’s no easy way or nice way to say this, but there’s been a lot of deaths at the rescue,” he said. “And I don’t have any explanation for why this is happening, all the animals here get great care. They visit the vet regularly, in fact, we have vets onsite on a pretty regular basis.”
Frankamp shared that a snake named Firefox died a few weeks after Raines death, with the animal showing “no signs of anything abnormal” but was later diagnosed with “really bad cancer.”
“That hit really hard happening very closely to losing Mikayla,” he said.
After the snake’s death, Frankamp shared that a fox died after being diagnosed with lymphoma while another fox died after being bit by a snake. A third fox died after experiencing kidney failure for over a year.
“All of these just kept stacking up and I kept on saying, ‘Oh, I’ll take a little bit of time to recover from this and I’ll update people.’ But there hasn’t been a recovery period because it’s just one after the other, just constant hits. That’s why I haven’t made this video,” Frankamp explained. “I’m just now sitting down and I’m like, ‘I have to get this over with.’”
Frankamp went on to share that a fourth fox escaped and has yet to find the animal, something he feels “responsible” for despite noting that “it’s something that happens” at facilities. He noted that a fifth fox died after developing a cancerous mass, while a mink died after battling cancer that was “everywhere.”
“All of this has happened within the last five months since Mikayla left,” Frankamp shared. “And I don’t have any explanation for it or logical reasoning for why this is happening.”
Frankamp concluded the video by thanking the account’s 651,000 Instagram followers for their support, noting that he doesn’t think there are “any tears left in me” after the past several months. Frankamp assured followers that there are “a lot of very happy and healthy animals” still with the rescue.
“When I say we have been going through it here at the rescue, I mean it. 😞,” he captioned the post. “Despite everything that’s happened and everything that we’ve gone through, we are still staying strong. And looking forward to the future to continue to build on Mikayla’s dream, and make everything that she had planned a reality.”
The caption continued, “I can’t say this enough, thank you for always showing her unwavering support. And for encouraging her big missions and lofty goals. And with that same support, we will keep going too. There are dozens and dozens of animals here that absolutely love their life, and so many more still that we can save and provide a great home for. And I just wanted to thank you for allowing us to be able to do that. I hope you all are able to have a wonderful holiday. 🧡🦊.”
News broke in June that Raines died by suicide, with Frankamp sharing that she experienced online bullying. She was 29.
“She couldn’t bear what she was feeling any longer and she ended her life,” he said in a video at the time. “It breaks my heart that someone who is selfless and devoted her life to animals could have so much negativity pointed at her.”
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