Popular fox rescue YouTuber Mikayla Raines’ husband, Ethan Frankamp, is documenting the sweet way he is honoring her following her death.
Raines was the founder of the Minnesota-based SaveAFox Rescue animal sanctuary, which had amassed over 2 million YouTube subscribers and 500,000 followers on Instagram.
Late Tuesday, June 24, Frankamp shared a video via the nonprofit organization’s Instagram Stories of him walking one of Raines’ rescues, a fox named Finnegan.
“One thing Mikayla would always insist on, no matter how long or terrible our day was, or how exhausted we were, we always had to take Finnegan for a walk, whether we had been working for 18 hours straight or it was five degrees below zero,” Frankamp can be heard narrating off-camera.
An emotional Frankamp’s voice is then heard breaking as he adds, “I really didn’t feel like doing this tonight but I feel bad for Finnegan and I didn’t want to do [Mikayla] a disservice by just … I mean, he loves his walks. I came out, I put a collar on him, and I think he’s really happy to be out here.”
He concludes, “I hope Mikayla can see this and I hope she’s proud of me. I know that I can never do what Mikayla does, but at least I can do this, and I think it’s really good for him.”
Frankamp broke the news of his wife’s death by suicide in an emotional video shared via the SaveAFox YouTube channel on Monday, June 23. The couple shared a daughter, Freya.
In the video, Frankamp said Raines had been dealing with relentless online bullying before her death.
He claimed Raines had “ridiculous claims and rumors” being spread about her online for a “few years,” including from rival animal sanctuaries. “And being the sensitive human that she was, Mikayla took it all to heart,” he said, adding that Raines “ended her life” a “couple [of] days ago” amid more “rude words, accusations and name-calling” shared online by people “she considered close friends.”
Frankamp, who noted that Raines struggled with autism, depression and borderline personality disorder, said his wife’s borderline personality disorder caused “emotional instability as well as impulsive behaviors.” Following the recent criticism, he said that Raines “felt as if the entire world had turned against her.”
“She couldn’t bear what she was feeling any longer and she ended her life,” he said. “It breaks my heart that someone who is selfless and devoted her life to animals could have so much negativity pointed at her.”
In the video, Frankamp vowed to continue his wife’s work with the animal sanctuary, saying, “I will not let Mikayla’s light be extinguished.”
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