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"Hidden
safely away from the troubled world, nestled beside a bubbling brook
in a valley surrounded by the wooded, hilly forests of eastern
Appalachian Kentucky, there exists a spiritual and emotional place of
contentment and tranquility--one that offers food, shelter, security
and love to 250 formerly unwanted, abandoned and abused animals . . .
"
And
thus begins the story of Randy Skaggs and The Trixie Foundation.
What would you think about a man who was willing to "give it all up"
on behalf of these poor unfortunate creatures? You might think
him a crazy recluse, as do some of the locals in rural Elliott County,
or, you might agree with others, who see him as a man with a heart as
big as the mountain he lives on.
The
Trixie Foundation was established in January of 1990. It is a
"no-kill" animal shelter, and the only known "pack" oriented facility
in the country. The foundation gets its name from one of Randy's
beloved rescue dogs--a Norwegian Elkhound Randy named Trixie.
Randy had found Trixie on the side of the road a little over four
years earlier, abandoned as a small, sickly pup about six weeks old.
When Trixie drew her last breath, Randy held her in his arms and made
a solemn promise to her that he would do everything in his power to
bring about lasting and positive changes for the other unwanted
animals. Exactly one week from the very day, hour and minute of
Trixie's untimely death, Randy began The Trixie Foundation in her
memory.
Randy
has struggled to keep that promise to Trixie. By 1994, the
organization that he had founded in her memory was taking care of 37
dogs. Today, some 13 years later, Randy and The Trixie
Foundation takes care of over 230 dogs and 20 cats that he's rescued
or accepted. Randy has spent thousands of dollars over the years
feeding and caring for these unwanted, often starving, wounded
animals, erecting fencing, building kennels and developing the
property. Much of that money has come from personal loans he has
taken out. The last time he left his home and his ever-growing
"family" was in April of 2000.
Randy
is The Trixie Foundation's "pack" leader. The dogs are not
caged, but are allowed to run with their "pack" within the confines of
six areas separated by chain-link fencing. Each are houses a
variety of dogs who, guided by Randy, assume their places in the
established "pack" order.
Randy
is also a staunch activist for animal welfare laws in Kentucky.
Although a few call him an "extremist", many think that he is one of
the best things that ever happened to animals in Kentucky and
Appalachia. Randy will tell you that everything he does, he does
on behalf of suffering animals. He and The Trixie Foundation
vigorously promote the compassionate and humane treatment of the
abused, abandoned and unwanted dogs and cats throughout the state and
have generated an enormous amount of publicity about Kentucky's animal
care and control problems. |
Randy
has extensively researched Kentucky's animal control statutes and
diligently works with concerned citizens and activists alike to help
them make their individual counties address the issues of animal
cruelty and comply with the most basic animal welfare laws. The
Trixie Foundation has filed four separate open records requests in all
of Kentucky's 120 counties to make sure that animal welfare, abuse and
compliance issues in each county were not kept hidden from public
knowledge. Additionally, in 2000, Randy states "The Trixie
Foundation filed a class-action lawsuit against 397 Kentucky
politicians, including the state's Commissioner of Agriculture, for
refusing to enforce the animal control statutes statewide."
While
researching Kentucky's animal control laws, Randy discovered that the
law required each county to have not only an animal control officer,
but also an animal shelter. Randy tells a story about he and The
Trixie Foundation exposed one Kentucky County that had no animal
shelter and in which, the "dog warden", was shooting dogs to death as
a means of inexpensive euthanasia. A little over 800 dogs had
been shot to death in this county in one year's time. The
results of Randy's efforts: The county built a brand new, state
of the art shelter and sent their animal control officer to be trained
in more modern and humane techniques. It took almost three
years.
It's
our guess that right about now, you're asking yourself, "How come I've
never heard of The Trixie Foundation? Well, we can't answer that
for you, but we've told you how this charitable, nonprofit
organization came into being, and we can tell you that it needs your
help. The Trixie Foundation provides lifetime care to all of its
animals. It is now recognized as one of the largest and fastest
growing, no-kill animal shelter in the state of Kentucky, and is also
considered to be one of the larger and more successful in the whole
country--considerable compliments for a worthy endeavor, but it
doesn't come cheap!
Randy
says that The Trixie Foundation is growing thanks to the goodness of
donors who have found out about his charitable endeavors on behalf of
animals. His contributors, he says, range from "sweet, little
old ladies, who faithfully send $1.00 per month, to doctors, lawyers,
and even Thoroughbred horse farm owners. who have occasionally sent in
checks for as much as $5,000.00." Most donations come from
people Randy says are "just everyday folk," like himself, who care
about animals.
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