About me

Welcome to the Rainbow Connection Sanctuary blog. While the focus of posts will feature articles on animal care and how to cope with their crossings over the Rainbow Bridge, I thought I’d start with a short introduction about myself, the founder of the RCS.

My name is Alice and I’m living in the National Capital Region of Canada. I’ve had pets nearly all my life, and some of their endings were peaceful while others were not. In some cases, I’ve had to make very difficult choices.

In January 2023, I decided to adopt a special needs cat with Manx syndrome. She required diapering and bladder expression. As an apartment dweller, this was an easy decision. No additional litter duties, a few minutes of my day for care, and I ended up with the a tiny package of entertainments and affection.

Several months I added another special needs animal to my crew, a paraplegic dog with IVDD and a heart condition. He needed more attention and care, but no more than a toddler learning to use the potty would. His personality has made me laugh more than I ever did before he joined our family.

In February 2024, I experienced a traumatic loss of one dog, and nearly lost two others in the same event. While veterinary staff were the best I could have hoped for, there was something lacking when it came to the process to grieve and handling practical matters after my dog passed.

We now live in a society where animal rights have come far, but there are still many reasons why animal rescues and shelters are still needed. We have SCPAs and shelters. We have rescues that are breed-specific or specialize in behavioural issues. We have rescues that import animals from countries that don’t have the infrastructure to care for them. And then we have the “unadoptables”: the senior, chronically or terminally ill and special needs animals who have the odds stacked against them.

This last group are the hardest on the community. Fewer fosters step up. Medical cases are expensive. And looking after high-risk animals take a toll – you don’t know if those precious souls will be with you for a few hours or a few years. Not a likely investment for prospective adopters.

But there is a large community of veterinary health care providers, rescues, shelters, fosters, adopters and allies out there.

My vision is to see a network of like-minded people to come together so that we don’t fail the ones we could save, to give sanctuary when possible, and to help owners face the passing of their loved ones in the most compassionate way we can.