Riverside Small Animal Hospital
Welcome to our page for the Karissa Wilson Fund. This fund was created in memory of Karissa Wilson, a very special person to us here at Riverside and a friend to all animals. The purpose of the fund is to raise money for owners in need who may be experiencing financial hardship, and to help stray or surrendered pets so that they can receive any urgent care they may require within our clinic. Any funds raised will be put into a special account here at the hospital and will go directly toward the treatment of a pet in need.
Funds can be added to the account via donation in the following ways.
A donation can be made to the account directly in clinic or over the phone via a credit card.
You can donate your bottles to any Return It Express bottle depot in BC. Simply donate your bottles and give the clinic phone number (250-372-7781) and the depot will put the funds toward the clinic.
We will have various small items for sale by donation in clinic (poop bags etc.) with the money collected going toward the fund.
The clinic will periodically hold events to collect donations (nail trims by donation for example) with all proceeds raised from these events going into the fund.
It is our hope that through this fund, we can continue to share her love of animals with the world, and even though she is gone, preserve her memory by helping beloved pets within our community remain happy and healthy.
Below are some memories of Karissa shared by those close to her.
“Karissa was introduced to animals since birth and her love for them never faded. She cared for all creatures big and small. When she was younger we would go outside after thunderstorm to save the worms stranded on the sidewalk and put them back onto grass and dirt so they could survive. During her lifetime she had many opportunities to travel, see, and interact with all sorts of animals including dolphins and monkeys through to the more traditional dogs and cats."
“She also loved horses and would ride when we would visit her Grandma, but since she lived in a different town she could never get enough riding time in and so convinced us to take her for riding lessons at a local ranch."
“We had a few different pets throughout her childhood, mainly dogs, but we did also have a rabbit and some rats. She always wanted a cat but due to allergies in the home was not able to. When she did leave home she rescued and cared for an orphaned kitten until she had to rehome due to changing life circumstances."
“One summer she took a job on a farm to help with the cows, it was there that the idea to hopefully one day own some property and start a farm or animal rescue sanctuary took root.“
“Apart from Karissa’s love of animals, she was passionate about travel, music, poetry, photography and nature. If she was not writing or dancing around the house then she was out taking photos and videos of trees, flowers and wildlife in the great outdoors where she was in her true element.”
