Ruthless Kindness

At Ruthless Kindness, we exist to improve the lives of those who depend on us the most. Our organization was founded by two veterinarians, Dr. Sarah Reidenbach and Dr. Kate Kuzminski, who both worked extensively in underserved communities during their careers.

Dr. Sarah and Dr. Kate felt compelled to fill gaps in veterinary services which cause unnecessary trauma. Ruthless Kindness began in 2019 by providing on-call and emergency veterinary visits to domestic violence victims, houseless individuals, and other people in crisis. At times, the only barrier to shelter that these individuals faced was the documentation and the vaccinations required for their pets. Ruthless Kindness provided these necessities and assisted the individuals in securing temporary shelter and connecting them to resources. 

Almost immediately, Ruthless Kindness saw an unprecedented demand for these vital services. We began to form relationships with partners, such as safe houses and shelters; these partners knew they could count on us when they had an individual in need.

By 2020, we expanded beyond on-call appointments to clinics at our partner organizations. These clinics were both responsive and preventative, allowing individuals to receive urgent and ongoing care for their animals. We now operate clinics with our partners multiple times per month in Sonoma County, and we will be expanding to Napa County for 2023. 

In our work with domestic violence survivors and homeless individuals, Dr. Sarah and Dr. Kate saw that medical treatment for individual animals, while extremely necessary, is not enough. Suffering animals are linked to suffering people. Forgotten animals are linked to forgotten people. At-risk animals are connected to at-risk people. Animals and people heal one another. 

As veterinarians, we approach unnecessary suffering as we would a medical ailment - seeking specific science-backed prevention, immediate treatment, and long-term solutions. The research shows that we can use the human animal bond to more effectively prevent suffering and heal trauma for both people and animals.

To get in front of the problems that caused the abuse and neglect that we saw in our veterinary clinics, we needed to get to the root causes of violence, abandonment, and neglect. Using empathy as a long-term antidote to abuse is key to our process.

As we move forward, Ruthless Kindness will continue its responsive clinics and on-call services while expanding to offer empathy education and other essential resources for our community. 

At Ruthless Kindness, our mission is to address the epidemic of violence and preventable suffering in at-risk animals and people. We currently work in California throughout Napa, Sonoma, and Solano counties; the majority of our clientele are women and approximately half are BIPOC. 

​Up to 50% of domestic violence survivors will not leave danger if they can't bring their pets with them. One barrier individuals have to leaving an unsafe environment is that they cannot get their pet(s) vaccinated and microchipped quickly enough to claim an available, pet-friendly bed at a shelter. A similar challenge exists with homeless individuals seeking admission to shelters.

Ruthless Kindness works to ensure that pets are vaccinated and healthy so they can join their families in shelters. We do this through free, mobile clinics where individuals in need can have their pets examined, vaccinated, microchipped, and treated. Since 2017, we have served more than 750 victims with pets, and we are expanding our clinic offerings every month. 

70% of victims entering shelter report that their animals were threatened or harmed by an abuser. Additionally, in homes with both children and animals, if an animal is abused, there is an 88% chance that a child is also being abused. Clearly, the health and safety of humans is directly tied to the health and safety of animals. 

By preserving the human/animal bond and approaching these issues holistically, Ruthless Kindness keeps pets and humans together, keeps pets and humans safe, prevents/reduces shelter intake, and improves the mental health of individuals going through challenging times.

Our current programming and priorities include: Developing pet-friendly shelter options in Northern California; Developing a foster network for emergency/temporary animal housing; Expanding mobile veterinary clinics; Training key stakeholders; Expanding services to Spanish. 

Ruthless Kindness is a Charity participating in the NASCAR Day Giveathon 2023 a Giving Day event, presented by The NASCAR Foundation.