In Loving Memory of Animal Advocate Rick Tebbs

Yesterday was animal rights advocate and rescuer, Rick Tebbs birthday. I sent him this birthday wish through messenger, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BADDEST, KICK ASS RESCUER EVER!!!!". And then I learned. I was too late. Rick left this earth on August 20th.

Rick and I worked together on a local rescue situation where a German shepherd dog, named Lucky, was being housed outdoors with a soggy tarp for protection in a large cage enclosure, with an aquarium of dirty water to drink and hardly any human contact. I spoke to my friend and local animal law attorney (deepest thanks, Brad) and Rick and he spoke. This was the beginning of August. Subsequently the owner agreed to relinquish Lucky and is living inside, enjoying air conditioning.

August 2. Rick Tebbs: "...Animals deserve the best we can do. It may not be heaven but "Lucky" is in a better place. If he goes back on his promises, I will be there, same day. But...I think its over." Typical Rick. He was big on accountability.

I first became aware of Rick when he made national news advocating for the animals in our local county shelter that were being killed at staggering rates (below).

Posted by Rick on Facebook on his last day of advocating, August 11, 2017. He was later rushed to the hospital. Suffered four strokes and lost brain function.

Obviously, these numbers are ALARMING, to say the least.

Rick's last major advocacy effort also involved HCACC. He wanted them to participate in "Clear The Shelters", the national shelter animal adoption program. The shelter did participate, for the first time ever. 101 animals were saved (only one was returned). This is probably the most difficult part of Rick's death. That he did not live long enough to see this historic moment for the shelter animals he fought so hard for so long for.

Posted by Rick on August 2.

August 5. Caption by Rick, "wow......" Thread: (friend) Rick how wonderful. This is what you have been waiting for. Will you be there the two days? Just to make sure that everything goes all right.· August 6 at 11:48am

Rick Tebbs I'm going. · August 6 at 11:48am

August 11 "Help me achieve the goal of a totally cleared shelter on August 18th and 19th at Horry County Shelter. Please.....be part of a miracle."

August 18. The result. One week later. Rick's wish was granted. My wish is that he knows.

Rick was outspoken. Much to the chagrin of the local government. But he would not be deterred. Everyday the fight continued. Rick managed a page on Facebook, "Horry County SC - Stop The Killing", in addition to his personal page, where he actively advocated for area animals, the other Luckys in the county.

WMBF News has been making calls on the story ever since. While no charges have been filed against anyone, there was confusion for weeks on who to call for help.
“That's exactly what the problem was. We didn't know who to go to, who to call. All we wanted to do was call the person who was going to fix it. And the two weeks I've been involved in it, we've never found that person. We never found anybody to do that,” Rick Tebbs said.
“Dogs can't talk. We're their voice. We're these dogs' and cats' voice if someone deems there is a really bad situation going on. There should be someone who cares right now,” Tebbs said.

These are some of my favorites. Rick was one of a kind and he we definitely my kind.

August 11

August 5. Directed at his nemesis, Horry County (government).

August 2.

July 20

Rick and his wife Lisa also operated a cat sanctuary, Circle of Life, in Conway, SC. Lisa and supporters of Rick's will continue it's operation. Donations are appreciated. I do not have that information, but if you are interested, message me or leave a comment and I will get it.

August 11

Rick will be missed beyond measure. He lived his life as we all should, making a difference each day. Living each day. One day you are here. One day you are gone.

This one will not be forgotten.

After I wrote the above, I found this on Rick's Facebook page. Rick posted it on July 19 - with "To all my friends, "I love you"....."

"The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Grease" In Memory of Rick Tebbs, author Don Crouse

“The squeaky wheel gets the grease” is the most fitting way I can think of to pay tribute and to me...morialize Rick Tebbs. It was a phrase we used often in our conversations and it framed the essence of Rick’s successes as an advocate for others.

Rick was an incredible advocate for both animals and humans alike. His big heart, passion and compassion combined with rare tenacity made him a force to be reckoned with in his mission to serve his causes – helping those with neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (nOH) and animals in need of a safe sanctuary.

I first met Rick over the phone in late 2011. He had contacted the biopharma company for which I worked to gain access to a treatment for a rare condition (nOH) which had yet to gain approval from the FDA. He was in dire straits, blacking out and fainting often due to a massive drop in blood pressure that was so low doctors sometimes couldn’t get a blood pressure reading. He was bed-ridden much of the time. His suffering was complete. But his willingness to fight was strong.

Despite his daily battle with nOH and due to Rick’s tenacity and passionate letter writing, within a few months an FDA approved compassionate use program was set up that made it legal for people with severe nOH to receive treatment ahead of FDA approval of the medicine. The compassionate use program not only helped Rick to gain access to this medicine, it also helped many others with nOH to improve their quality of life a year or two ahead of its eventual FDA approval. For Rick, helping these other people was a major motivator.

With treatment secured for himself and feeling somewhat better Rick could have easily moved on; however, his desire to help others led him to become the most prominent patient advocate for the advancement of treatments and a cure for nOH. During the long FDA approval process for the medicine Rick wrote many impassioned letters to the FDA and to his US representative and SC Senators pleading for the need for new treatments. His letters, which were incredibly direct and heartfelt, were so effective that he was personally invited by top decision makers at the FDA to visit them at FDA headquarters in Bethesda, MD. Rick hated to fly, but the cause was too important to allow his fear to prevent him from making his plea in person. Rick flew two more times to Washington, DC for this cause. Once, to present his story to the FDA advisory committee voting on the approval, and again to tell his personal story to the company bringing the newly approved medicine to the US market.

During these years, I spoke with Rick many times and had the opportunity to visit with him in person 3 times. While our relationship started from Rick’s need for treatment we quickly evolved into good buddies. At first, we talked mostly about nOH and its effects on Rick and his work as a landscaper; but over the years we got to know a lot about each other’s families and passions. Rick was deeply concerned about a rare eye condition that I suffer from and always passed along news clips about potential treatments for me. He cared deeply about my family and loved hearing stories about our activities. He genuinely cared and was always sincere and straight forward with his thoughts.

I too learned a lot about Rick and was very happy to see his condition improve enough that he could better take on his passions. Rick often texted me pictures of his landscaping work. He and Lisa planted some amazing flower beds for their clients. His pride in a job well done, clear. He was so thankful for Lisa and her efforts to help him with his condition. During our conversations, his love for Lisa was always clear, too. And of course, there are his beloved animals. Anybody who knows anything about Rick knows how much he loved animals especially dogs and cats. Rick was a tireless, self-sacrificing advocate for animals in need, his home and property a safe sanctuary. Personally, my favorite topic to discuss with Rick was NFL football. Our teams, diehard enemies, we both always got good laughs from ribbing each other.

Rick has left a lasting-legacy. Even he might not have known how big it really is. Thousands of strangers suffering from nOH and even other rare diseases have benefited from Rick’s efforts to improve the rare disease drug approval process. He made the FDA listen to his voice and his voice counted. His animals and other Horry county causes/issues are better off, too.

Here is what I admired most about Rick. His ability to step outside his comfort zone to make a difference. By speaking out and taking action, Rick has left the world a better place.

If you take one thing from Rick’s life – find a cause you are passionate about and work to make a difference. Rick used to apologize to me for being so vocal about his causes. Because I knew his heart was in the right place, my reply was always “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.”

My wife Geri and I will miss Rick dearly. With thoughts and prayers to Lisa, his family, and his beloved “kitties.”

Condolences -

Mine: Happy Birthday in Heaven, Rick. So shocked and devastated right now. I, like many others, are just learning you are no longer with us. No longer fighting the fight with us. We will never forget you and you will forever be missed. Thank you for all you did for animals while you were on this earth.

Rick Tebbs September 1, 1955 - August 20, 2017.

RickTebbs you will be greatly missed..you fought for so many .my heart is broken ? prayers to his wife so sorry

My heart is completely shattered over him. I would give anything to have him back again.....

i will never forget Rick Tebbs..his wonderful energy toward saving animals will live on thru all hearts he has touched with his great passion for life. every time i donate for any animal cause i will think of him

I am very sad today I just found out that one of the biggest Animal Advocates has passed away here in South Carolina he will be missed I never got to meet you Rick Tebbs and I'm sorry we didn't but I stood behind you in everything you accomplished we will just leave politics on the side lol since we both have different views rest in peace my friend we all will continue your legacy

I am so sorry for your loss....only knew him through his fb posts but deeply respected and share his passion for our furry friends. Ours prayers are with you.

In honor of Mr. Rick Tebbs, this little girl has been named Ricky.

I thank God I had the honor to meet you

He is irreplaceable!

Rest my friend. We'll take over from here.

I am still so sad that this wonderful human being passed away. All the precious animals you helped! God Bless You! My heart goes out to your family.

I'm still finding it hard to believe. Like I'm going to wake up and it's all been a terrible nightmare. He made a huge impact on people and animals. I miss him

Just now learned of Ricks passing. I am truly shocked and greatly saddened. We were FB friends and I always looked forward to his posts. I also have a cat shelter and feed ferals also. I make many sacrifices to buy food for them every month. I deeply respected Rick. Will certainly miss his posts. RIP

Thank you all for your loving comments about my baby brother.

Rest In Peace Mr. Rick Tebbs you will be so greatly missed

Yesterday a very dear fb friend of mine passed away. He was a great advocate for animals. He had his own cat sanctuary, where over 20 stray and feral cats lived. He named his sanctuary: Circle of life. He took in cats, kittens and a few years ago he rescued a dog, left at the side of a busy road. Every day he went with his lovely wife there to feed this dog, built a shelter there for her, so the dog could stay out the rain and storms. He named the dog Brownie. After 4 months he ...gained the trust of Brownie and took him home to give her a loving forever home. He had a lot of cat houses on his property for the strays and ferals, so they could take shelter. Also on his sheltered porch lived about 10 cats that he named his porch babies. All the cats had names, once they were there, they never left, although they were free to go if they wanted to. He rescued a lot of cats. He fought tooth and nails against kill shelters, bombarded a kill shelter in his county with emails, bombarded the local sheriff, bombarded (local) news channels and newspapers, all with emails and phone calls. He was a great man and a gentle soul. My heart goes out to his lovely wife and to his family. He was a great friend to me Rest in peace Rick Tebbs ?????? I will always miss you

I miss you so much already. I'm going to try to concentrate on remembering our last visit together, watching a Pink Floyd concert on tv and just bullshitting about nothing, lol. You leave behind a huge void in many lives but we will carry on your legacy of animal rescue. Give all of those fur babies in heaven a huge hug from all of us

I miss him too and don't see that changing. Huge loss for us, big gain for Heaven.

Ahh, Rick Tebbs....you gained your wings today, but my heart is strangely peaceful. What a celebration there must be at the Bridge today! ?? All the souls you fought for so hard, but couldn't save, and the ones you did save, but went before you. I will always treasure our friendship....meet me at the Bridge, Rick, when my time comes. Until then, please guide those of us still fighting. Much love my friend, mentor, hero and inspiration! ????????

It is with a Heavy Heart to let you all know that Our Animal Hero Rick Tebbs has passed Away?? There will be a Memorial Service in a few weeks. I will post the information when the Memorial Arrangments have been made. If anyone wants to donate food to His Sanctuary please message me. TYIA ?? Rick RIP you are and always will be our HERO

Rick Tebbs, you did it. All the work, all the struggles, all the insults and dismissiveness you plowed through, all the years of fighting for the animals, and at last, the shelter was cleared. My God what a miracle! And you did it. How I wish we who love you could have danced with you! But I KNOW you are dancing with hundreds of babies who have waited over that rainbow bridge just for you. I will save that dance for when we meet again. I hear the bells and I know- you've gained your wings, my friend.

I will always be sad we never got that interview Rick Tebbs but you've done wonderful work in the life saving of the voiceless. It's bitter sweet to know you're resting peacefully before just so you can rest forever. You will be missed tremendously.

I will miss his battle cry against Horry County, his photos of his and Lisa's beloved Brownie, all his cats and rescues. He was a man who lived what he preached.

My heart is breaking knowing Rick's time is near ?? he is such a great person and fought extremely hard for the animals. He went above and beyond to save an animal in need, he went against Horry Animal Control to stop the killings of innocent animals, he NEVER gave up! His goal was to have the shelters cleared and it happened. I am heartbroken that he wasn't awake to hear the news, but I know deep down he knew. We must continue to fight for the voiceless in his name.

The shock, "WTF happened??" 

Gone but not forgotten. Condolences and comments continue to flood Rick's Facebook page.

Richard Henry Tebbs

September 1, 1955 - August 20, 20917

August 19. Prayers for peace, Rick Tebbs....may you know how deeply you are treasured and loved. ??

Thank you for your advocacy, your tenacity, your humor, your wit, your compassion, you're never backing down. All the way to the end, to the last posts on August 11.

Thank you, Rick. You will be so very missed, forever.