Although many shelters around the world are now following a no-kill policy, sadly, kill shelters aren’t quite yet a thing of the past. Overcrowding and lack of funding are two of the main reasons why shelter workers are forced to euthanize animals, and it can happen as often as every week.
For one shelter in Taft, Texas, the kill rate was exceptionally high, and shockingly, almost 100% of all animals living at the shelter had to be put down.
The staff were heartbroken about the current circumstances and knew that something had to change. Luckily, help was on hand, in the form of animal-lover Kayla Denney.
Kayla was so committed to the cause, that she decided to leave her old job in order to give the animals her full love and attention. When she first arrived at the shelter, it was in such a bad condition that there wasn’t even any electricity.
Because of the shelter’s limited budget, repairs weren’t able to be made, and to cope with the number of animals that the shelter held, a “kill day” was necessary every Wednesday to provide more room for animals coming in. It was absolutely heartbreaking.
“We did have what they call the ‘blue juice’, to euthanize animals.” City Manager Denise Hitt said to Southern Living.
“Every Wednesday was the kill day. It was horrible,” Chief of Police Josh Cornish added.
Kayla’s main aim was to make sure that the shelter animals were given a decent chance to find a good home- and to do that, the shelter was going to need more money.
Not to be deterred, Kayla began asking her friends and family for supplies and wrote a post appealing for donations on Facebook.
Unbelievably, Kayla’s post instantly went viral and was seen by thousands of people in the local area. Over the next few days, Kayla managed to gather over 800 boxes from generous people, containing pet beds, toys, food, and supplies to help repair different parts of the building.
Many people also offered to volunteer at the shelter, and others visited on a weekly basis to play with all of the animals and give them lots of attention.
It took lots of work, but thanks to Kayla, the shelter has now been completely transformed. The near 100% kill rate was completely abolished, the electricity was fixed, and Kayla improved the shelter’s marketing ads so that more and more animals began to get adopted. As of November 1, the shelter had saved a staggering 565 dogs and cats.
As a thank you for all of her hard work, Kayla was nominated for a prestigious award from the Petco Foundation – and she won! She is now the official holder of the 2019’s National Unsung Hero Award, and she was gifted the incredible prize money of $35,000.
Naturally, Kayla isn’t thinking of keeping the money for herself. In fact, it’s all being donated to the shelter.
“I want indoor-outdoor kennels with a guillotine in between so when it’s raining we can put them inside. We want an area where they can have a meet and greet out in the field and somewhere, they can have grass time rather than just cement time,” she said to KZTV.
What a kind, selfless woman. Watch the shelter’s incredible transformation story below.
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