Hundreds of dogs and cats in Taft, Texas, have one kind woman to thank for saving their lives. That woman is Kayla Denney. Denney was awarded the 2019 Petco Foundation ‘Unsung Hero’ award and won $35,000 after she brought her local shelter’s kill rate from 100% to 0%.
Since Denney has devoted her life to save every dog that she possibly can, the chief of police found her the perfect candidate to steer the local shelter back to life. In November 2018, the chief appointed Denney as the lead animal control officer of the City of Taft Animal Control Department. Since she took over, every dog that passed through the shelter found their forever home. “As of November 1st, we have saved 565 dogs and cats out of Taft,” said Denney.
Denney flew to San Diego, California, to accept her award. She was surprised to know about the nomination and was honored. “There are thousands of applicants; I didn’t know I was nominated. I became the 2019 unsung hero for the country so one person in the whole United States, and it still just blows my mind that that’s still a thing,” explained Denney. Her lifesaving efforts that made a difference in Taft is what earned her the award.
In February 2019, Denny made the top 5 out of thousands of nominees and was awarded $10,000. When she won first place, she got an extra $25,000. Denny said that all of the money would go directly to the Taft animal shelter. “It’s an older shelter, and it’s run down. We got lights thanks to a donor who put in electricity for us, but I want indoor-outdoor kennels with a guillotine in between, so when it’s raining, we can put them inside,” said Denney.
Denny will continue saving dogs and cats’ lives because its what she loves to do. She hopes the Petco Award will be the first step into a long successful trail with a brighter future for sheltered animals.
