After a lifetime of dedication to animals, the late Kaye Knight has posthumously received the Alabama Medical Vetinary Association’s 2018 Special Award.

Dr. George Wood, local veterinarian and Alabama Veterinary Medical Association member, said Knight was beyond deserving of the award and he is pleased the association saw fit to honor her in such a way.

“This is an award because of what she has done to provide for the care of God’s creatures,” he said.

Knight was originally nominated for the layperson of the year, an award given to someone who is not a licensed veterinarian. However, because of her exemplary service to animals, Knight was given the Special Award.

“Each association has the ability to nominate anyone they want to,” he said. “They honor people who are going above an beyond as far as animals are concerned.”

As a former member of several of the association’s committees, Wood is well versed in the selection process of the awards.

Knight died last April after a long battle with cancer, but before her death she dedicated her family’s property to the Sky Hill Animal Society, formally the Humane Society of Central Alabama.  After visiting the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, Knight transformed her childhood into Selma’s very own animal sanctuary.

“This was a culmination of a dream she had,” Wood said “ She wanted to form a facility that would care for animals that were abused, for animals that had no home, for animals that were neglected and just care for them.”

Wood said Knight’s love and care for what she did went far beyond any award she could have ever received.

“She was not a person that just talked and told people what to do,” he said. “She was a person that took whatever needed doing and just did it.”

He said her dedication to making a better life for animals was inspiring, and he is happy to say that he knew her.

Knight’s husband, Ramsey Knight, accepted the award in Kaye’s honor.