Kay’s passion for animals first came when helping their grandmother rescue and care for over 30 abandoned cats and kittens in a local shelter. Frequently staying up all night to keep newborn kittens warm and full fostered a deep appreciation for all people who work to care for animals every day.
As a teenager, they spent several years volunteering and working for a local wildlife rehabilitation center in Florida, healing and releasing orphaned and injured wildlife such as songbirds, raptors, deer, small wild cats, and possums. This experience opened their eyes to the importance of wildlife’s role in our ecosystem and how important each species is to maintaining a happy world.
A love for nature and wildlife led Kay to the Zoo Animal Technology Program at Santa Fe College, an hour north of their hometown. There, they explored the ways of professional animal care at the only AZA-accredited zoo located on a college campus in the nation. Not only did they learn the proper husbandry techniques to provide the best possible care for the animals they were responsible for, but they also explored the positives of cooperative care and enrichment to make the animals’ lives as full as possible.
Compassionate rescue work has been ingrained in them, and the opportunity to provide the best possible life for the residents at Luvin Arms is their number one priority.