Vote for the 2026 More Than a Pet Community Hero

Jewell Brown is devoted to her two senior rescue dogs, Sassy and Cesar, as well as a trusted and consistent source of support for her community, particularly people and pets experiencing housing insecurity. She removes barriers that people often experience in her community, whether by opening her backyard for unhoused people to have a safe place to stay together with their pet or offering shelter to a couple sleeping outdoors so they and their dog could stay warm. Through her personal efforts and volunteer work with her church, Brown regularly provides warm meals, clothing and essential supplies, always keeping pet food on hand to distribute as needed. She works to provide access to vaccines, spay/neuter and wellness services to make sure pets in her community receive immediate and long-term care.
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Luisa Lopez is known as the go-to person who steps in when an animal or community member needs help in her mobile home park. Most of Lopez’s pets have come to her through friends and neighbors, opening her heart and home when people were struggling. But her compassion extends far beyond her own animals—Lopez feeds and looks after community cats, setting up food and water along her fence and checking in on them regularly. She has also worked to trap, neuter and return local cats. Animals of all kinds have passed through her care, from turtles found on the side of the road to rabbits she took in from someone who could no longer keep them. She steps in whenever and wherever she can.
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Chantal Wadsworth was born and raised on the Navajo reservation and has dedicated her life to animal welfare in a community where access to resources is extremely limited. With only two veterinary clinics on the Navajo Nation and significant barriers related to cost, distance, transportation and language, she ensures families can get the veterinary care they need for their pets by providing financial support, coordinating appointments and personally transporting pets to appointments. Volunteering her time while also maintaining a full-time job, she is a trusted communicator who offers guidance in the Navajo language. She provides free doghouses and founded the first-ever pet pantry on the Navajo Nation.
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