Super Bowl Champ Pays 91 Dogs’ Adoption Fees to Celebrate

When sports teams achieve success, the players celebrate in a variety of ways. They might go out and party together as a team, or to celebrate the end of a successful season with a memorable family holiday. Recently, the Kansas City Chiefs took the win at the 2020 Super Bowl, and one player decided to celebrate this achievement by paying his good fortune forward in an unusual way. According to I Heart Dogs, the success of the team has benefited a group of dogs living in a shelter. Derrick Nnadi, a defensive tackle, decided to celebrate the success by paying for the adoption fees of all the available dogs living at the KC Pet Project. At the time of the player offering to cover these costs, there were 91 dogs living at the KC Pet Project. The cost of adoption for one of the dogs living at KCPP is around $150. This cost covers various aspects of the adoption process, including caring for the dog at the shelter and administrative costs.

It is often the adoption fee that deters people from adopting a dog from a rescue shelter. It can seem an expensive price to pay when the potential adopter must also buy all the pet products needed to welcome a dog into their homes, such as a dog bed, feeding bowls, food, a lead, and dog toys. Derrick Nnadi paying these fees has potentially saved the dog lovers of Kansas City a whopping $14,000. Not having to pay the adoption fee may encourage more people to consider welcoming a rescue dog into their home, thus shortening the amount of time dogs spend at the shelter. If the dogs are adopted quickly, it can also save the shelter money. Nnadi is a dog lover, and he has earned a reputation for supporting animal charities. At the beginning of the season, he went into partnership with KCPP through his foundation, the Derrick Nnadi Foundation.

Initially, he had promised to cover the adoption fee for one dog that was having difficulty finding a new home every time his team won a game. At the end of the season, he extended his offer to cover the adoption costs of all the dogs living in the shelter at that time, regardless of the length of time they had been there. It was reported by ESPN that all the dogs have since found forever homes. This meant that all 91 dogs from the three KCPP shelters around Kansas City had a second chance at life with new owners who were willing to offer them a better life. Despite the fact that some of the dogs had already spent extended periods of time in the shelters, the dogs began to get snapped up by adoptive families very quickly as soon as the adoptive fees were covered by Nnadi.

A representative of KCPP said that 20 dogs were adopted through the Super Bowl Program by Monday afternoon. This is a staggering number of dogs as it is twice as many successful adoptions as they would expect to achieve on the average weekday. It has been far more successful than anybody could have expected. The staff at the shelters are delighted that so many dogs are getting the chance to live in a forever home. This shows that eliminating adoption fees is an effective way to encourage adoption. Unfortunately, shelters cannot afford to waive adoption fees in most circumstances. Therefore, it makes a big difference when kindhearted people like Nnadi are willing to cover these costs.

Although Nnadi is known for being an animal lover and for helping animals in need, this is not the only charitable work he has done. There are also many children who have benefited from his charitable work and donations. Some of the other charities he has supported in recent years include the Ronald McDonald House Charities and the Boys and Girls Clubs o Greater Kansas City. Much of the inspiration for founding the Derrick Nnadi Foundation came from Nnadi’s father. When he was growing up, Nnadi was always taught by his father that they were givers rather than receivers. Nnadi was encouraged to share what he had with those less fortunate.

The morals that his father instilled in him have remained with Nnadi into adult life. To give and not receive is a mantra that is embodied in the foundation and is evident in the work that the foundation supports. Since it was founded, this foundation has made a significant difference in many lives. The caring actions of Nnadi are in sharp contrast to the stories of other sports personalities that have hit the headlines in recent months. Rakeem Nunez-Roches attracted media attention after he abandoned a dog at a shelter when it was no longer useful to him for breeding, reported TMZ. Animal lovers were disgusted by his actions, and there were calls for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle to face prosecution.

Similarly, former New York Mets top draft pick Shawn Abner was accused of neglecting his dog and leaving it to die in August 2019, says Fox 43. The 14-year-old Husky had been left alone in die in Abner’s apartment, and a neighbor found the animal decaying just inside the apartment door. Stories such as these have led to sports personalities gaining a bad reputation for not caring for their pets in recent months. However, Abner and Nunez-Roches are thankfully in the minority, and most sports personalities care for their animals well. It is fortunate that there are sports people like Nnadi who can give a better representation of professional sportspeople. Hopefully, people will remember the kind actions of this player for longer than the despicable behavior of other sportspeople who have made the headlines for all the wrong reasons.