Stephen Knight, who provides foster homes for dogs while their owners seek addiction treatment, is CNN’s Hero of the Year

“This means everything. I represent so much here. I represent the recovery community. The dog rescue community. … This is going to be able to take us to the next level.”

Knight’s journey began in 2011, when at the age of 51, he had lost everything to meth addiction – his family, his job, his home, and nearly his life. HIV positive, and living out of his car, Knight entered rehab at the behest of his mother.

After months of treatment, and at a delicate time in his recovery, Knight’s life changed when a friend showed up at his door in tears. She had relapsed, and in her arms was her beloved dog, Jayde. Knight’s friend said no one would take Jayde, and she asked Knight for a ride to a shelter so she could surrender her.

“I looked at Jayde, and we looked at each other,” Knight said. “It was one of the most spiritual moments, like ‘I think we might need each other here.’”

Knight soon realized that other people were delaying or forgoing treatment because they could not find safe housing for their pets. He sought advice on best practices from a local animal rescue and educated himself on foster care protocol.

“These shelters are running 150 percent over capacity. If you’re over capacity, then you start euthanizing dogs,” Knight said. “We cannot have the solution be euthanize dogs. We can’t.”

1,200 dogs and counting

In 2015, Knight’s organization, Dogs Matter, became a registered nonprofit, and he buttoned up his program – vetting applicants, conducting animal behavior assessments, and executing contracts that require participants to stick to their recovery plan and complete a 12-month post-release wraparound program.

Today, Knight lives with his three dogs, Jayde, Piper and Lady, and his organization has helped more than 1,200 dogs and their owners. As Knight approaches 14 years clean and sober, he hopes to make Dogs Matter a national model program, with the goal of giving other animals and their humans the same second chance at life that he got.

“I share this award with Jayde. She’s the reason why I did this. One act of kindness and then to have that dream and that goal to be able to help others and do one step at a time to get there. And…1,200 dogs later it’s amazing. It’s just beginning too.”

A night celebrating selflessness

During his acceptance remarks, Fox shared the honor with others.

“I’m very proud on behalf of all the people with Parkinson’s and their families who’ve fought so hard for a cure and fought so hard for answers and new drugs in the pipeline, and through our foundation have found a way to realize that.”

You can get involved