Man dedicates second chance at life to helping animals in Evangeline Parish

A Ville Platte man is using his second chance at life to help rescue animals.

VILLE PLATTE, La. (KLFY) – A Ville Platte man is using his second chance at life to help rescue animals.

"The only way to know your true strength is to keep testing your limits." Those are the words that helped Clark Kent become Superman. But those same words can be said to Layton Brown, who is using his second chance at life to help animals in need find their second chance at the Heroes Everywhere Animal Rescue in Ville Plate.

"It just means more than life to me to be out here with these animals. I mean, you know, they need all the love they can get," says Brown.

Back in 2021, Brown was living in Baton Rouge and was involved in a car accident that nearly took his life and left him being told he could never walk again. "They told me I'm going to be in a wheelchair or a hospital bed for the rest of my life. And I said, Man, forget that. That's not going to be me."

Brown says he worked tirelessly to rehab and get back the function of his legs. Now walking 6-7 miles a day, Brown says he found purpose when he moved to Ville Platte and met shelter owner Matt Baker. "I would just walk around all the time down Angus Road over here. And this guy, Mr. Baker, saw me, and after a couple of times he saw me, he decided to stop me.

"And I stopped and talked to him. And he told me a story about not being able to walk and walk. And my first thought was, do you like to walk Dogs? Let's put this together. And he is like his eyes lit up," says Baker.

Since that conversation with Baker, Brown has been a regular volunteer helping the Baker couple take care of the dogs; from walking to cleaning the kennels and dedicating his second chance to helping the dogs find theirs. "Every day that he comes over here, He's an inspiration. Just knowing what he's been through and watching this boy the way he is with these puppies, I get fired up, man," says Baker.

"The good Lord gave me a second chance to start doing the right thing. And that's what I'm here to give these dogs the second chance that they deserve. Because they are. These were all abandoned, mistreated animals. And we're giving them the second chance of love that they needed in the first place," says Brown.

Moving forward, Brown says his biggest hope is that more people will make their way over to the Heroes Everywhere Animal Rescue and give these animals the loving home they all deserve.

Heroes Everywhere Animal Rescue is located at 1771 Cousins Road in Ville Platte and can be reached by phone at (337) 210-6553

The shelter is appointment only for any of those looking to visit the dogs and consider adoption.

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