What started with one woman and a handful of friends networking to foster neglected and abused animals has grown into 20 years, 32 acres, and countless saved lives.

Sara Penhallegon, founder and director of Center Valley Animal Rescue, is the woman behind it all whose vision has created a legacy of love, compassion, and second chances for helpless creatures.

When asked what drives her to keep at it after all these years, Penhallegon replied, “Give me a challenge and I will be happy.”

It was a motto prompted by the story of how she rescued eight starving bison without any previous experience working with the massive animals.

On this long road Penhallegon has seen more than her fair share of tragedy, but still she stays positive.

Her secret?

“I see the light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.

“I don’t focus on what was. I look at what I can do.”

With the celebration of all she has done approaching, Penhallegon and her team are currently in the middle of baby season with more than
60 newborn animals at the facility. As part of this work, she just sent kittens to prison.

Penhallegon has teamed up with the Welfare for Animals Guild and the local corrections system, to pair semi-feral kittens one-to-one with individual inmates to help the kittens socialize, and the prisoners, too.

The stories and letters from inmates about how the program changed their lives are yet another one of the joys that keep Penhallegon going, she said.

Penhallegon will be hosting two talks on wildlife and domestic animals where she’ll be telling similar stories; on Saturday, July 9 at Center Valley Animal Rescue’s 20th anniversary celebration and summer open house.

In addition, there will be tours of the facility, a vegetarian barbecue, a raffle, and silent auction to help raise funds to save more animals.

For more information on the event, go to centervalleyanimalrescue.org.