“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” - Christopher Reeve

This week's episode takes us to Williamstown, New Jersey to meet Eileen Persia, founder of The Troll House Animal Sanctuary. We'll explore this budding new sanctuary and all the obstacle Eileen had to face to make her dream of running a sanctuary possible. Inspired by an amazing pig named Alba at nearby Rancho Relaxo Animal Sanctuary, Eileen instantly went vegan and her sanctuary dream was born. Eileen dream began to take shape in 2018 when she purchased a 7 acre property. However, Eileen couldn't begin to imagine all the challenges she would face in life before eventually making the property home in 2021. Instead of building her dream, she found herself fighting for her life as she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer in September of 2020. She wasn’t finished remodeling the house, in fact, she hadn’t even gotten a chance to move in and she definitely hadn’t gotten to start the sanctuary she dreamt about. Eileen's cancer treatment lasted more than a year, but today she is happy to report she is cancer free. During her treatments Eileen planned, read, attended webinars, and found everything she could do to learn as much as possible about the animals she wanted to help. She has now finally moved into her sanctuary home and has started building the foundation for The Troll House Animal Sanctuary.

Join us as we discuss what everyday life looks like at the Troll House Animal Sanctuary, how Eileen's plans for the sanctuary changed after her battle with cancer, what advice she give to those interested in starting their own sanctuary, and much more.

To stay updated on The Troll House Animal Sanctuary, find them on Facebook and Instagram or visit their website at tthas.org. You can find additional information like where to purchase merchandise or make donations on their Linktree.

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For more information on Butterfly Valley Rescue and Sanctuary visit butterflyvalleyrescue.com.