QUILCENE — Second Chance Ranch does exactly what the name implies: gives animals a second chance.
For some, it’s the chance to be adopted and to find a second home.
For others, it’s the chance to live again.
Sara Penhallegon, owner and operator of the sprawling ranch on Center Road, just outside Quilcene, is doing her best to offer that chance to more than 100 animals living at the animal shelter.
Penhallegon has the standard cats and dogs, as well as a few pasture animals such as horses, goats and llamas.
And, living on a ranch in a wooded area of the southern part of East Jefferson County, Penhallegon also has room for rabbits, chickens, geese and ducks.
But what you might not expect to see are the collection of exotic birds or the group of lizards at the ranch.
“Yeah, we have a lot of animals,” Penhallegon said, laughing.
She has large parrots and iguanas that are several feet in length.
She has almost 100 cats, all looking for homes.
She has about a dozen horses roaming the pastures.
Without Penhallegon, there is little doubt that all these animals would not be alive.
Hurt animals
The ranch’s primary goal is to care for animals in need of severe rehabilitation.
The lizard sanctuary — a tiny room heated to 95 degrees — houses reptiles that were abandoned or poorly cared for.
When visitors enter the warm, dry room, the scaled creatures make an effort to greet them at the front of their respective cages, but that is difficult to do with broken fingers and claws.
“They really shouldn’t be pets,” Penhallegon said.
“People don’t take care of them, and they get really sick.”
One small, stoic-looking bearded dragon is the friendliest of the bunch, she said. He can’t be adopted yet, though.
“I have to inject food into his stomach every day, because he won’t eat,” she said.
“We think he has a tumor in his stomach, so we’re waiting for the X-rays to come back to see what we can do.”
The little lizard is a good example of what Penhallegon does at the ranch — she saves animals at any cost.
There is a bunny with a broken leg, a llama that was dying after a botched surgery and several cats that have been hit by cars or have gone blind.
Several horses run through the pastures, calmly eyeing visitors as they chew on hay. A few weeks ago they were starving on a dilapidated farm.
“We have a lot of animals in bad shape,” Penhallegon said. “But we have many, many animals who are completely ready to be adopted. I don’t think there are many people who realize how many completely adoptable animals we have right now.”
“That’s what we focus on,” Penhallegon said. “Rehabilitation of animals is my goal here.”
But in recent months, that has changed.
Effect of ecnonomic slump
With the recent downturn in the economy, Penhallegon is seeing more healthy animals arrive at the ranch.
“When money gets tight, animals are the first to go,” she said.
“I have a feeling it’s just going to get worse.”
Penhallegon has several parrots, love birds and doves that cost their previous owners too much to feed.
She talks to the animals as she makes rounds through the pens.
“You try so hard to get adopted, don’t you,” she said to a black and brown, long-haired cat wreathing her leg.
“I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want you.”
While more animals are arriving, donations are trending the other way.
Costs of living are rising for animals as well, and it isn’t cheap to keep a room heated to 95 degrees day and night.
While funds are major a concern for the nonprofit operation, Penhallegon also needs time to nurture the animals.
“With more animals coming in, we can’t give them all the attention they need,” she said.
“The cats need petting, and they all need to be fed.”
Ways to help
Penhallegon said that there are three ways others can help.
“You can donate money, you can donate time or you can adopt a pet,” she said.
“We can never get enough volunteers, and we honestly have everything out here as far as animals go.
“We have a lot of animals just looking for a home, but if the current trend continues, I might have to stop taking some in here.”
For more information about the Second Chance Ranch, contact Penhallegon at 360-765-0598 or at secondchanceranch@olypen.com.
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Reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com.
