About

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The dream, vision, and passion behind Little Mountain Animal Sanctuary was Sharon Marie Rhoads-Kozar.  Her love of animals was apparent since she was just a little girl growing up in Bucks County, PA and only continued to grow throughout her life. Sharon Marie had an accomplished professional/corporate career in Finance & Accounting, but her passion and dream was to start a sanctuary to give rescued farm animals a place to live out their life in comfort and love.

Sadly, Sharon Marie passed into Heaven on November 14th, 2022 after a courageous battle with cancer before she could see this dream become a reality. It is in her memory that Little Mountain Animal Sanctuary is brought to life. 

When Sharon Marie and her husband decided to leave Pennsylvania and move to Ohio (his home state), the mission was to find the perfect property to build her sanctuary. After many tours and trips, the 25 acre property on Little Mountain territory bordering Holden Arboretum took their breath away and immediately felt like home. Home to her was on the farm right where she intended to make an impact and begin the next chapter of her life. 

Sharon Marie’s profound eye for detail and constant desire to learn led her to dive into research to truly understand what it is to run a successful sanctuary. While living in Pennsylvania, she attended an internship at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY, which is the founding farm animal sanctuary in the U.S., having rescued and provided refuge for countless survivors of the animal agriculture system. 

In addition, she and her husband began renovating and upgrading the grounds, barns, and home to be the perfect sanctuary for their soon-to-be animals and visitors while also trying to preserve as much historical content as possible.* 

Our hope is that when you visit Little Mountain Animal Sanctuary, virtually or in person, you can feel the impact our generous, sensitive, perceptive, loving, and extraordinary Sharon Marie had on us and our shared passion to help animals live the life they deserve. 

*If interested, more on the history of Little Mountain’s land can be found on the History page.