Within minutes of meeting Allison Lance, one might start to wonder if she was a dolphin in a past life. Her enthusiasm and passion in her drive to protect her animal friends is so strong that it touches just about every area of her life.

"I look at myself as just being a tool, a tool for the animals," Lance says. "I think, boy, I've been lucky, I've been given a body that's healthy and I can move around . . . and do what I need to do, but all just for the sake of the animals."

Lance first applied herself to the cause about 20 years ago when she got involved with an activist organization called PRISM.