CLEARFIELD TWP — A local entrepreneur and animal lover who is recently recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) will walk from Butler Crossing to California to raise money for an animal rescue organization.

Rebecca McCrea will lace up her sneakers and head to Los Angeles to attempt to get a spot on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” The show's host is also a supporter of Best Friends Animal Society, which will be the beneficiary of the 2,473-mile trek through a GoFundMe page.

“They're like, 'That's one crazy idea. How'd you come up with that?'” McCrea said of her family and friends' reaction to her journey.

One of those family members, Lacey McCrea, will drive a conversion van and stay within two miles of her aunt's location.

“She's a lot of fun and she loves animals too,” Rebecca said of her niece.

Joining the pair are Rebecca's Japanese Chin dog, Arnie, and Lacey's cat, Baby Cat.

“He'll walk with me a little bit, but I'm getting a front pack to carry him part of the time,” Rebecca said of Arnie. “His little legs get tired sometimes.”

She said a certain amount of Arnie's time might be spent with her niece.

“If it gets too hot, he can just ride in the vehicle,” she said.

McCrea hopes to walk at least 25 miles per day, with much of the trip being on Route 40.

She hopes to arrive in Burbank at DeGeneres' studio in August.

During the trip, the aunt and niece will sleep in the van at night and buy showers at truck stops.

“We're taking a cook stove, and the back seats of the van fold down into a bed,” she said.

McCrea will take along bottles of the product she created and produces, Hickey Bottom Barbecue Sauce, for retailers along the way.

The sauce is sold at Walmart and other large retailers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana.

“With all the things going on in the world now, why not do something that's good?” McCrea said. “I wanted to do something special for animals.”

She said she will walk in light rain but will hop into the van for thunderstorms.

“If it's pouring down rain, it's going to be a rain day,” McCrea said.

The McCreas plan to leave the parking lot of the Butler Walmart at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, and they invite the public to make a donation to the GoFundMe page or turn out to bid her farewell.

McCrea's publicist, Stacey Bender, said producers of DeGeneres' show are aware of her walk as well as May's designation as Barbecue Month.

“There's no guarantee (McCrea) will be on the show, but they will at least do a call-out at the end of the trip with the amount of money she raised,” Bender said.

McCrea said she hasn't been training for the challenging trip, but plans to play music and stop at some attractions along the way.

“Just seeing the scenery and everything is going to keep me busy,” she said.

Jen DiCuccio, executive director of the Butler County Humane Society, said her Connoquenessing Township facility is a network partner with Best Friends Animal Society.

She said Best Friends' mission is to have every shelter in the United States designated as “no-kill” by 2025.

Best Friends also serves as a clearinghouse of sorts for all animal shelters, so they can communicate with one another and ask questions. For example, the humane society can call the regional Best Friends manager if the shelter has too many dogs of one breed that are not being adopted.

“We can ask them if they know of a rescue organization for that breed — and boom, they'll give us the information on one,” DiCuccio said. “It's a great resource for us to bounce ideas off and get support.”

She is amazed at the challenge McCrea is taking on to raise money for Best Friends.

“I think it's awesome,” DiCuccio said. “What better way to show support of a wonderful organization like Best Friends than to stroll across the country and talk about her mission and what she is trying to do?”

DiCuccio can't wait to hear McCrea's stories and find out how much she raises for Best Friends.

“I give her a lot of credit,” she said of McCrea. “It's not easy, what she's about to embark upon.”