Laura Fletcher-Taylor—co-founder of Loving Friends Transport, a Clearwater, FL-based nonprofit that transports animals from overcrowded shelters in one part of the country to shelters in another part, where they stand a much better chance of being adopted; they also transport animals from such crisis situations as hurricanes, hoarding cases and puppy mill raids—discusses her longstanding devotion to caring for animals, whether tending to injured ones as a little kid or, as a college student, looking after horses who were foaling.
Into adulthood, she recalls continuing to help animals and volunteering at organizations. She details how a puppy mill dog they had adopted, a dachshund named Lily (who, sadly, died last year) served as key inspiration for creating Loving Friends Transport. Fletcher-Taylor describes how another pivotal experience foreshadowing the launching of Loving Friends Transport came in the wake of Hurricane Katrina when she and her 
husband, J.T., drove down in her mother’s RV to rescue animals; when they returned to Florida, they crammed the vehicle with more than 20 animals, including dogs, cats and an iguana. Subsequently, she explains, they designed and built a trailer expressly created to transport animals—and the flexibility to alter the configuration for different types and quantities of animals–which they tow behind a customized truck/RV. Fletcher-Taylor notes they currently 
average on transport per week, sometimes dropping off or picking up some animals en route, and their critter cargo tends to be dogs, sometimes cats, occasionally others, including some lions and tigers. She points out that as more organizations and shelters across the country become aware of Loving Friends Transport, she hopes more will avail themselves of their services. (www.lovingfriendstransport.org, www.facebook.com/lovingfriendstransport)
COMEDY CORNER: Jake Johannsen’s “Whale Watching” (part two) (http://jakethis.com)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Asheba’s “No More Monkeys,” Brad Mehldau’s version of The Beatles’ “Blackbird,” instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Baha Men’s “Who Let The Dogs Out”
AUDIO
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