Scott Hardy—co-founder of Hardy Hayes Refuge, a mom-and-pop rescue-rehab operation with sizable ambitions, and accomplishments to match—outlines his lifelong love of animals, describing a childhood where the insights gleaned from trying to treat a locust as a pet helped shape his sensibilities more than the family’s beloved beagle. 
Hardy (the “mom” to his “pop” is his wife, Christine Hardy-Hayes) recalls that owning and running Wagging Tails, a pet supplies shop in New York, represented another key step along the path that led him to the work he does today. Hardy makes clear, though, that a profoundly pivotal precursor to Hardy Hayes Refuge 
was his two and a half year stint at the Austin Zoo, which is not a zoo in the conventional sense, but a non-profit rescue and sanctuary. Hardy recounts his work there as a keeper, primarily caring for the primates, but also looking after other animals, including a wolf hybrid named Kayla, about whom he shared an affecting story about an understanding they came to when changing the bandage on her infected duclaw and her signaling to him when the process became too painful. Hardy talks about meeting Christine—at a dog park, not surprisingly; she had five dogs, even less surprisingly—and how they landed at an eight and a 
half acre-spread in Bastrop, Texas, from which they operate Hardy Hayes Refuge. Hardy notes that the organization, which focuses on fostering dogs with challenging circumstances—including those with medical issues and victims of cruelty—is a 501 (c ) (3) that welcomes donations, but is also funded by such unusual sources as the Uncle Mullet You Tube Channel and Gladys Hardy’s website, Gladys being the spirited old gal famous for her on-air phone conversations with Ellen DeGeneres. (https://unclemullet.com, (https://www.facebook.com/yappytrails/, https://www.gladyshardy.com)
COMEDY CORNER: John Mulaney’s “Baby Grandma” (http://www.johnmulaney.com)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Robert Plant’s version of “Bluebirds Over The Mountain,” (featuring Chrissie Hynde), instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster”
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