Photo: David McClister
Taylor also spent many an early morning with her father, joining him as the sun came up to feed their own animals, including a slew of dogs andminiature ponies.
From an early age, she knew, when she grew up, that she too wanted to fill her life with animals.
But she never envisioned havingthismany.
“I wish I could take them all in,” Taylor, 32, tells PEOPLE. “I wish I could give all of these animals places outside to run and find places where they could all get out of the cold and out of the heat.”
Currently, Taylor has three dogs, one three-legged cat, 10 chickens, and four goats named after some of music’s most legendary figures, includingDolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.
The Kentucky native’s love for animals not only comes from time spent on her papaw’s farm but also her own rescue work. In 2016, Taylor rescued her first pony.
“I had read about the likelihood of an orphaned pony surviving without a mom, and that the best idea was to get them another farm animal, so that’s how I got into goats,” the singer/songwriter says of how her big family of pets started. “I bought the horse … a goat. That horse is now on a much bigger farm with kids. And so, it was a happy story, but you can’t have just one goat because they’re herd animals. I mean, she would just scream bloody murder because she was alone.”
Natia Cinco
So, Taylor had no other choice; she had to get herself another goat.
In 2017, having so many furry friends comforted Taylor as she faced the most painful year of her life, dealing with the death of her beloved dog Ali andthe demise of her first marriage.
But those days are firmly behind her.
Brit Taylor
“I don’t think I could do what I do in my professional life if I didn’t have all the animals and the responsibilities here at the farm,” says Taylor, who released a deluxe version of her current albumReal Methis past summer. “It’s how I relax and how I ground myself and how I give myself a break from everyday life. And it doesn’t feel like a chore at all. It’s just something that I not onlyhaveto do but what Iwantto do. Mornings are my favorite time of the day because I get to go see everybody.”
And luckily, Chaffins loves their animal menagerie just as much as she does.
Taylor’s heart is too bignotto have animals, especially when they just show up on her stoop.
“That’s how I got my cat,” Taylor says of her three-legged feline named Loretta — after the iconic Loretta Lynn. “She just kind of showed up here.”
What makes these animals even luckier is that they are usually the ones who get to hear Taylor’s songs first.
“That’s where I get all my song ideas,” says Taylor — who hopes to add miniature donkeys to the mix next year — of her inspiring property. “I know people hate pulling weeds, but it really is my favorite task. It grounds me and clears my head like nothing else. And that’s when you can hear the muse because I don’t feel like songs come from me. They come from outside of me, and they just land on me. And if my mind is so busy with all these thoughts, I can’t hear them. And so, when I’m gardening and when I’m feeding my animals and when I am hauling hay, I can hear the muse better.”
source: people.com
