"FROM WRESTLING TO RESCUE!"


Fantasia is a 28 year veteran of the ring, whom longtime PGWA fans will fondly recall for 
her battles with Leilani Kai and Nasty Angel.  And for the past five years she has also 
undertaken training of aspiring wrestlers, determined that both women and men who dream 
of a ring career are properly instructed.

The 5'9" powerhouse is well-known for showing no mercy to her opponents, but fans might 
be very surprised to learn that away from the squared circle, she is nothing less than an 
angel of mercy!  For when she isn't thrashing adversaries, she is dedicating herself to 
rescuing animals.  And both in and out of the ring, winning is the only option!

"I've always been involved in helping animals while growing up on a farm," she tells LadySports.  
"I wouldn't kill anything... instead I would relocate a bug, fly, spider, lizard, cat etcetera.  
I'd rehabilitate butterflies, dogs, cats and even wildlife and farm animals!"

"My size and strength are a big plus factor in both professional wrestling and animal rescue.  
I can do more than the average female in both worlds!" she adds with great understatement.

In a way, it was wrestling which got her directly involved in rescuing.  "I had decided to 
break away from pro wrestling as it became too toxic for me.  My passion had shifted gears 
and I wanted to get more involved with animal rescue.  I founded Roman's Travel with Care, 
named after my dog Roman, in July of 2015."

"I started as a transport rescue in helping over 300 other rescue organizations worldwide 
transport rescued animals.  My rescue became USDA T Class Certified to transport around the 
world any type of animal.  To date, we have transported over one thousand dogs, cats, 
wildlife and more."

"I found my real passion in doing animal rescue.  All those years of training to wrestle 
gave me the strength to enable me to lift, carry and do more, and that saves a great deal 
of time."

Roman's Travel with Care became a fast growing success, she tells us.  "It started locally, 
but quickly grew into a national program, doing coast to coast transporting and rescuing. 
Within our third year we went global.  I'm also working with larger organizations doing animal 
cruelty cases, as well as working with local law enforcement."

Any wrestler worth their salt knows full well what life on the road is like, and that experience 
is serving Fantasia well now.  "I've recently gone to Puerto Rico on two trips for a spay and 
neuter clinic.  It was an amazing experience!  It's hard work and long days, but so humbling 
at the same time.  To work with such organizations has been an experience of a lifetime for me."

But Fantasia's connection to wrestling isn't something in her past...it's an integral park 
of her work now.  "I'm based in South Carolina, but we have volunteers in each time zone in 
all fifty states, as well as in England.  And so many of our amazing volunteers are professional 
wrestlers, both female and male.  All of the members of our Board of Directors are wrestlers.  
It's so fulfilling to be able to merge my wrestling and rescuing lives this way."

Roman's Travel with Care offers a wide array of services for animals, she reveals.  "On average 
we save up to 400 animals a year.  This includes rescuing, providing for their medical needs, 
and re-homing them in a safe environment.  All behavioral and medical issues come directly 
for me for handling and training."

And when it comes to finding a new home for animals, Fantasia is very particular.  "This is 
where my standards and skills from being a pro wrestler come in.  We use rescue resources worldwide.  
There's adoption applications, references, vet references, home checks and background checks.  
It's like when I would do my homework on a promoter who wanted to book me, or an opponent I had 
never wrestled before.  I want to know everything about you before I agree to do a match.  The 
same goes with finding our pets new forever homes.  You have to meet my standards, no exceptions."

"We always encourage people to get involved:  foster, adopt, volunteer, and donate," she says.

Some might ask what the difference between Fantasia's organization and the local Animal Control 
Department is.  She makes it clear there is a very big difference.  "Animal Control is responsible 
for enforcing laws set for that location.  They have a facility where strays are located, or 
sometimes the pets are owner surrendered or taken due to animal cruelty.  But unless they work with 
a rescue organization, those animals are going to be euthanized.  By working together with Animal 
Control departments, we help save innocent animal lives from unnecessary killing."

As one would expect, maintaining such a far-flung operation is not inexpensive.  "We're a 501c3 
non-profit organization, so we are able to get some discounts for certain things.  The biggest 
expense is vetting.  On average, a spay or neuter, plus vaccinations, grooming and any medications 
runs about $150 to $500, depending on the needs of the animal."

"We are foster-based so we cover all costs, and work with different clinics to offset some of the 
expenses, primarily by receiving lower cost services and supplies.  Groups The Love Pet Clinic and 
others help with rescues and pet owners.  But still, without our donors and volunteers we couldn't 
do a fraction of the work we do."

And about those volunteers...might there be any names which wrestling fans would recognize?  Well, 
how about former PGWA Champion Angel "Riptide" Orsini...Scream Queen Daffney...Brandi Wine...Lady Amazon
...Chuck E. Manson...Bobby Starr...Tracy Smothers, and many more!  "All of my volunteers and Directors 
are just as dedicated as I am; if they weren't, I would not be working with them," she asserts.

Clearly this is not some part-time hobby for the ring veteran, and it clearly shows a deep abiding 
love for animals.  It also requires a great deal of training and certification.  "I and my Board members 
are Disaster Relief Certified through FEMA.  I am certified in dog training, medical first aid, and I've 
completed training in Animal Control Level 1 and K9 Specialist."

In addition to rescuing animals, Fantasia and her organization seek to educate the public on the 
importance of proper vetting as well as spaying and neutering.  "I also hold webinars on proper 
transporting for new transporters," she adds.

Clearly, this is noble work, and a story which we hope inspires wrestling fans the world over to 
support Fantasia's mission.  You can find details on donating or volunteering to Roman's Travel with 
Care, or even sponsoring an animal, by visiting romanstravelwithcare.com