Miranda Lambert is a proud mom to eight rescue dogs, and through her MuttNation Foundation has found plenty of other dogs homes. But even though the singer is passionate about giving animals homes, she does have advice for those who are considering rescuing a dog, especially one they find off the street.
“I feel like first of all, you know,” Lambert told PopCulture.com. “You kind of know. They find you. I’m not asking everyone out there to pick up any stray that you find on the street. That is dangerous. I do it, but I wouldn’t recommend it. But I feel like you really should bring the dog home for a few days … Sometimes people get excited and they take a dog home and they realize it’s too much or it’s too big or they’re scaring their kids or whatever it is. So I think you have to spend time with it before you make that final commitment.”
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Lambert also has suggestions for those who want to adopt but can’t, or who don’t have the financial resources to make a large donation.
“We have our hand in everything,” Lambert said. “The Fill the Red Wagon is at the shows in the markets that I play in. People bring supplies for shelters, donations of any kind, dog food, blankets, toys. And it’s really cool because it benefits the local shelter in that town and I get to meet the shelter people. People are always like, ‘How can I help if I can’t donate?’ Basically it’s getting involved in your local shelters in your own community.
“Volunteering your time is priceless, really,” she continued. “Giving the dogs human contact time really increases their chances of adoption.”
Lambert’s MuttNation adoption event at CMA Fest, which kicked off with the MuttNation March, just set a new record, with 61 dogs adopted. But Lambert already has much bigger plans for the worthwhile cause.
“We’ve done so much, but I also feel like we’re just getting started,” Lambert said. “I feel like there’s so much more ahead of us. We’ve been able to help with natural disasters, and help shelters renovate. We kind of have our hand in everything, and that’s why I wanted to start it, because we wanted to control where the money that we raised would go.”
The Texan is working on a new record, and preparing to head out on her Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars Tour this fall, but will continue to focus much of her time on MuttNation as well.
“I’m basically pretty simple,” Lambert said. “It comes down to music and mutts. That’s kind of my life. So when I can combine the two, I’m a happy woman.”
For more on MuttNation, visit their website.
Photo Credit: Getty/ Rich Fury
