Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Sets Puppy Adoption Record at CMA Fest

Sixty-one dogs adopted in just four days!

Written by Chris Parton
Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Sets Puppy Adoption Record at CMA Fest
Miranda Lambert at her annual Muttnation Parade; Photo courtesy of CMA

Miranda Lambert set an all-time record at this year’s CMA Music Festival — but it didn’t anything to do with music.

On top of performing at Nissan Stadium on the festival’s biggest stage and reuniting with her Pistol Annies trio, Lambert’s animal rescue foundation MuttNation found homes for 61 adorable puppies in need — all named after country stars — more than ever before.

“To the uninitiated, it probably sounded like dogs barking. But to me, knowing the pure joy that comes with owning a rescue dog – or eight – it was music to my ears,” Lambert says in a statement released to the press. She also kicked off the festival by leading the mile-long “Mutt March” from Nissan Stadium to Nashville’s Walk of Fame Park on Thursday morning (June 6th), which this year welcomed over 1,300 participants including Lambert’s mother and foundation co-founder, Bev, as well as Dan + Shay’s Dan Smyers and his wife Abby.

“We were all marching on behalf of MuttNation to raise awareness for shelter pet adoption and in support of animal rescues across the country,” Lambert says. “And because it’s fun and it’s our passion.”

MuttNation’s Mutt March and the 4th annual CMA Fest Adoption Drive were both presented by Tractor Supply Company. Now celebrating its 10-year anniversary, MuttNation has found homes for thousands of deserving dogs around the country and raised over $4 million.

In related news, Lambert also used the CMA Music Festival to speak with Extra about how much the foundation means to her — and how her love of dogs figures into her new marriage to Brendan McLoughlin.

“He’s a great guy and, bless his heart, he didn’t have any dogs or any animals at all when he came into this relationship, so he inherited a whole barn full,” Lambert explains. “Marching with us today, he knows how important that is to me. He lives with a crazy dog lady.”