Miranda Lambert is coming to CMA Music Festival and she’s bringing puppies for people to adopt.
Lambert’s dog rescue group MuttNation Foundation recently saved 54 Chihuahuas and Chihuahua mixes from a hoarding situation in Oklahoma. The dogs range in age from newborn to senior, and many suffer from a variety of problems ranging from flea infestations to old injuries and untreated illness. Lambert’s team rescued the dogs and then transported them to her Redemption Ranch in Tishomingo, Okla., for health care and rehabilitation. This week some of those dogs — along with a few of the group’s other canine rescues — will be at Fan Fair X inside Music City Center and up for adoption.
“MuttNation is coming to CMA Fest, and we’re just going to try and bring awareness and get these dogs adopted,” Lambert said. “Luckily they are Chihuahuas and everybody wants a cute little dog. I’m really glad that they caught them in time. It’s so sad. You see little dogs that have never had any love or care and you think, ‘Oh my God, is there 50 loving homes out there for these babies?’ ”
The dogs are being carried from Redemption Ranch to Nashville on MuttNation Foundation’s expansive, pink mobile unit that’s complete with kennels and a vet table. The mobile unit will be inside Music City Center at Fan Fair X from noon to 3 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
The adoption fee is $100 and includes spay/neuter, all shots, a vet check and a microchip. Dogs can be taken home immediately, or MuttNation will house them through Monday if potential dog parents are in town for CMA Music Festival and can’t accommodate their new family member.
“It’s just about … having people realize shelter dogs are not scary and shelters are not scary places,” Lambert said. “A pedigree means nothing. They steal your heart and are awesome.”
Since Lambert lives in Nashville, she wants to increase MuttNation’s presence in town and saw the CMA Music Festival as the perfect opportunity to combine her two passions: animals and music. Lambert will perform during CMA Music Festival at 9:45 p.m. Thursday at Nissan Stadium.
“To be able to have this platform to go, ‘Hey, I’m performing and thank you all for being faithful fans all these years, but also here’s this cause that’s near and dear to my heart and has real meaning,’ is so great,” Lambert said. “I like the fact we can bring the mobile unit and have a presence and just combine the two worlds.”
CMA Music Festival runs Thursday through Sunday in downtown Nashville. While tickets for the nightly concerts at Nissan Stadium are sold out, seven music stages are free. Fan Fair X, inside Music City Center, is home to three stages, exhibits, autographs booths and Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation adoption event. Tickets to Fan Fair X are $10 a day or $25 for a four-day pass and are available at www.cmamusicfest.com.
