According to the ASPCA, an estimated excess of 100 million pets reside in the USA alone. Many people all over the world consider their pet to be a treasured member of the family. Petmate is a global provider of pet toys and other animal-centric products that aim to enhance the lives of pets and their families. In 2016, they teamed up with country music superstar Miranda Lambert to launch the new ‘MuttNation Fueled by Miranda Lambert’ collection of pet products inspired by her charity. Every purchase helps to fund the rescue and adoption programs of MuttNation Foundation.
MuttNation
An avid animal advocate, Miranda founded the MuttNation rescue organization with her mom, Beverly Lambert, in 2009. The new pet product collection includes toys, apparel, collars and leashes, beds, food bowls, and more. One of the collection’s featured items are the “Rescue Mutts” plush toys that are all inspired by—and modeled after—actual rescue dogs and their stories.
Delilah, Miranda’s own beloved dog, was the basis for one of the featured stuffed Animals. “I have loved animals as far back as I can remember,” Miranda told Blasting News. “My family always had a dog when I was growing up and it was considered a family member. As a teen, I volunteered at the local shelter and met Delilah, who became my first personal adopted dog.
She is the one that inspired my mom, Bev, and I to start MuttNation Foundation in 2009.”
Volunteers
Shelters have many needs to run efficiently and many of their core requirements demand a lot of expenses. Prior to starting their own organization, Miranda and her mother decided to host a charitable event that would help animals that reside in shelters.
“All the proceeds went to our local shelter in East Texas,” Miranda explained. “That was the first year of ‘Cause for the Paws’ in 2007. After a few years, we felt we wanted to give the event an organization around it and make more substantial progress that could help more dogs on a national level, so we founded the MuttNation Foundation.”
Miranda feels that educating people about adopting a pet—rather than buying one—is important.
“A lot of folks think that shelters are not a great place to get a dog. I believe the opposite,” she said. “It’s the best place because those dogs are so grateful when you take them home! Donating time or money or both is another great way to help animals. Shelters are always looking for great volunteers to walk their dogs, pet the dogs, and play and spend time with them. Fostering a dog is a great way to help until the dog finds a forever home.” Miranda also explains options to donate money to shelters: “Make sure it’s a 503c charitable organization and do your research on how they spend your donation. You want to look at several criteria to be sure your money benefits the animals, such as high adoption per intake rate, volunteerism, fiscal responsibility, advocating spay and neuter programs and a solid presence in their community.”
Forthcoming
Miranda has found her experiences regarding animal welfare to be extremely rewarding and beneficial; she especially loves to hear all the stories from dog owners about how much better their lives are with their new furry friends.
A decade from now, she plans to still be working with rescues. “We pride ourselves in helping no-kill animal shelters,” she stated. “I think that’s the closest thing to the ground floor to helping animals. I feel like that’s the type of work we will continue to do as well as awareness. If you love animals, just find a local shelter and get involved. That’s really the easiest way to get started: find a community of like-minded folks.”
