Miranda Lambert Gives ‘Paws’ a Chance
Miranda Lambert is gearing up to host her third annual Cause for the Paws event at the Villa di Felicita in Tyler, Texas on Saturday, May 15. The concert and auction will benefit the Humane Society of East Texas, which in the last three years has become a no-kill shelter for abandoned, neglected and abused animals.
Cause for the Paws is a charity Miranda's mom, Bev, put together in her honor. Since the charity began, they have raised nearly $300,000.
"What sparked [the event] was I've always loved animals. In 'The House That Built Me' [video], there's some of my real home footage, and I'm holding 18 puppies and kissing them," Miranda tells The Boot. "So I went to the shelter [where] I used to volunteer, and I got Delilah, my white dog, the first one I got who went on the road with me. I just saw how overloaded they were. She was in a cage inside the building, not even outside because they had nowhere to put her. It sparked something, and I was like, 'We need to help raise some money!' And they went from euthanizing 8,000 dogs three years ago to [euthanizing] eight [this past year] -- and they only did [those eight] because of disease or old age. They have pretty much become a no-kill shelter just because of the resources that Cause for the Paws has brought to them."
Miranda's crusade to save animals has now expanded to her new home state ... with plans to keep growing.
"We did [a benefit] called Hearts and Tails in Tishomingo, where I bought my farm in Oklahoma," Miranda reports. "And they didn't have a shelter at all, and it was just awful. And that's why I have six dogs, because I found them on the side of the road in Oklahoma and there's nowhere to take them ... It was just pens and tarps at the sewer plant, it was just terrible."
Additionally, Miranda started the Mutt Nation Foundation last year because she wanted to make sure the money she raised in different cities actually went to the shelters. "That Sarah McLachlan commercial, I hate it," she laments. "You know, the one where you have to turn it, and you start bawling. But sometimes giving money to just a commercial that you see, I'm scared, 'Is the money gonna go to a nice shelter? Or is it gonna go to someone's pocket?' I get paranoid, and some people feel that way. So I just thought, well I wanna visit myself and see where the money goes. So hopefully, eventually every month or so on the road, I'll get to stop at a shelter when we're playing in that city and visit and see what they need or see what sending them before did. I just want to be hands on."
Miranda wants to clear up a previous statement about fellow singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. "I want to say one more thing -- when I said I hated the Sarah McLachlan commercial, I love Sarah McLachlan!," she exclaims. "I just hate her for singing that song with the sad poor animals. It just makes me wanna die. That's all. I'm gonna tour with her, [and] I don't want her to start hating me!"
The newly-engaged star with the big heart encourages people to adopt animals instead of going to a breeder. "I have six amazing dogs," Miranda says, "and they all came from a shelter."
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