Miranda Lambert recently shared on Instagram that her beloved rescue dog Waylon had passed away. The heartbroken country singer spent the past 13 years with her “old pal” and said she was so happy that her husband, Brendan McLoughlin, was able to meet and spend time with Waylon.
The heartfelt post started off with, “Today I lost one of my best friends.” It went on to explain how she saved Waylon’s life and how he made hers complete.
Lambert rescued Waylon and his sister from the side of the road in Oklahoma. She wrote, “I found him and his sister on the side of the road in Oklahoma in January 2008. They were abandoned, starving and freezing nearly to death.”
She was listening to Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter when she found the pair, so she named the male puppy Waylon and the female Jessi. The malnourished puppies were forced to eat whatever scrapes they could find, but Waylon always made sure his sister was well-cared-for.
Lambert recalls, “whatever they had found to eat while they were homeless, he always let her eat first. He did that nearly his whole life.”
Waylon was in poor shape when he was rescued and the vet was unsure if he would pull through. But he did, and spent the rest of his life as a farm dog in Nashville. “He lived his life with no fences. The way we all want to live.”
He was so much more than a farm dog, he was “a rock in our family and always held down the fort,” Lambert stated.
Saying goodbye is so hard. The couple is mourning the loss of their beloved dog but finding comfort in their other rescue dogs, including Waylon’s sister Jessi. “We are heartbroken but happy that he is running across the rainbow bridge right now and will be waiting for us when we get there.”
Lambert, a longtime animal rescuer, has not only saved countless dogs and cats, but along with her mom, Bev Lambert, founded MuttNation Foundation to help even more shelter pets and animal rescues. She encourages her millions of fans to adopt, donate to shelter pets by asking them to fill the “little red wagon” at her concerts, and help transport pets with Race Team.
“Dogs change your life. The bond is something that can’t be described unless you have lived it,” she said at the end of her tribute. “Hug your pups today y’all.”
Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
