Miranda Lambert’s Beloved Rescue Dog Passes On

Miranda Lambert has lost one of her best friends – Waylon, her rescue dog of almost 13 years. The country western singer found Waylon and his sister abandoned on the side of the road back in 2008. The pair were malnourished and unwell, but they pulled through. Lambert revealed that Waylon wasn’t supposed to survive but he did and he became a steady and loyal companion.

Lambert shared the news on Instagram on October 22, 2020:

“Today I lost one of my best friends. My old pal Waylon. 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. I was listening to Jessi Colter and Waylon Jennings at the time me and mom saw them and pulled over to pick them up.”

Once the dogs were safely in her car she drove them to the veterinarian where Waylon’s selfless nature was revealed.

“I took them straight to the vet and she told me that the little boy was not doing too well (malnourished and dehydrated ) because whatever they had found to eat while they were homeless, he always let her eat first. He did that nearly his whole life. She said he probably wouldn’t make it but he did. For almost 13 years.”

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Today I lost one of my best friends. My old pal Waylon. 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. I was listening to Jessi Colter and Waylon Jennings at the time me and mom saw them and pulled over to pick them up. I took them straight to the vet and she told me that the little boy was not doing too well (malnourished and dehydrated ) because whatever they had found to eat while they were homeless, he always let her eat first. He did that nearly his whole life. She said he probably wouldn’t make it but he did. For almost 13 years. He was a rock in our family and always held down the fort. He lived his life with no fences. The way we all want to live. He was a farm dog through and through and retired to Nashville life riding on the bus with mama to go home to Texas for Christmas every year. I’m so thankful for the time we had with him and I’m thankful for the rest of the time we have with his sister Jessi. Im so glad my husband @brendanjmcloughlin got to know him in his final years.💙 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. 🌈 Dogs change your life. The bond is something that can’t be described unless you have lived it. Thank you @sarahananney @julianentwig and @t_man_photo for being his other moms and dad and taking such care of him when I was gone. And thank you to the team at @animaliawellness in Franklin TN and BluePearl pet hospital in Franklin TN for giving us such amazing treatment and a few more years together. Hug your pups today y’all. #rescuedog #dogmom @muttnation

A post shared by Miranda Lambert (@mirandalambert) on Oct 22, 2020 at 4:47pm PDT

Lambert continued, “He was a rock in our family and always held down the fort. He lived his life with no fences. The way we all want to live. He was a farm dog through and through and retired to Nashville life riding on the bus with mama to go home to Texas for Christmas every year.”

“I’m so thankful for the time we had with him and I’m thankful for the rest of the time we have with his sister Jessi.”

Lambert also revealed that she is happy that her husband of nearly two years, Brendan McLoughlin got to know Waylon in his final years. And she takes comfort that Waylon is “running across the rainbow bridge right now and will be waiting for us when we get there.”

A known animal advocate and supporter of dog rescue charities, Lambert reflected on what dogs have meant to her. “Dogs change your life. The bond is something that can’t be described unless you have lived it.”

Lambert and her mother set up MuttNation Foundation to help shelter animals across the United States a year after she rescued Waylon and Jessi.