Village cuties! In addition to singing successful country tracks, many favorite artists of the genre spend time educating their faithful four-legged companions.
Taylor Swift, whose song “I Bet You’re Thinking of Me” won the coveted Video of the Year nomination at the CMT Awards in April 2022, is a proud mom-cat of three feline: Meredith Gray, Olivia Benson and Benjamin Button. (Three cats are named after her favorite TV and film actors: the heroine Ellen Pompeo in “Anatomy of Passion”, the role of Mariska Hargitey in “Law and Order: SVU” and the main character in “The Mysterious Story of Benjamin Button” by Brad Pitt.)
“The most influential factor in my life is cats. I have cats. I’m obsessed with them,” the All Too Well singer said during an interview with Time in April 2019. “It’s just nice to live with them. And I love my cats so much that when the role in the movie “Cats” appeared, I just thought: “I have to do this.” Like, this is my vocation in life — to do it for the ladies.”
Although Swift’s cats often appear on her social networks, each of them has its own distinctive features.
“[Meredith] is just a very secretive little cat. She likes to keep her business to herself,” the Pennsylvania native said in an Instagram video in April 2021. “She doesn’t like having a camera shoved in her face, and who can blame her for that?”
Blake Shelton, for his part, often includes images of dogs in his country songs in honor of his connection with his dog Betty.
“Betty is freaking excited that her favorite song is coming out tomorrow… won’t you tell?!” The Voice judge, who married Gwen Stefani in July 2021, captioned an Instagram post from September 2017.
Betty isn’t Shelton’s only furry companion. He is also the caring parent of a cat named Dave and even grew up with three pet raccoons.
“We had to drag him into the house at night,” his mother Dorothy Shelton told Men’s Journal in July 2013. — He loved all animals: grasshoppers, locusts, lizards, snakes, worms. Once I had a fly swatter and I killed a fly and it cried.”
Kelsey Ballerini, who married compatriot Morgan Evans in December 2017, is often crazy about her puppy Dibs.
“It took Dibs about two years to say, ‘Well, I guess [Morgan] stayed?’ But now they are best friends,” the Peter Pan singer explained during an interview in November 2019 on Hank FM. radio. “If Morgan is on the ground, Dibs will sit on his lap, like, he demands more Morgan than me now. …I wanted them to get along, but I still wanted to be his favorite, but I’m not like that anymore!”
Scroll below to get to know the favorites of the biggest country music stars:
Kelsey Ballerini
The Tennessee native adopted a mixed-breed dog, Dibs, in 2015.
Thomas Rhett
Pop singer from “Unforgettable”, his wife Lauren Akins and their daughters share dogs Kona and Cash.
Taylor Swift
Swift, who has been dating Joe Alvin since October 2016, named her three cats after famous TV and movie heroes.
Jason Aldean
Aldean rescued Saint’s dog with his wife Brittany Aldean in July 2019.
Kane Brown
The Heaven musician, who shares daughters Kingsley and Cody with his wife Caitlin Jay, has three dogs: two German Shepherds and a bulldog named Rambo.
Maren Morris
“I rescued this girl from under the porch 5 years ago before Keith [Urban’s] tour, and she’s still the coolest and most reserved girl I’ve ever met. And here’s my dog June. “,” Morris, who has been married to Ryan Hurd since 2018, wrote on Instagram in May 2021.
Miranda Lambert
Lambert, who married Brendan McLaughlin in 2019, has seven rescue dogs: JD, Bellamy, Cher, Delta Dawn, Thelma, Louise and Rowe. (Lambert is also the stepmother of McLaughlin’s son, Landon.)
Keith Urban
Urban, wife Nicole Kidman and their daughters are proud to share their dog Julian.
Luke Bryan
Brian maintains an Instagram account for his chocolate lab Choc and English Cocker spaniel Boss, which he shares with his wife Caroline Boyer and children.
Carly Pierce
Pierce’s puppies, June and Johnny, are named after a pair of country icons.
Tyler Hubbard
Pop singer Florida Georgia Line shares golden retriever Harley with his wife Hayley Hubbard.
Jimmy Allen
The Grammy nominee gave his daughter Naomi a puppy for Christmas in December 2021. The puppy was appropriately named Grammy.
Hunter Hayes
“Internet — “Tell me your pet is clingy without telling me your pet is clingy…”. I am “Meet Ella…”, the Louisiana native wrote about his dog via Instagram in March 2021.
