CMT Blog: pets

Who knows what will happen when Kellie Pickler marries Kyle Jacobs and they want to start a family? Apparently, she already has one. There's Boots, Tucker, Maddie, Moo Moo, Pixie and a baby raccoon. I don't know if all these animals still call Pickler's bus home, but you can tell from this photo gallery on PeoplePets.com that she adores being surrounded with animals. (Especially the snake, which she literally has wrapped around her wrist while she's typing.) "Ever since I got the snake, everybody's scared to come on the [tour] bus," she said. And thank God for Twitter so Pickler can keep her followers updated on her latest love interests. Her most recent one is Tucker, her sister's 10-month-old Weimaraner puppy. "This is one big pup," she said when she picked up the hunting dog in July.

Photo credit: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

If you get invited to Taylor Swift's new apartment any time soon, watch where you're walking. She told People.com that she put some things in her living room that you normally wouldn't find in a living room. "Then there's a pond in the living room, as well, and I want to get stingrays," she said. "I don't want people to think I'm crazy, but wouldn't that be cool?" She's put so many creative touches on her first home that she and her friends have been giving the place nicknames like "the Imaginarium." When I was 20, I had big crazy ideas for my first little apartment, too. I didn't have quite the budget Swift does, but I still had the decorating dreams. So I'm happy for her that she can take all those youthful fantasies and make them realities.

A fellow dog lover and country fan friend of mine stumbled onto this Web site called dogchannel.com and found a Kellie Pickler story. She sent it to me so I could share it with the rest of the dog/cat/snake/monkey lovers out there. The story is all about Pickler's menagerie of pets. There's Nala, her little lab puppy. MooMoo, her "metrosexual" Chihuahua. Plus a python, a cat named Pickles and Bella, a one-pound temperamental marmoset monkey. (Her sister now owns the monkey.) Why the zoo? Because she says that when she first moved to Nashville, she didn't have friends or family here, so the pets became kind of like a surrogate family. "Animals have filled so many voids," she says. And whatever you do, don't tell Pickler that animals don't go to heaven. "I don't think you can look in a dog's eyes and think they don't have a soul," Pickler said.

Richie McDonald thinks it's good for kids to grow up around animals. "I think it teaches responsibility," he says. So it's not surprising the McDonald family has four dogs: Two Shih Tzus, a Peek-a-Poo named Roscoe and a collie named Luke, rescued from an animal shelter three years ago. "They're all part of the family," says McDonald, who describes how he went to great lengths to keep that family together. "Luke had been badly abused," he says. "We knew he was chained to a tree for a good part of his life. When we first got him he would hardly come to any of us, and then over the years we gained his trust -- especially the kids.

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A demanding career as an entertainer would be exciting enough for most people, but not for Chris Cagle. In addition to his music, Cagle owns his own horse breeding operation. "My dad kind of makes fun of me," says Cagle. "He's like, 'You couldn't just get a guitar for your birthday and play it around the house, you had to go be a star. And you can't just get a horse and ride around in your backyard, you have to go have a performance athlete and start a breeding program and this and that.' It's just kind of the way I'm made."

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Known for her fiery red hair, powerful voice and the spunky attitude that's apparent in many of her songs, Jo Dee Messina comes across as one tough cookie (albeit a tough cookie with a big smile on her face). It's not surprising to hear she has the determination and drive to be a successful marathon runner, or the work ethic to tour regularly and also travel the country as a spokesperson for the Special Olympics. But what might surprise some people is what a softie Messina is when it comes to two little (furry) things: Her dogs. "I have two dogs," says Messina. "One is a Lhasa Apso-Bichon Frise mix. His name is Russel. The other is a Great Pyrenees-Beagle mix named Bella."

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They might have fame and fortune, but country stars are not uppity when it comes to pets. For many of country's brightest stars, you can't beat the love of a good mutt.

Miranda Lambert is famous for her support of shelter pets. She adopted her treasured mix-breed Delilah from the Humane Society, and she recently rescued two Lab-mix puppies that had been abandoned by the roadside. "There are so many great animals that need a home," she says. "Don't go buy a brand new dog when there's a great dog out there that needs to be loved."

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A lot of people get a new dog and just assume he's going to know how to behave -- like staying in the yard and coming when called are natural behaviors. The most important training to most people is teaching the dog that the house is not his own giant, nicely furnished urinal. But professional trainers say it's important to teach your dog to obey, especially to come when called. It's a potentially life-saving behavior: Stories abound of dogs preoccupied with the thrill of chasing each other, ignoring their owners' calls and running in front of cars.

Taking time to train your dog doesn't have to be a chore. It can be an enjoyable bonding process. Luke Bryan works with his dog Maggie to keep her hunting skills sharp. "I've worked with her in the yard a bit trying to teach her a couple of things," Bryan says. "She's got all the sit and heel down, but if I'm dove hunting and there are some birds coming in, I don't want her running all over the field. I just have to work with her to make sure she doesn't break. She's one of the sharpest dogs I've ever seen."

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Miranda Lambert has a 700-acre farm full of animals, including chickens, goats and a miniature horse. She recently rescued two puppies from the side of a local road to add to the menagerie. Yep, you might call her an animal lover.

But when she adopted her dog Delilah from the Humane Society of East Texas a couple of years ago, Lambert got serious about helping animals. Now she’s organized her first benefit for the humane society, a silent auction and concert called Cause for the Paws, scheduled for April 20 in North Tyler, Texas. Joining her in concert are Blake Shelton, Kacey Musgraves and Adam Hood.

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Jessica Simpson may be moving into a $3.5 million home in Nashville, where she's planning a country album. Looks mighty nice from the air.

Randy Travis is heading to California for a William Shatner charity event. Wonder if he got a good deal on Priceline.com?

An American Idol finalist's dream duet is with her favorite male singer, Jason Aldean.

Two of Nashville's finest citizens, Emmylou Harris and mother, Eugenia, talk about pet adoption in this new public service announcement.

"Foggy Mountain Breakdown" is turning 50, so Gibson is building a new, limited edition Earl Scruggs banjo, with the first five signed by the man himself.