Miranda Lambert is raising funds to cover vet bills during the pandemic

Affordable veterinary care is always important, but it is especially so right now, with the pandemic leading to a surge in pet adoptions as well as the loss of many jobs. To help pet-owners impacted by the crisis, country music star Miranda Lambert has created a new foundation called the MuttNation Fund, People reported. The fund will go toward helping music industry employees cover their pets’ veterinary bills.

Lambert was inspired after her backup singer and friend Gwen Sebastian’s dog Earl was diagnosed with a rare liver disorder in March, right as COVID-19 began to sweep the United States. Like other major pet diseases, the diagnosis brought with it a litany of expensive hospital stays and medications. At the same time, Sebastian’s work was put on pause by the pandemic.

“It was such an unexpected major expense at an already tough time,” the singer reflected in a press release. “So, it got me thinking that there must be a lot more people whose careers in the music industry have been on pause due to lack of live performance opportunities, and who are struggling with their pets’ vet bills.”

She added on Twitter that music and mutts are her “two biggest passions” — Lambert herself owns nine dogs and started another animal rescue non-profit in 2009 — and so, MuttNation Fund was born.

Anyone can donate to the effort, too. Though the fund was kicked off with a matching grant donation from MuttNation, the fund relies on ongoing donations from “caring people who are moved to help after reading the stories about the pet in need on the page,” per the press release.

All donations take place via the pet-focused crowdsourcing platform Waggle.

Any COVID-affected pet-owners in the music community can apply for funds from MuttNation. If approved, funds go directly toward the dog’s or cat’s vet bills. And if there’s any left over, it rolls over to go back into the fund for other pet owners.

The MuttNation Twitter account posted a statement from Lambert alongside an adorable photo of a cute pup on Sept. 10.

No pet deserves to suffer because of money, and Lambert is doing her part to take care of her community.