"I did marry a convert, but I was still related to him, too."
Miranda Lambert is mourning the loss of her eighth dog in seven years.
The 42-year-old country music star took to Instagram on Dec. 28 to share an emotional goodbye to her beloved rescue dog Cher, who “crossed over the rainbow bridge” on Dec. 27.
“Cher gave us 15 years of love and all the chihuahua attitude and energy she had to give. And if you have ever had a chi chi you know what I mean,” Lambert wrote in the post.
She went on to reveal that she adopted Cher from a dog shelter at just 10 weeks old in 2010.
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“I put her in my overalls pocket at the shelter and that was it! Her first big trip was to the ACM awards in Las Vegas,” Lambert recalled.
“@tiffanygiffordstyle matched my dress to her so I could take her on the red carpet,” she added. “And I won that year so she did the whole press room with me. Like she has been doing it her whole life.”
Lambert was referring to the 2010 ACM Awards when she won Top Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year (for “Revolution”) and Video of the Year (for “White Liar”), per The Boot.
“White Liar” was also nominated for Single Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 2010.
“She was on every tour I have done since,” Lambert said of Cher in her Dec. 28 tribute. “Thank you to her sweet soul for all the road miles she traveled.”
Miranda Lambert only has one of her nine rescue dogs left
Lambert’s tribute for Cher comes one month after she lost two of her horses on the same day.
“My sweet little nugget’s Sugar Pie and Adrianna crossed over the rainbow bridge today,” she wrote in a Nov. 21 Instagram caption.
“I’ve had 18 years with these littles and I can’t tell you how much joy they brought me. The best part about being an animal mom is the joy. The worst part is when the time comes to say goodbye,” she wrote.
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In her goodbye post for Cher, Lambert noted that she was once a rescue dog mom of nine.
“I was a rescue dog mom of 9 when I met @brendanjmcloughlin 7 years ago, and now we are down to one,” she wrote. “We sure are ready for a break from the heartbreak y’all.”
She continued: “But they are worth every tear we have cried. Animals bring so much joy but I sure do wish dog years didn’t go by so fast. Rescue’s forever.”
Lambert and her husband Brendan McLoughlin, a former NYPD officer, met in 2018, per NBC.com.
Lambert was promoting a new album on “Good Morning America” when her friends saw McLoughlin, who was working security for the show. They invited him to Lambert’s show without telling her.
The couple tied the knot the following year and started writing music together in 2020.
With Cher crossing the rainbow bridge, the couple only have one rescue dog left — a retriever mutt named Bellamy (a French name that means “beautiful friend”).
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Cher’s passing follows her rescue dogs Waylon in 2020, Jessi in 2021, Thelma in 2023 and Louise in 2024, per Taste of Country.
