63 “It Takes Balls” Spay & Neuter Grants
Awarded in Southern California

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Miranda Lambert, the most decorated artist in Academy of Country Music history, announced that her MuttNation Foundation’s It Takes Balls spay and neuter campaign, in partnership with the Doris Day Animal Foundation, has awarded $233,000 to 63 eligible shelters, rescues and clinics throughout Southern California.  

“Shelters do incredible work, saving millions of lives,” said Lambert, “but our big dream is a world where they don’t need saving. Our partnership with the Doris Day Animal Foundation is helping make that a reality by reaching thousands of pets through spay and neuter. It’s the best tool we have – alongside adoption and fostering – to keep our best friends out of shelters and in loving homes.” 

“Early in her pioneering animal welfare efforts, Doris Day recognized that spaying and neutering is essential to addressing the root cause of pet overpopulation and ultimately saves countless lives,” said Dr. Bob Bashara, CEO of the Doris Day Animal Foundation. “Through our partnership with MuttNation Foundation, these grants will help provide affordable access to spay and neuter services in communities where resources may be limited and access to veterinary care can be challenging. By supporting these efforts, we can help reduce shelter overcrowding and give more dogs and cats the chance for the safe, loving homes they deserve.”

There are an estimated 70 million stray cats and dogs in the U.S., and 87% of animals in underserved communities are not spayed or neutered. Accessible spay and neuter services are one of the most powerful ways to end the cycle of pet overpopulation and save lives.

About MuttNation Foundation
Founded in 2009 by Miranda Lambert and her mother, Bev Lambert, MuttNation Foundation is a 501(c)(3) donation-supported nonprofit that has raised over $13 million in support of shelter pet adoption, spay and neuter, and educating the public about both. The Foundation also provides financial assistance to shelters and rescues recovering from natural disasters. MuttNation Fueled by Miranda Lambert, a pet toy and supply line sold exclusively at Tractor Supply Company stores throughout the U.S., benefits the Foundation directly. Learn more at www.muttnation.com.

About Miranda Lambert
Critically acclaimed groundbreaker/songwriter/superstar Miranda Lambert has defined her multifaceted career as an artist, entertainer, entrepreneur, advocate and businesswoman with an unflinching quest for excellence, honesty and conviction. GRAMMY-nominated single “A Song To Sing” with Chris Stapleton arrived recently as the biggest streaming debut of her career, with Rolling Stone praising its “dreamy disco groove and lovestruck devotion.” Her 10th solo studio album, 2024’s GRAMMY-nominated Postcards from Texas, continued her unbroken streak of 10 consecutive Top 10s on the Top Country Albums chart. The most-awarded artist in Academy of Country Music history, including their top honor for Entertainer of the Year, she has also won three GRAMMYs and 14 Country Music Association Awards. A TIME100 honoree and perennial best-of-the-year list maker at the New York Times, TIME, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Stereogum, People and more, NPR has called her “the most riveting country star of her generation.”

Lambert has taken those standards to become a label co-founder, teaming with longtime collaborator Jon Randall to launch their own imprint, Big Loud Texas, in partnership with Big Loud Records. She is also a New York Times bestselling author and the first female restaurateur on Lower Broadway with her Tex-Mex cantina Casa Rosa, while also expanding her creative reach with her Wanda June Home collection as well as Idyllwind, her western clothing, accessories and footwear brand at Boot Barn. Her passion for animals inspired the creation of MuttNation Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit which has raised over $13 million since inception to promote shelter pet adoption, support rescue organizations nationwide, advance spay & neuter and help shelters recover from natural disaster.

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About Doris Day Animal Foundation
Doris Day Animal Foundation (DDAF), is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit charity founded by legendary performer Doris Day in 1978, with a straightforward mission to help animals and the people who love them. As a grant-giving organization, DDAF funds non-profit organizations and programs across the country that directly rescue, care for and protect animals. Some of DDAF’s ongoing project funding includes World Spay Day (founded by Doris Day as Spay Day USA in 1995), Duffy Day Life Saving Program, Doris Day/Terry Melcher Scholarships for veterinary students studying shelter medicine at select universities, spay/neuter and & Seniors for Seniors programs, emergency disaster relief and much more. DDAF is proud to carry on Doris Day’s legacy and pioneering work to make this a better world for all animals.

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About Doris Day
Doris Day (1922 – 2019) is remembered as one of the world’s most beloved and most honored performers, as well as one of the most dedicated, hard-working and recognized public servants and advocates of animal welfare. 

Starting out as a big band singer, most famously with Les Brown and His Band of Renown, Doris Day’s 1945 timeless hit recording, “Sentimental Journey,” propelled her to stardom and the attention of Hollywood’s film industry, where she would reign as a leading film icon and top recording artist for the next two decades. Over the next 20 years, she would star in 39 films, including such popular favorites as “Calamity Jane,” “Love Me or Leave Me,” Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” and her famous first pairing with Rock Hudson, “Pillow Talk.” Although it has been almost 60 years since her last film, she still holds the record for Top Female Box Office Star and remains in the Top 10 Box Office Stars of All Time.

At the same time, she continued her thriving music career, releasing more than 700 songs, including “It’s Magic,” “Secret Love,” and her signature, “Que Sera, Sera,” along with a series of albums—all as relevant today as when they were first introduced. At age 89, Day’s final 2011 album of previously unreleased material, My Heart, made the US Billboard Chart and hit Top 10 in the UK. Her unique silky voice and sublime phrasing continue to be widely lauded by fans and critics alike, and she is considered one of the premier interpreters of The American Songbook.

In 1968, Day segued to television, starring in her hit, “The Doris Day Show,” airing on CBS for five years, as well as TV Specials and a lifestyle/animal-related series, “Doris Day’s Best Friends,” in 1985-86.

Doris Day is the recipient of over 100 honors, including several Golden Globes, the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement, GRAMMY Award for Lifetime Achievement, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Career Achievement Award and the highest civilian honor—the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Universal Studios Hollywood inducted “Doris Day Drive” as part of the studio’s 100^th anniversary in 2012, and her hometown of Cincinnati honored her with “Doris Day Way” in its bustling downtown arts and entertainment district in 2017.

A lifelong animal lover and pioneering animal welfare advocate, Doris Day leveraged her celebrity to focus on humanitarian efforts, devoting the second part of her life to her heart’s passion and life’s calling: helping animals through her charities, Doris Day Animal Foundation (founded in 1978) and Doris Day Animal League (a lobbying organization founded in 1987, later merging with the Humane Society of the United States).

Day passed away in 2019 at the age of 97, after spending the last 40 years of her life in Carmel, Calif., overseeing her charities, caring for her “four-leggers” and reading and responding to the hundreds of pieces of fan mail and project offers she continued to receive each month.

For more information on Doris Day, please visit dorisday.com.