ABC/Image Group LAMichael Ray’s puppy Wrigley, whom he adopted backstage at a country music festival in Chicago, has helped him achieve several goals: raising awareness of animal adoption, helping shelter pets…and making his Disney dreams come true.
“My little sister and I are close in age and so growing up, watching Disney movies, we always wanted a white husky,” he told ABC Radio at Monday’s County Radio Seminar in Nashville. “So we were backstage and I saw saw Wrigley, who’s a husky-shepherd mix. She was eight weeks old, and I went to take a photo to send it to my sister and say, ‘Hey, look, they got Bolt!”
Bolt, a white husky, is the title character of the 2008 Disney movie of the same name. But Michael’s admiration of the pup didn’t stop there.
“The next thing I know, I’m signing the papers, donating the money and she’s hopping on the bus,” he laughed. “She came into my life at such a crucial time. I was going through a lot and it’s true, I think: When you adopt, they know.”
Wrigley inspired Michael to start his Wrigley Cares charity, which works with fans to help animals in need by donating food and supplies to shelters at each of his tour stops.
“We’re gonna pick it up on this new Get to You tour, which we just announced,” he told ABC Radio. “We’ll be doing later this spring and uh it’s just a chance for us to give back but also raise awareness of ‘adopt not shop.'”
“In two months, we’ve been able to feed over 200,000 meals,” he noted. “It’s just been incredible and it all started with me randomly adopting this beautiful puppy that’s helped me help change the lives of other animals around the world.”
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