Beloved American country music star Dolly Parton has released a new line of pet apparel called “Doggy Parton”.
More than 60 years after the release of her first single, Puppy Love, Parton is continuing to show her love for canines through the fashion line, part of whose proceeds will go towards helping an animal rescue organisation.
“My love for pets is stronger than ever,” Parton said in a video released on Thursday. “This inspired me to start my own line of Doggy Parton apparel, accessories, toys and more with a little Dolly flair.”
Dog-loving fans of Parton's music can purchase everything from feathered pink cowboy hats to faux-pearl collars, electric-pink stiletto chew toys to blonde, Dolly-esque wigs.
“Part of the proceeds will support Willa B Farms, a rescue where animals in need find never-ending love,” Parton said. “Don't we all need that?”
The apparel line is now available on Amazon.
Parton is well known for her love of animals, particularly dogs, which feature prominently in a number of her songs, including Cracker Jack and Gypsy, Joe and Me.
In addition to having provided loving homes for several animals over the years, she credits one of her former canine companions, Popeye, with saving her life.
The singer said that, several years ago, she was going through a particularly difficult moment and was thinking of ending it all. While sitting in her bedroom one afternoon, she pulled out a gun she kept in the bedside table.
“I looked at it a long time,” the singer said in an interview published in Dolly On Dolly: Interviews and Encounters with Dolly Parton. “Then, just as I picked it up, just to hold it and look at it for a moment, our little dog, Popeye, came running up the stairs.”
Previously, Parton has been connected to other animal charities, such as the bald eagle sanctuary that stands on the grounds of her Dollywood theme park in Tennessee.
But animals are not her only focus: she has also founded and given generously to several disaster relief and education funds over the decades. More recently, in 2020, she donated $1 million to coronavirus research at Vanderbilt University, which helped fund Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine.
