a deeper , almost immeasurable connection with fans . I get pictures and updates of dogs fans adopted ; it ’ s the most rewarding thing in the world . Knowing you ’ re instrumental in changing an animal ’ s life for the better is hard to take in . You ’ re not just changing that animal ’ s life ; that animal will change yours .”
At 19 , Rich embarked on a mission that indubitably changed his life . “ I rescued my Husky , Abby , from a borderline abusive situation ,” says Rich . “ I ’ m 36 and she ’ s still my dog !” ( Laughs .) “ I went and stole her at 2 a . m . with the blessing of the dog owner ’ s wife , who had her records and leash waiting outside for me . She was this five-month-old purebred Husky puppy that had killed some livestock on this farm . The owner dug a huge hole with a tractor , leaving her there for three weeks while he rebuilt cages . She was covered in her own urine and waste and food was scattered through the dirt down this deep hole . I needed a friend and a rope to get down and get her and myself back out . If a family friend hadn ’ t told me about her , my whole life would ’ ve been different . She was the best part of my 20s .”
Rich hails from a dog-loving family . “ My parents adopted quite a few ,” says Rich . “ I ’ ve always been close to my whole family who all had dogs . I grew up thinking my grandparents ’ dogs were my other dogs . I had some tough heartbreaks going through that hell of losing a best friend and really appreciating what it means to have a dog in your family . Luckily most of our dogs lived long lives . We adopted a Chihuahua Terrier mix and named him Babalu from I Love Lucy . ‘ Bob ’ was a fat sausage with toothpicks and an underbite , and he lived to be 22 ! I was told you ’ re lucky to get 12 years out of big dogs so on Abby ’ s 13th birthday I got her portrait tattooed on my forearm . I was like , Baby , you made it to teenager , it ’ s a big deal !”
Abby made her own mark in country music with plenty screen time in Rich ’ s first music video for his debut single , “ The Difference .” “ Sabina had her Maltipoo Charlee when we met , and Abby and Charlee are in that video ,” says Rich . “ We wanted it to be a time capsule of what our lives looked like while we were falling in love . Charlee was Sabina ’ s tiny little aggressive protector but very sweet to me once he loved me . She ’ d had him for about 8 years when we met and I had Abby for 10 years , so they were our version of kids . It was a sweet little family united .”
Another type of kids took the happy couple over the moon during their wedding on Sept . 20 , 2019 at Saddle Woods Farm in Murfreesboro , Tennessee . “ They set up the goats and the miniature horses with full flowers and arrangements , and then unleashed the goats ten minutes into our photos ,” says Rich . “ They came sprinting out dressed up for the wedding . In the photos you see the hilarious true excitement on our faces ! They did this awesome surprise for us and said it was because of the the attention we showed the animals at our rehearsal ; we wanted to see the horses and goats more than where our ceremony would be !” laughs Rich .
Rich and Gadecki got into the pet fostering groove that flourished during the pandemic lockdowns . “ We got Max in California ,” says Rich . “ He was a 15 , 16-ish-year-old white Husky mix and such a cool , sweet gentle giant in a bad situation with ear infections , mange , mites and nails so long he couldn ’ t walk . We wanted to give him a happy ending . It was one of the hardest things we ’ ve done , emotionally and physically . But after some proper grooming , nutrition and CBD products he was walking and running and his patchy coat filled in . We did his DNA swab because we loved Max so much and wanted to discover his perfect mix .
Photo by Jordan Voth
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