The 2-year-old son of country music star Morgan Wallen was rushed to an emergency room this week after a family dog bit him in the face.
Katie Smith, Wallen’s former girlfriend and the child’s mother, said in a Monday Instagram story that their son Indigo was bit Sunday morning by their family dog, Legend. Indigo needed stitches on his face, she added, but assured followers that “he is okay” and would return home from the hospital on Tuesday.
She also shared that Legend was relocated to a new home in the wake of the attack.
“We just dropped Legend off with the sweetest family where he will be living out his full potential and best life on a farm,” Smith wrote Monday, adding that the family lives near their East Tennessee home and assured them they could visit anytime.
Smith said she considered several options for the dog that she rescued from the side of a road more than a year ago. Those options included taking Legend to a shelter or euthanizing him.
Instead, she shared her cell phone number and put out an emotional plea on social media seeking new owners. She asked her 403,000 followers to volunteer or connect her with someone who doesn’t have small children and has open space for a pet that isn’t leash trained.
“I don’t care about the hate that I get from this,” Smith said after giving out her phone number, anticipating spam or unsolicited opinions from trolls. “I care more about my kid and giving him a home that he deserves.”
During her plea, she brought the dog on camera to show his calm demeanor.
“I just keep asking Legend why —,” she said, her voice trailing off as she teared up.
It was unclear what prompted the attack and whether Wallen was able to visit Indigo at the hospital. The “Last Night” singer played a show in Philadelphia on Saturday evening and is scheduled to perform back-to-back nights at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Thursday and Friday.
A representative for Wallen declined to comment Tuesday and referred The Times to Smith’s statements.
Since performing as a contestant in Season 6 of “The Voice,” Wallen has become one of the most commercially successful singers in country music. After he was temporarily shut out of the music industry in 2021 in response to a surfaced video of him using the N-word, he rebounded from the controversy with more hit records and tours.
Earlier this week, his most recent album “One Thing at a Time” climbed back to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 200 chart for the 13th time. And Wallen’s single “Last Night” sits atop the Billboard 100 chart.
However, Wallen halted six weeks of shows starting in early May after announcing that he injured his vocal cords. The abrupt decision upset many fans who had already purchased tickets, even though the performances would be rescheduled. Wallen also pulled out of the Carolina Country Music Fest and the Academy of Country Music Awards due to the injury.
