STAGE TUBE: Laura Bell Bundy Teams Up with PETA

Tony, CMT, and ACA Award-nominee Laura Bell Bundy and her adopted Chihuahua, Norma Jean, "giddy on up" with PETA to remind people never to leave their dogs unattended in vehicles during the warm summer months. The public service announcement, which shows Bundy and Norma Jean together under a shady tree, was shot in Franklin by top celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart. Click below to check out the PSA!

Bundy also sat down for an exclusive PETA interview in which she stressed the importance of keeping dogs cool. "[P]eople need to know about it," she explains. "They leave their dog alone in the car unintentionally thinking it's OK if they go inside the grocery store for five minutes, but ... it's a hot car, and you wouldn't want to be left alone in there, either."

Every year, PETA receives reports of dogs who die as a result of being left alone in a car on a warm day-even when the windows are left slightly open or the car is parked in the shade. On a relatively mild summer day, the temperature inside a shaded car can climb to more than 100 degrees in a matter of minutes. Dogs can quickly succumb to dehydration and heatstroke and suffer brain damage or even death as a result.

Bundy's affinity for dogs started when she was just 6 years old with her first family dog, Lily, who Bundy called "my best friend." Bundy joins a growing list of celebrities-including Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Lea Michele, Sir Paul McCartney, Charlize Theron, Justin Bieber, and Eva Mendes-who have supported PETA's work.