Musical legend Emmylou Harris lends her voice to shelter dogs

Known as much for her eloquently straightforward songwriting as for her incomparably expressive singing, Emmylou Harris, who easily crosses musical genres encourages people to open their eyes to the wide variety of loveable adoptable dogs waiting at local animal shelters.

"Adopting a shelter dog may be one of the best things you can do for yourself in this crazy, confusing world; they are truly the gift that keeps on giving, and how sweet to know you have saved a life," Harris said.

A 13-time Grammy winner and Billboard Century Award recipient, Emmylou Harris' contribution as a singer and songwriter spans 40 years. She has recorded more than 25 albums and has lent her talents to countless fellow artists' recordings. In recognition of her remarkable career, Harris was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008. Admired through her career for her talent as an artist and song connoisseur, Harris shook up country radio in the 1970s, and established herself as the premiere songwriter of a generation selling more than 15 million records and garnering 13 Grammy Awards, three CMA Awards, and two Americana Awards. Harris is one of the most admired and influential women in music. She has recorded with such diverse artists as Linda Ronstadt, Daniel Lanois, Bob Dylan, Mark Knopfler, Neil Young, Gram Parsons, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Roy Orbison, Ryan Adams, Beck, Elvis Costello, Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett and most recently Rodney Crowell. Few artists have achieved such honesty or have revealed such maturity in their writing. Forty years into her career, Harris continues to share the hard-earned wisdom that-hopefully if not inevitably-comes with getting older, though she's never stopped looking ahead.

A longtime social activist, Harris has lent her voice to many causes. She has performed at Lilith Fair, helping promote feminism in music and organizing several benefit tours to support the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation. Harris is also an avid supporter of animal rights and is actively involved in Bonaparte's Retreat, the dog rescue organization that she founded.

Now Harris joins Danny Trejo, Carrie Ann Inaba, Denise Richards , Nils Lofgren , Josef Newgarden ,Amanda Seyfried, Cecily Strong Maggie Q, Elisabeth Rohm, Lisa Edelstein , Tricia Helfer, Emmy Rossum, Michelle Beadle, Jack and Suzy Welch, Mike Rowe ‎, Allison Janney, Whitney Cummings, Christopher Walken, Bob Odenkirk, Britt Robertson, Lauren Ash and Bobby Bones, among other luminaries ‎participating in national animal welfare organization Best Friends Animal Society's photo campaign featuring celebrities posed with their personal rescued dogs and/or cats in support of the Save Them All ‎call to action.

According to national statistics, each day nearly 5,500 dogs and cats die in the nation's shelters. Best Friends has brought increased awareness to how people can get involved in the solution by adopting, spaying/neutering their pets, donating, volunteering and sharing this message with their friends.

About Best Friends Animal Society
Best Friends Animal Society is a leading national animal welfare organization dedicated to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America's shelters. In addition to running lifesaving programs in partnership with more than 2,100 animal welfare groups across the country, Best Friends has regional centers in New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Salt Lake City, and operates the nation's largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals. Founded in 1984, Best Friends is a pioneer in the no-kill movement and has helped reduce the number of animals killed in shelters nationwide from 17 million per year to about 1.5 million. That means there are still more than 4,100 dogs and cats killed every day in shelters, just because they don't have safe places to call home. We are determined to get that number to zero by the year 2025. Working collaboratively with shelters, rescue groups, other organizations and you, we will end the killing and Save Them All. For more information, visit bestfriends.org.

To become a fan of Best Friends on Facebook, go to Facebook.com/bestfriendsanimalsociety. Follow Best Friends on Twitter (@BestFriends) and Instagram (@BestFriendsAnimalSociety).

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