Country star Emmylou Harris has joined forces with animal welfare charity Crossroad Campus to team up abandoned pets with disadvantaged youths and adults.

The singer and animal lover regularly hosts dog adoption days and benefit concerts, and even has her own dog-friendly festival, Woofstock, and she has now added the new campaign to her portfolio.

She tells Country Music Television, "It's knowing that a dog could give so much joy to a person or a family and deserves to live out its life being cared for. You know, human beings have kind of created the companion dog over the centuries.

"I believe we have a responsibility to all animals, even animals that we eat for food, but don't get me started on that... I just believe we have a sacred responsibility to the creatures that we share the world with. They give us so much joy and they improve our lives so much."