Her continued advocacy of pet adoption and her own foundation in her hometown of Checotah, Okla., has led to a new promotion with the Pedigree dog food company to assist animal shelters and find homes for abandoned animals. For every person signing up as its Facebook friend, the company will donate 8 ounces of dog food to animal shelters.

“We’re going to raise a lot of awareness for the 4 million dogs that need homes that are in shelters now, that are in shelters every year,” Underwood told CMT Insider. “They not only need homes, they need food. They need things like that.”

It would be an understatement to say that Underwood’s dog, Ace, has become famous. After all, fans have created a Web site devoted to the rat terrier.

“I hate to say that Ace is a rescue dog because he wasn’t one of the unlucky ones that was starving and cold and running around trying to figure out where they were going to sleep,” she explained. “He did have a home. He just wasn’t wanted. He actually had a couple of homes that he wasn’t wanted at, but he’s more than welcome in my home. He wasn’t really a rescue … but he could have easily been in a shelter.

“I would definitely encourage anybody to go adopt. It’s so easy. If you want to get a dog, there are so many that are already there waiting that are wonderful.”

Pedigree last week made a $50,000 donation to Underwood’s C.A.T.S Foundation (Checotah, Animal, Town and School Foundation) to help build an animal shelter in her hometown.

“I’m going to put that money to use building an animal shelter in my hometown because we don’t have one,” she said. “Many of the surrounding towns don’t have one, either. It’s going to mean a lot to the community. … I’m very excited to get started on that. We’ve got all the groundwork done. Now all that’s left to do is to wait until it gets warm enough to start building.”

The country superstar, who has also been shooting scenes for her first feature film ‘Soul Surfer,’ says her lack of acting roles helped keep expectations low for the cast and crew of ‘How I Met Your Mother.’ “They knew my limited acting experience, so I don’t think anybody was holding out these high expectations for me,” says Carrie. “If anything, I think they were pleasantly surprised, so they probably had pretty low expectations of me when I walked in.” She loved her time on the set, and says everybody was very nice and “laughing the whole time.”

The character Carrie plays is not the nicest girl on the block. “She’s kind of mean, I guess,” admits Carrie. “I know girls like this, so I think she was kind of easy to play. I didn’t have a really difficult character to be playing. But it was a lot of fun … I got to just hang out with some awesome people and dress up in funny costumes.”

The animal lover, who has also teamed with Pedigree to help promote their pet adoption campaign, also got to play with baby pigs during her time on the set. “The baby pigs were literally three days old,” explains Carrie. “Some of the other actors weren’t so keen on the farm animals … but I’ve been around goats and pigs and cows and all that stuff so I didn’t have a problem with it. So I was like, ‘I’ll do all the tough stuff, you just stand there and look pretty.”

In between filming, Carrie has been getting ready to launch her Play On tour on March 11 in Reading, Pa.. She’s taking along her opening acts Craig Morgan and Sons of Sylvia.

Underwood is a five-time Grammy Award winner, a member of the Grand Ole Opry, the 2009 Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year and three-time CMA and ACM Female Vocalist winner. Carrie Underwood has amassed more than 11 million in U.S. album sales since her debut CD in 2005, more than any other American Idol winner. Along the way, she has consistently broken new ground and became the first country artist in history to achieve eleven consecutive #1 singles.

“I am really excited about being invited to Stadium of Fire’s 30th anniversary celebration! Our country has a lot to celebrate this Independence Day, and I want to do my part to make it unforgettable,” said Carrie Underwood.

“We’re sure that this year’s Stadium of Fire will be seen by the biggest audience in our history, so we’re working hard to make it the most memorable,” said Carl Bacon, America’s Freedom Foundation trustee and senior executive producer of the event. “Carrie is a big part of that.”
In recognition of the 30th anniversary of Stadium of Fire in 2010, tickets will be available this year for as low as $30. Traditional elements of Stadium of Fire will continue and expand, including the spectacle of the Stadium of Fire dancers, a military flyover as only Stadium of Fire does them, and the largest Stadium fireworks show in America. There will also be a special feature celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America.

For an unprecedented eighth consecutive year, the Pentagon has invited Stadium of Fire to televise the celebration to US military men and women and their families in more than 100 countries around the world.

“We have so many spectacular surprises planned for the 2010 Stadium Fire,” said Brett Walker, this year’s Freedom Festival president. “We’ve worked diligently to make it the greatest Independence Day celebration in the country and we’re confident it will be the most outstanding show Utahns and our guests from around the nation and world have seen in years.”

For the sixth consecutive year, the event will be created, produced and directed by the award-winning production team of Wayne Baruch and Chuck Gayton. “Each year they have set a higher standard of quality and excitement,” said Bacon.

Over the years it has grown to become one of the United States’ premier patriotic celebrations, attracting an average attendance of 50,000 people.

Tickets for Stadium of Fire will go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 5th at 5:00pm and will be sold simultaneously online at www.byutickets.com and at the BYU Marriott Center ticket office in Provo. Members of the Freedom Festival’s email list will have the option to purchase tickets before the general public, so fans are encouraged to visit www.freedomfestival.org to sign up for advance ticket opportunities.