Katherine and her mother Nancy have teamed up with the Best Friends Animal Society to help with their Pup My Ride rescue program. The program is part of Best Friends' Puppies Aren’t Products nationwide campaign, which in 2008, saved 650 at-risk, small-breed dogs from Los Angeles shelters. The dogs were transported to communities where the demand for small dogs is high but the supply is low.

On Monday, Katherine and Nancy joined best Friends' staff and volunteers to help transfer 33 small dogs who were saved from overcrowded Los Angeles shelters on the first stage of their journey to new homes in Salt Lake City.

Access Hollywood were on hand to film the first leg of the dogs’ ride to their new homes and yesterday evening the entertainment news show broadcast the Heigl's at the Baldwin Park Shelter in Los Angeles helping to make the program a success.

"Over 600 dogs have been saved and adopted," Katherine told Access Hollywood, adding that "up in Utah and Arizona and some of these states around California, they have waiting lists for small dogs, people wanting to adopt and here we have an overwhelming number in the shelters."

To watch the entire feature and interview in full visit Access Hollywood.

The Heigl's passion to help save as many animals as possible has seen them provide Best Friends with a grant to fund the Pup My Ride rescue program throughout 2009.

On the Best Friends web site, Elizabeth Oreck, manager of the Los Angeles programs run by the organization said, "Robin Harmon and her volunteers pulled off another fantastic transport this morning and we were privileged to have Katherine and her mother, Nancy Heigl, there."

The mother and daughter team also worked with the rescue program last year, saving a litter of tiny Chihuahuas from a Los Angeles-area animal shelter by providing the funds to transport those pups and others to new homes.

To find out how you can help visit the Best Friends Animal Society web site, or to help with the Pup My Ride transports click here.