Kellie Pickler isn’t the only former ‘American Idol‘ contestant and blonde country star with an animal-friendly heart. Country queen Carrie Underwood bravely rescued an abandoned Labrador the day before New Year’s Eve (Dec. 30) while driving back to Nashville after visiting her family.

Warning: This story, which Underwood posted on her members-only fan club blog and which was subsequently recounted by CMT, is heartbreaking, so proceed with caution.

Apparently, Underwood pulled over after seeing two dogs along the road and rescued the one dog that was still alive. That pup was in pretty bad shape, was suffering from a case of road rash and she had bitten through her tongue. The emergency vet that Underwood took the pooch to assessed that the poor gal had likely been thrown from a moving vehicle.

Underwood took the canine, which she named Stella, home and promptly placed her with neighbors who live down the street. Since the singer already has her hands full with two pups and a new album on its way in 2012, she chose to let a couple nearby adopt Stella and to give her a warm, loving home.

That’s good news for all involved, since Underwood can enjoy visitation privileges with Stella, too. Her hockey husband, Mike Fisher, did warn Underwood not to overdo it with checking in on the dog to the level of stalking!

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