A pet insurance company has launched a petition to encourage legislation prohibiting animals being left unattended in cars. Petplan Insurance posted the petition on We The People, the Obama administration's petition site. Like all petitions posted to the website, a White House staff member will review it and provide an official response if the petition reaches 100,000 signatures within 30 days.

The initiative, called "Driven to Bark," aims to have all states adopt statutes that do not allow pet owners to leave animals unattended in cars. Currently, only 15 states have laws against the practice, which Petplan says causes "countless" deaths every year.