But as he did with everything, Uggie retired in style. His short-lived career was honored and his celebrity immortalized outside of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre yesterday when he imprinted his paws in cement on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame. No reports as to whether or not he later took a whiz on it.

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is best known for featuring the handprints of celluloid heroes like Wheel of Fortune’s Pat Sajak, cinema’s Clint Eastwood, and inventor of the motion picture, Thomas Edison. And now Uggie. But he’s not the only animal to be honored in such a way. In fact, he’s not even the only dog. Below is a list of the screen legends that Uggie can now count his name amongst. They’re all very cute.

Strongheart

Perhaps the inspiration for Uggie’s character in The Artist, Strongheart was an actual canine star from the Silent Film era. Born Etzel von Oeringen, the former German police dog was brought to the United States by husband and wife filmmaking team Laurence Trimble and Jane Murfin. After adopting the slighty less German-sounding stage name, Strongheart went on to star in six films including a 1925 adaptation of White Fang and The Return of Boston Blackie.

Of course, in his later years von Oeringen found himself embroiled in controversy when falsely accused to trying to eat a little girl. The charges where later dropped and the performer’s good name was cleared. However, the taste of this victory would not last very long. One year later, Strongheart was burned after accidentally touching a hot studio light while on set. These injuries formed a tumor that would claim the animal actor’s life. “God bless you Strongheart, God bless you”, said his owner while eulogizing the star. God bless, indeed.

Rin Tin Tin

A former soldier, Rin Tin Tin was a German Shepherd adopted from a World War I battefield who went on to star in twenty-three Hollywood films. To provide you some perspective, he has more feature credits than Michael Fassbender, and the guy seems to be everywhere.

Proving an adeptness for tricks and high jumps, Rin Tin Tin (or Rinty) moved to Los Angeles to pursue his owner’s dream of making him the next Strongheart. While performing at a dog show, Rin Tin Tin was filmed in slow-motion leaping eleven feet into the air. The rest is history when he was cast as a wolf in Where the North Begins, a film so successful it is credited with saving Warner Bros from bankruptcy. If not for heroes like Rin Tin Tin, we wouldn’t have films like The Dark Knight and Happy Feet Two. So, show some damn respect.

Lassie

As the most famous of all animal actors, it’s no surprise that Lassie has her paws forever frozen on Hollywood’s famous sidewalk. None for feats of bravery, child rescue, and a smooth, shiney coat, the famed collie dog enjoyed success across film, radio, print, and television. All that and the ability to lick her own butt. Truly a dynamo.

Godzilla

Currently the only monster on the Hollywood Walk of Fame besides Tom Hanks (he knows what he did), Godzilla earned his star after becoming a global phenomenon. Also, after representatives for Godzilla paid the $30,000 fee required to sponsor a square on the sidewalk.

Kermit

The Muppets‘ frontfrog was honored with the 2,208th star on the Walk of Fame back in 2002. Appearing to share their admiration for the amphibious everyman were members of the Henson Family and David Arquette. A perhaps-bitter Elmo was not in attendance.

Big Bird

Sesame Street’s giant, fey bird has the distinction of being the first Muppet to receive their star. As mentioned above, Kermit the Frog was the second to cement their memory in the annals of history. However, in 2010, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced that the entire Muppets cast were to receive a star. The after-party was probably friggin’ insane.

As I publish, Uggie the Dog is no doubt snorting coke off of Salma Hayek‘s rack. Good for him. He earned it.

A representative for the Weinstein Company says that Uggie has “not been asked to participate or appear at the Oscars.” This is in direct opposition to what his trainer had said a few weeks back. Just level with us. Does Uggie even exist? Is he computer-generated? Or worse, has he died and is now being dragged around on fishing line a la Weekend at Bernies? (BBC)

After Thousands spent on vet bills by his trainer, Omar Von Miller, has determined that Uggie’s condition is neurological, leading me to believe that this dog simply doesn’t want to perform with Billy Crystal. I suffered from a similar neurological shaking disorder when I saw City Slickers 2: The Legend of Curly’s Gold, and also when I saw a preview for Forget Paris. Knowing that you’re going to have to actually perform his schtick in person, with him, live, must be even more horrifying.

We wish Uggie a fast and safe recovery. Hang in there, Uggs! Vulture

“OK, let’s lay all our cards on the table. Jack Russell terriers are small and cute. Dobermans are enormous and — handsome. More tellingly, Uggie plays a nice little mascot who does tricks and saves his master’s life in one of the films, while Blackie gives an uncompromising performance as a ferocious guard dog who terrorizes children. I’m sure you can see what I’m driving at.”

“I’m proud of Blackie, who laid it on the line and dared to risk the sympathy of her audience. Let’s just say that on the set, she had a fitting nickname: Citizen Canine. The bath scene alone is a masterpiece of underplaying, with Blackie’s wonderfully aquiline face accentuated by the 3-D.”

He even points out that the snub could point to a deeper issue by calling the Golden Collar Awards out as being breedist.

“Russell terriers were bred in the 19th century for the purposes of fox hunting by an Englishman, the Rev. John Russell. Dobermans were bred by a German tax collector who was afraid of being bludgeoned to death by the citizenry.”

However, Martin doesn’t point out that Blackie also worked on Water For Elephants. In fact, that’s his sole IMDB credit. How can a director boast about due credit when he can’t even be bothered to credit Blackie for work in his own film? But back to Water For Elephants. Uggie was the featured dog in that film, making the audience sympathize with him in his bullied plight. Blackie was stuck once again, typecast as the silent enforcer. If he truly wants to break out of that crate, he’d better be more selective and take on a more challenging role. Like Mickey Rourke did with The Wrestler. Or perhaps something that requires skateboarding. Gotta play the game if you want to win is all I’m saying.

It begs the question though. Is he for real retiring or retiring the way that rappers do?

“He may do a couple of little things here and there because he enjoys them, but I don’t want to put him through long hours anymore. He’s getting tired.”

I guess it’s for the best though. I’d hate to see him stuck in the lame dogs that play professional sports or helps kids solve mysteries rut. Besides, their is an heir to the throne.

“I think he will be fine with Dash stepping in,” addss Von Muller. “Uggie is 10 years old and has done a lot of work; he wants to relax at home. If somebody wants to do a movie with Uggie, they’ll just have to deal with Dash!”

Sad to see him go but time will reveal how this plays out. Anthony Hopkins tries this every few years too. We’ll see if it sticks. (Life & Style)

By now you’ve probably seen Uggie, the lovable mutt who appeared in the Oscar-nominated film The Artist as well as the not-even-allowed-in-the-Oscar-parking-lot film, Water for Elephants. Well, while combing through his IMDb page, I came across this startling bit of trivia in the aptly named “trivia section.” As it turns out, Uggie the Dog “is a dog.” Crazy, right?

Now, I’m no dummy, so I know better than to believe everything I read on the Internet, especially if it’s dog related. After all, I’ve been hearing rumors that Katherine Heigl is a bitch for years, but last week when I brought her a bag of bacon flavored Beggin’ Strips outside the Golden Globes, she just looked at me like I was nuts before peeing on my leg and scampering away in a huff.

So, not wanting to get tricked again, I went to Snopes.com to verify the claim. Unfortunately, an entry on the subject has not yet been created, so for now, let’s just file this one as “undetermined.”

The nominees:

BEST DOG IN A THEATRICAL FILM
COSMO as Arthur – BEGINNERS (Focus Features)
UGGIE as Queenie  – WATER FOR ELEPHANTS (Fox)
DENVER as Skeletor – 50/50 (Summit Entertainment/ Mandate Pictures)
HUMMER as Dolce – YOUNG ADULT (Paramount/Mandate)
UGGIE as The Dog – The Artist (The Weinstein Company)

BEST DOG IN A FOREIGN FILM
KOKO as Red Dog – RED DOG (Roadshow Films, Australia)
LAIKA as Herself – LE HAVRE (Janus Films, France)
BIINA as Alf – THE DAY THE DOGS DISAPPEARED (Nippon Television, Japan)
ICHICO as Tao – THE DAY THE DOGS DISAPPEARED (Nippon Television, Japan)

BEST DOG IN A TELEVISION SERIES
ROCKY as Arnold – ENTOURAGE(HBO)
CHUNK as Himself – CHELSEA LATELY (E! Entertainment Television)
BRIDGITTE as Stella – MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
DART as Chance – HOT IN CLEVELAND (TV Land)
JASON GANNS as Wilfred – WILFRED (FX)
LAMPCHOP as Yakult – SUBURGATORY (ABC)

BEST DOG IN A REALITY TELEVISION SERIES
GIGGY – THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS / Lisa Vanderpump (Bravo)
MILLOU – THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK CITY / Sonja Morgan (Bravo)
JACKPOT – THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS / Adrienne Maloof (Bravo)
SPARTACUS – ICE LOVES COCO / Coco (E! Entertainment)
HERCULES – PIT BOSS / Shorty Rossi (Animal Planet)

BEST DOG IN A DIRECT-TO-DVD FILM
FRED as B Dawg – SPOOKY BUDDIES (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment)
GASTON as Beethoven – BEETHOVEN’S CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE (Universal Home Entertainment)
ANGEL as Chloe – BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA 2 (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment)
ROWDY  as Marley – Marley & Me: The Puppy Years (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment)
RUSCO as Papi – Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment)

GOLDEN COLLAR HUMANITARIAN AWARD: Charlize Theron
GOLDEN COLLAR LEGENDS AWARD: Robert Vince

First of all, just give Uggie his award now. That dog is a treasure.

Secondly, please find some kind of award for Stains the Cupcake Dog. Though no longer in the spotlight, he’s very deserving.

(The Wrap)