A number of the world's most accomplished dogs went head-to-head on Monday, competing in the most prestigious and acclaimed competition that the canine world has to offer.
That was the 136th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City.
Across the country, meanwhile, another group of dogs competed in the first Golden Collar Awards, a newer and sillier event with, shall we say, a less illustrious pedigree. The showbiz version of a dog show may have lacked the prestige and history, but it had a lot more real housewives, of both Beverly Hills and New York.
And while we won't know Westminster's Best in Show until Tuesday night, the Golden Collar Awards announced its top dogs on Monday – and the big prize, the one for which the event seems to have been created, went to Uggie from "The Artist," to the surprise of nobody who'd been paying any kind of attention.
The Golden Collar Awards were launched, after all, by the Dog News Daily digital media and marketing company only a couple of months ago, after the canine star of "The Artist" started getting lots of attention on the awards circuit.
Also read: Awards Season Is Going to the Dogs, Thanks to Uggie from 'The Artist'
When the nominations were announced on Jan. 18, Uggie himself was present, along with his human costar Penelope Ann Miller.
And in those noms, the 10-year-old Jack Russell terrier nabbed two of the five nominations for Best Dog in a Theatrical Film, both for his performance as the Dog in "The Artist" and for his less-heralded role as Queenie in "Water for Elephants."
Take that, Glenn Close and Janet McTeer: Uggie can do the cross-gender thing, too!
(Full disclosure: I was one of the 14 voters for the awards, along with editors, producers and journalists from "Entertainment Tonight," Variety, USA Today and a number of other outlets.)
At any rate, Uggie was named Best Dog in a Theatrical Film, and it should go without saying that he didn't win for "Water for Elephants."
Best Dog in a Foreign Film went to Koko from the Australian film "Red Dog," which may have added injury to insult for fellow nominee Laika from "Le Havre," which many Golden Collar materials insisted on calling "Le Harve."
The Best Dog in a Television Series category was won by Brigitte (right) from the television series that always wins awards, "Modern Family."
Best Dog in a Reality Television Series was a tie, with Hercules from "Pit Boss" and Giggy from "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" sharing the award.
(Given that the other nominees included two other "Real Housewives" dogs, one from Beverly Hills and one from New York, there may be another kind of dogfight going on in those environs before long.)
In the Best Dog in a Direct-to-DVD Film category, the two nominees from "Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2" must have split their vote, allowing Rody from "Marley & Me: The Puppy Years" to walk away with the prize.
