UPDATE!!!!  SEE BELOW FOR THIS YEARS NOMINEES!!!!!

DOG NEWS DAILY PRESENTS THE

1ST ANNUAL GOLDEN COLLAR AWARDS™ HONORING

ACHIEVEMENT IN ACTING BY DOGS IN FILM & TELEVISION

The nominees will be announced by two of the stars from the hit movie The Artist, Uggie and Penelope Ann Miller at a Wednesday, January 18th press conference in Hollywood.

 The Golden Collar Awards gala will be held on February 13th at Kimpton's luxurious, dog friendly Hotel Palomar in Los Angeles.

Dog News Daily announces the 1^st Annual Golden Collar Awards™, for Best Achievement in Acting by Dogs in Film & Television during 2011.  The nominations will be announced at the press conference on Wednesday morning January 18^th at 8am (PT) from the dog hotel to the stars, The D Pet Hotel (1041 N. Highland, Los Angeles, CA, 90038).

 January 18, 2012, Los Angeles, CA – The Artist’s Penelope Ann Miller who plays Doris, the wife of George Valentin and Uggie who plays George’s steadfast best friend in this year’s most nominated film announced the canine nominees of Dog News Daily’s 1st Annual Golden Collar Awards™ at a press conference held this morning Wednesday, January 18th at 9am (PT) at The Egyptian Theater, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90028.

Canine nominees were announced in five categories:

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 Jack – The Artist (The Weinstein Company)

BEST DOG IN A FOREIGN FILM

KOKO as Red Dog – RED DOG (Roadshow Films, Australia)

LAIKA as Herself – LE HARVE (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

ROCY 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 Gann as Wilfred – WILFRED (FX)

Lambchop 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)

DOG NEWS DAILY’S GOLDEN COLLAR HUMANITARIAN AWARD AND LEGENDS AWARD

Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron was announced as this year’s recipient of Dog News Daily’s Golden Collar Humanitarian Award and award winning Director Robert Vince was announced as the recipient of Dog News Daily Golden Collar Legends Award.

The Golden Collar Award judges include:

Linda Bell Blue, Executive Producer, Entertainment Tonight

Pete Hammond, Awards Columnist, Deadline Hollywood

Neil Stiles, President, Variety

Steve Pond, Awards Columnist, The Wrap

Elizabeth Snead, Contributing Editor, The Hollywood Reporter

Ramin Setoodeh, Senior Writer, Newsweek/The Daily Beast

Claudia Puig, Film Critic, USA TODAY

Lynn Hirschberg, Editor-at-Large, W

Suzanne Marques, Entertainment Reporter, KCBS2 & KCAL9

George Pennacchio, Entertainment Reporter, ABC7 Eyewitness News

Wendy Burch, Weekend Anchor, KTLA Morning News

Leo Quinones, Host, KFWB’s Film Freak Movie Talk Show

Lilly Liu, journalist, Apple Daily (Hong Kong), Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Vera Anderson, journalist, Cine Premiere Magazine (Mexico) Hollywood Foreign Press Association

According to Alan Siskind, CEO of Dog News Daily, the pet industry’s leading digital media & marketing company, “We’re thrilled to have Penelope and Uggie announcing the Golden Collar nominees.  It’s an honor to have both of them on stage to let the world know which canine thespians are being formally recognized and acknowledged for their tremendous performances in film & television in 2011.”

Dog News Daily’s 1st Annual Golden Collar Awards™ ceremony takes place on Monday, February 13 at 6:00pm (PT) at The Hotel Palomar in Westwood/Los Angeles, a dog-friendly Kimpton Hotel. The evening kicks off with red carpet arrivals and a private cocktail reception benefiting Los Angeles area dog rescue organizations and shelters.   The world famous artist Simon Tavassoli and his design studio BB Simon in Newport Beach CA have been commissioned to create the Golden Collar Award.