Could Uggie the dog win an Oscar? This week, as speculation surrounding its chances at next month's Oscars became increasingly frenzied, one of the stars of The Artist arrived in Britain to promote the film - and remained doggedly unfazed by all the fuss. Because he is a dog, and his name is Uggie. The wave of goodwill washing over Michel Hazanavicius's black-and-white paean to silent-era Hollywood is so pronounced that even now - seven weeks in advance - it's easy to believe it will sweep the board at the Academy Awards. Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress all look like shoo-ins, with likely wins in any number of other categories. Only the Sound awards look truly out of reach. But one thing is certain: Uggie, a nine-year-old Jack Russell who plays the best friend of fading matinee idol George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), won't be among the winners on the big night, even though his perky, energetic presence is now routinely described as "scene-stealing." It was, however, recognised at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where Uggie, who also appeared in last year's Water for Elephants with Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson, was awarded the "highly coveted" Palm Dog. Now in its 11th year, the award, devised by British journalist Toby Rose, goes to the best canine performance in a film screened in the festival. The question of whether there should be an Oscar for Best Non-Human Performance has hung around ever since the very first ceremony in 1929, when, it is rumoured, Rin Tin Tin polled more votes in the best-actor category than Emil Jannings, the eventual winner. Certainly, the memory of Rin Tin Tin has survived considerably longer in the collective consciousness than that of the now forgotten Jannings, even if the pooch himself lived only until 1932, when he expired - legend has it - in the arms of screen siren Jean Harlow. In a new biography, Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend, American author Susan Orlean is demanding that the Academy finally admits its mistake and makes amends by awarding a posthumous Oscar. Incidentally, Jannings's Hollywood career, like Valentin's in The Artist, came to an end with the arrival of the talkies: his thick accent forced a return to his native Germany, where he made several Nazi propaganda films for his friend Joseph Goebbels. In the wake of the injustice suffered by Rin Tin Tin, many a non-human performance has gone unrewarded. A collie called Pal played Lassie in a remarkable seven MGM pictures between 1943 and 1951; Jiggs, a chimpanzee, played Cheeta opposite two Tarzans (Johnny Weissmuller and Buster Crabbe); and Keiko the killer whale became a global star after his central role in Free Willy (1993). If Uggie has a rival in the current crop of animal stars, it has to be Joey the equine central character in Steven Spielberg's big-screen version of War Horse. But Joey, who is due to trot down the red carpet on Sunday at the film's London premiere, has some catching up to do in the PR stakes. A Facebook campaign "Consider Uggie" is already under way, and he has his own Twitter account @Uggie_TheArtist.