Oscar nominations 2012: Why Oscar won't go to the dogs

Uggie, the playful, loyal Jack Russell terrier who frolics at the heart of the Oscar-nominated film "The Artist," won't be getting any honors on Oscar night.

That's because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has no awards just for animals and does have a rule prohibiting animals from being nominated for any of its acting awards.

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According to Reuters, it goes back almost 80 years when a dog named Rin Tin Tin almost trotted away with the Best Actor award.

"The reporting that I did, indicated that Rin Tin Tin got most votes for best actor," Susan Orlean, author of "Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend," told Reuters. "But as much as he was admired and beloved, the Academy was trying to establish itself as a serious new awards program and they thought 'We can't give awards to animals. This will cause all sorts of embarrassment for us.' So the rules were then drafted so that no non-human could receive an Oscar.''

But that doesn't mean Uggie will play dead. You may well see the dog walking the Oscar red carpet in formal wear, as he did earlier this month at the Golden Globes ceremony.

One of the frontrunners for the Best Picture Oscar, "The Artist" received 10 Academy Award nominations, including acting award for its stars Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo