Doggie stars of the silver screen are getting their first-ever Walk of Fame, organizers announced last week.
The first six inductees for the London-based honors will be chosen by the British public. Candidates include Lassie, Toto of “The Wizard of Oz,” and cartoon superdog Gromit.
The winners will be announced Nov. 5, 2007, and will receive a permanent plaque in Battersea Park in south London near the Battersea Dogs Home, Britain’s largest home for abandoned dogs, according to organizers from the Kennel Club, which is sponsoring the Walk of Fame along with British television channel Sky Movies.
“To immortalize these dogs within Battersea Park, a place intrinsically linked to dogs itself, is very important to the Kennel Club and promotes the importance of dogs within our lives,” Kennel Club secretary Caroline Kisko told the Associated Press.
Britain will also celebrate screen dogs later this month at the inaugural Fido Awards, which honors top canine performance in film. Contenders for this year’s honors include the five Corgis who portrayed the royal kennel in “The Queen” and the collie mix in “Control,” about the life of Ian Curtis, the lead singer of the 1980s band Joy Division.