Pet Star was a show on Animal Planet

Animal Planet

Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...

 hosted by Mario Lopez

Mario López

Mario Michael Lopez, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway. He is best known for his portrayal of the character A.C. Slater on Saved By The Bell, which he also portrayed as a regular on Saved by the Bell: The College Years...

.

The show is a contest between owners and their trained pets who perform tricks. The tricks are graded by three celebrity judges

Adjudicator

An adjudicator is someone who presides, judges and arbitrates during a formal dispute. The term adjudicator essentially means a judge, without invoking the legal term. An ombudsman is a type of adjudicator in local government in the United Kingdom....

 on a scale of one to 10.

In the end, the three pets (or more in the case of ties) with the highest score come out as finalists, and the audience

Audience

An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...

 votes on who is the episode's Pet Star. Then, at the end of the season, the winners compete to be the year's ULTIMATE PET STAR. The winner of a regular show gets $2,500, while the winner of the finals gets $25,000.

There were many celebrity judges, including Gena Lee Nolin

Gena Lee Nolin

Gena Lee Nolin is an American actress and model. She is best known for her television appearances on The Price Is Right and Baywatch in the 1990s.-Career:...

, Virginia Madsen

Virginia Madsen

Virginia Madsen is an American actress and documentary film producer. She came to fame during the 1980s, having appeared in several films aimed at a teenage audience...

, Will Estes

Will Estes

Will Estes is an American actor best known for his role as JJ Pryor, on the NBC drama American Dreams. In 2010, he joined the cast of Tom Selleck's new CBS police drama Blue Bloods...

, Lindsay Wagner

Lindsay Wagner

Lindsay Jean Wagner is an American actress. She is probably best known for her portrayal of Jaime Sommers in the 1970s television series The Bionic Woman , though she has maintained a lengthy career in a variety of other film and television productions since.-Early life:Wagner was born in Los...

, Matt Gallant

Matt Gallant

Matt Gallant is an American television host. He is well-known as the former host of the Emmy Award-winning The Planet's Funniest Animals on Animal Planet. He has also served as a guest judge on various other television shows featuring animals and pets...

, Mackenzie Phillips

Mackenzie Phillips

Mackenzie Phillips is an American actress and singer best known for her roles in American Graffiti and as rebellious teenager Julie Cooper Horvath on the sitcom One Day at a Time...

, Billy West

Billy West

William Richard "Billy" West is an American voice actor. Born in Detroit but raised in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Billy launched his career in the early 1980s performing daily comedic routines on Boston's WBCN. He left the radio station to work on the short-lived revival...

, James Avery, George Wallace

George Wallace

George Corley Wallace, Jr. was the 45th Governor of Alabama, serving four terms: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. "The most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics, according to biographers Dan T. Carter and Stephan Lesher, he ran for U.S...

, Melissa Peterman

Melissa Peterman

Melissa Margaret Peterman is an American actress and comedienne who is best known for her role as Barbara Jean in the television comedy series Reba...

, Christopher Rich, John O'Hurley

John O'Hurley

John George O'Hurley is an American actor, voice actor, and television personality. He is known for the role of J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom Seinfeld and was the host of the game show Family Feud from 2006 to 2010.-Early life:...

, Vanessa Lengies

Vanessa Lengies

Vanessa Lynne-Marie Lengies is a Canadian actress best known for starring in the drama American Dreams as Roxanne Bojarski...

, Dom Irrera

Dom Irrera

Domenick Jack Irrera , originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a stand-up comedian. Much of his material is in the form of stories about his life, especially his childhood years and growing up in an Italian-American family, which contributes to the "natural" feel of his...

, Carol Leifer

Carol Leifer

Carol Leifer is an American comedian, writer, producer and actor whose career as a stand-up comedian started in the 1970s when she was in college. David Letterman discovered her performing in a comedy club in the 1980s and she has since been a guest on Late Night With David Letterman over...

, Andy Kindler

Andy Kindler

Andy Kindler is an American stand-up comedian from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles.-Stand up:His material often covers the comedy industry itself, criticizing other comedians for being too predictable. One of his more notable criticisms was that of Dane Cook where he compared the...

, Melissa Rivers

Melissa Rivers

Melissa Joan Rivers is an American television host, producer and the daughter of Joan Rivers.-Early life:Rivers was born Melissa Warburg Rosenberg in Manhattan on January 20, 1968; the only child of Joan Rivers and Edgar Rosenberg...

, Meshach Taylor

Meshach Taylor

Meshach Taylor is an American actor.He is perhaps best known for his role as Anthony Bouvier on the sitcom Designing Women. He also had a major role on the sitcom Dave's World, playing Sheldon Baylor, and appeared in Buffalo Bill.-Personal life:Taylor was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of...

, Kaley Cuoco

Kaley Cuoco

Kaley Christine Cuoco is an American film and television actress. She first came to attention for her role as Bridget Hennessy on the Emmy Award-winning sitcom 8 Simple Rules. She later starred as Billie Jenkins on the final season of the supernatural drama series Charmed...

, Rosa Blasi

Rosa Blasi

Rosa Blasi is an American actress.-Early life:Blasi was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Rocco and Joyce Blasi. Blasi is classically trained as a mezzo soprano. She also comes from a strong theatre background; ranging from the esteemed Piven Performance Company, as well as The Second City, to...

, Jeff Cesario

Jeff Cesario

Jeff Cesario is an American comedian and writer, who has written for Dennis Miller Live and The Larry Sanders Show...

, Karri Turner

Karri Turner

Karri Kathleen Turner is an American television actress who is best known for playing Lieutenant Harriet Sims on the television series JAG .Turner was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and raised in Bentonville, Arkansas...

, Peter Scolari

Peter Scolari

Peter Scolari is an American television, film and stage actor best known for his roles in the television shows Newhart, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, and Bosom Buddies.-Career:...

, Bruce Jenner

Bruce Jenner

William Bruce Jenner is a former U.S. track and field athlete, motivational speaker, socialite and television personality. He won the gold medal for decathlon in the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics....

, Fred Willard

Fred Willard

Fred Willard is an American actor, comedian, and voice over actor, best known for his improvisational comedy skills. He is known for his roles in the Christopher Guest mockumentary films This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration as well as...

, Shari Belafonte

Shari Belafonte

Shari Belafonte is an American actress, model, writer and singer. The daughter of singer Harry Belafonte, she is known for her role as Julie Gilette on the 1980s television series Hotel and as a spokesperson for the diet supplement Slim-Fast during the 1990s.-Personal life:Shari Lynn Belafonte was...

, Josh Meyers

Josh Meyers

Joshua Dylan "Josh" Meyers is an American actor, known for being a cast member of the sketch comedy MADtv and playing Randy Pearson in the eighth and final season of That '70s Show...

, Lori Petty

Lori Petty

Lori Petty is an American film and television actress best known for playing "Tyler Endicott" in Point Break in 1991, "Kit Keller" in A League of Their Own in 1992, and the title role in Tank Girl in 1995.-Early life:...

, Ben Stein

Ben Stein

Benjamin Jeremy "Ben" Stein is an American actor, writer, lawyer, and commentator on political and economic issues. He attained early success as a speechwriter for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...

, Richard Jeni

Richard Jeni

Richard John Colangelo , better known by the stage name of Richard Jeni, was an American stand-up comedian and actor.-Early life:...

, Ken Howard

Ken Howard

Kenneth Joseph "Ken" Howard, Jr. is an American actor, best known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in 1776 and as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show The White Shadow...

, Paul Gilmartin, Maria Menounos

Maria Menounos

Maria Menounos is a Greek-American actress, journalist, and television presenter known in America for her appearances as a correspondent for Today, Access Hollywood, Extra, and abroad for co-hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece.-Early life and beauty pageants:Menounos, a...

, Tempestt Bledsoe

Tempestt Bledsoe

Tempestt Bledsoe is an American actress. She is best known for her childhood role as Vanessa Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show....

, David Brenner

David Brenner

David Brenner is an American standup comedian, actor, author, and filmmaker.-Career:Born and raised in poor areas of Philadelphia, Brenner found comedy a major source of relief from the daily trials and tribulations he faced in his youth. His neighborhood has been one of the top-ranked crime...

 and Amy Davidson

Amy Davidson

Amy Lynn Davidson is an American actress best known for her role as Kerry Michelle Hennessy in the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.-Early life and education:...

.

Pet Star is based on the show Star Search

Star Search

Star Search is a television show that was produced from 1983-95, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Alfred Masini. A relaunch was produced in 2003-04. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd...

. It is shown in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 on Challenge.

The winner of Pet Stars first season was Skidboot, a purebred, male Australian Cattle Dog

Australian Cattle Dog

The Australian Cattle Dog is a breed of herding dog originally developed in Australia for droving cattle over long distances across rough terrain. In the 19th century, New South Wales cattle farmer Thomas Hall crossed the dogs used by drovers in his parents' home county, Northumberland, with...

 from Quinlan, Texas

Quinlan, Texas

Quinlan is a rural city in the southern part of Hunt County, Texas, United States located within the US Government designated Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area.-Demographics:...

. Skidboot died in March of 2007; he was owned by David Hartwig. Finalists were Stunt Dog performer John Misita http://www.airmutts.com and Stunt Dog performer Kyra Sundance

Kyra Sundance

Kyra Sundance is a dog trainer, performer, and author.Kyra and her Weimaraners perform live acrobatic shows, and have appeared at professional sports halftime shows, and on television shows such as The Tonight Show, Ellen, ET, Worldwide Fido Awards, Animal Planet's Pet Star, Showdog Moms & Dads,...

.

The winner of Pet Stars second season was a troupe of 9 dogs owned by circus performer Johnny Peers of Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...

.

The winner of Pet Stars third season was Spencer Lococo, a male Rhodesian Ridgeback

Rhodesian Ridgeback

The Rhodesian Ridgeback is a dog breed developed in Southern Africa, where it was used to hunt Lions. This is most likely why this dog is known for its bravery...

 mixed breed from Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

. His owner is John Flowers. Spencer won a place in the finals through the wild card show.

One contestant from Pet Star, Smithfield the painting pig appeared on America's Got Talent

America's Got Talent

America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...

. Another contestant on Pet Star was a tomcat named Tyler, who played Spot the cat on Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...

during the last season after serving as an understudy for several years.