‘The Artist’s’ Uggie The Dog Is ‘In Love’ With Reese Witherspoon

Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo and cast of “The Artist” have been receiving rave reviews and awards nods for their black and white silent film, but a certain furry, four-legged actor keeps stealing the show – Uggie the Dog!

While Hollywood stars and audiences alike have fallen in love with the pup, Uggie only has eyes for one blond beauty.

“He likes Reese Witherspoon,” dog trainer/Uggie’s owner Owen Van Muller revealed to Billy Bush and Kit hoover on Wednesday’s Access Hollywood Live. “They worked together [in ‘Water for Elephants’] and he just wanted to kiss her every time. He’s in love with Reese.”
Owen rescued Uggie – a Jack Russell Terrier – when he was just “8 or 9 months old,” and the pup’s talent became evident very quickly.

“When did you know he had star potential?” Kit asked.

“Pretty soon after I got him because he was very, very smart, paid a lot of attention, loved to train, loved to work,” Owen answered.

Despite Uggie’s growing fan base, Owen said “The Artist” was the pup’s final feature film.

“He’s pretty much retired. He’s almost 10 years old and I really don’t want to put him through long hours anymore,” Owen said. “We were working 12, 15 hours a day in ‘The Artist.’”

Adding, “Maybe little things here and there, a couple of hours or something, would be fine, because he actually loves doing this work, but no more long hours.”