Worldwide Fido Award Best in (Dog) Show

Pooch Pageantry is Celebrity Pet Competition

At Nick at Nite's star-studded Worldwide Fido Awards a blues-singing beagle, jump-roping Jack Russell and bikini-wearing boxer were among the canine creme-de-la-creme competing for the coveted title of Worldwide Fido Winner.

The event was hosted by Fred Willard, beloved for his cinematic portrayal of a dog show host in Christopher Guest's hysterical Best in Show. Celebrity judges included Vivica Fox, Weeds actor Kevin Nealon, and dog-trainer to the stars Tamar Geller. Infamous celebrity blogger Perez Hilton was a presenter, as was Dancing with the Stars hot-stepper Cristian de la Fuente. Sex and the City actress Kristin Davis also made an appearance.

Willard's introductory monologue earned plenty of laughs-and approving woof from the family-filled audience. The show itself began with spokesmodel Kyra and barksmodel Chalcy, a beautiful Weimaraner attempting a jump-rope trick.

First up, four pooches competed for the title of Cutest Dog. They included Big Mac, a bulldog from California; Bella, a Maltese/Yorkie mix from New Jersey; Konan, a Maltese from Maryland; and Samson, a French bull-puppy (only seven months old) from San Francisco.

Next up was the Best Dressed category. Hurkulez, a tuxedo-clad pug; Jasmine, a '70s-hippie-style golden retriever; Phoebe Buffay, a poolside Boxer in a bikini; and Maygen Kelly Murray, an Australian shepherd dressed for a Sunday drive, were all contenders.

No surprise, the winner was bikini-clad Phoebe Buffay. When Willard asked if she had other outfits, Phoebe's owner Pamela mentioned a cheerleader's uniform and a sailor dress. Buffay also won a Britney Spears lookalike competition at a local pet store last year.

The next category, Owner Lookalike, featured a German shepherd by the very dignified name of Kaine Von Feuerspiel and his owner, Ashley, who won. The duo accepted the award in matching pirate garb.

The most sentimental prize of the evening was Hero Dog, which went to a pup named Buddy. The German shepherd from Arizona made news last summer for saving his owner's life by calling 911 after the man suffered a seizure.

Perez Hilton presented the award for Most Outrageous Dog. Looking svelte in a silver sheen shirt-and-tie combo, Perez kidded that he had begun a dog gossip blog. Later, Hilton graced us backstage with his dog Teddy, a goldiepoo (part golden retriever, part poodle). Most Outrageous Dog went to Tommy, a deep-diving Labrador retriever from New Jersey, and Best Voice went to Sunny, a Schubert-humming golden retriever from Ocean Beach, California.

The final category was Best Trick. Gabe, a one-and-a-half-year-old bulldog who skateboards and rides a hobbyhorse, had some stiff competition. Still, he managed to take home the golden bone trophy. Gabe accepted his award dressed as a cowboy.

The grand prize competition was whittled down to three finalists: Gabe (Best Trick), Sunny (Best Voice) and Phoebe Buffay (Best Dressed).

Before the winner was announced, Cristian de la Fuente awarded Kristin Davis the Dog's Best Friend prize. Her Sex and the City character Charlotte had a pampered pooch on TV, but in real life Davis rescued her dog Mama from the pound, along with her five puppies. They were meant to be foster dogs, but Davis ended up adopting it and one of the pups. Davis also helped rescue dogs in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Chalcy pulled out the winning dog crown as Gabe the bulldog enjoyed a victory ride on his hobbyhorse inside the confetti-filled auditorium. Tamar Gellar came backstage to congratulate Gabe. The celebrity dog trainer has worked with pooches owned by Oprah Winfrey, Ben Affleck, Natalie Portman, Courteney Cox, Kelly Ripa, and Selma Blair.