During the research that Susan Orlean (The Orchid Thief) did for her book Rin Tin Tin: The Life And The Legend, she discovered that the true Best Actor winner in the first Academy Awards in 1929 was the German Shepherd Dog, not the German silent film actor Emil Jannings, who walked away with the prize.

Susan believes that Rin Tin Tin received the most votes, but the Academy felt they wouldn't be taken seriously if they gave the first Best Actor Award to an animal, so they awarded it to runner up, Emil Jannings.

“In terms of popularity, Rin Tin Tin didn’t have a peer, he was a huge star around the world and helped Warner Bros transition from its start as a small studio into a large one." Susan contines, "I can’t imagine that Emil Jannings was opening films, but Rin Tin Tin certainly did.”

We would like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to do the first ever Animals In The Movies montage, finishing with a posthumous Best Actor Oscar for Rin Tin Tin.

Join us (The Dog Files at http://thedogfiles.com ) as we work to make this happen! The Dog Files want to let the world know on a major broadcast that hundreds of millions of people watch across the globe, that we love and care about animals and that they enrich every life they come in contact with!

We stand with Susan Orlean! If you agree, please sign this petition and share it with your friends.