CBS Summer On All Fours

Well, at least I resisted making a doggy style joke, right? Oh, wait ... Anyhow, I have already picked my favorite new show of the summer. "The Greatest American Dog" debuts July 10 on CBS, and my only regret is that Buffy (left) and I were not invited to participate in this reality competition. Pets and their humans will live together while competing in feats of skill that will test their ability to train and work together. Every kind of pooch, from pampered show dogs to family mutts, will compete. And the prize is, brace yourself, $250,000. Now do you see why I wanted in? Of course, one could argue that a TV reality show about dogs featuring a quarter-million dollar prize is one more example of American decadence that shames us in the eyes of the world. But I'm too busy trying to get Buffy ready for the second season to think about it.

The host, by the way, is Jarod Miller, zoologist and frequent talk show guest whose claims to fame include being Rachael Ray's official "Wildlife Buddy." Poor bastard. The official CBS press release is after the jump.

05.02.2008
ANIMATED ZOOLOGIST JAROD MILLER TO HOST "GREATEST AMERICAN DOG" (working title) WHEN THE NEW REALITY COMPETITION SERIES PREMIERES THURSDAY, JULY 10, ON CBS
Jarod Miller, animated zoologist, naturalist, pet expert, television host, and go-to talk show guest, has been named host of GREATEST AMERICAN DOG (working title), a new reality competition show where dogs and owners will compete for the title and cash prize, premiering Thursday, July 10 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Twelve extraordinary teams of dogs and owners from across the nation will compete for the title of GREATEST AMERICAN DOG. Owners and their pets - from "pageant dogs" to those simply trained at home - will live together and compete against each other in games that put the owners' ability to train their dogs to the test. The winning team will walk away with a $250,000 cash prize.

In the past decade, Miller has made over 100 appearances with his animal friends on national talk shows, including regular appearances on CBS's "THE EARLY SHOW," "The Today Show," "Good Morning America," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "Live with Regis and Kelly" and "The Tyra Banks Show," and "Entertainment Tonight." He currently hosts his own popular syndicated television show, "Animal Exploration with Jarod Miller," and is also the co-host of "PetFinder" on Animal Planet. In addition, he hosts ecological segments for the Weather Channel series "Forecast Earth," and is the resident "Wildlife Buddy" for "The Rachael Ray Show." He is also a frequent contributor to Fox News and CNN.

Miller earned a bachelor's degree in Zoology from Oswego State University in New York. Formerly the executive director of the Binghamton Zoo in Binghamton, New York, he was the youngest accredited Zoo Director in the United States and a Professional Fellow of the American Zoo Association, at the age of 25. In 1996, he started his own wildlife production and education company, Wild Encounters, and has since traveled to over 13 countries, focusing on areas in South America, Central America and Equatorial Africa. Since the age of 12, he has funded and operates his own private wildlife collection/sanctuary, and continues to lecture for zoos, universities and events nationwide.

GREATEST AMERICAN DOG is executive produced by R.J. Cutler, Stu Schreiberg and Stephen Kroopnick for Magic Molehill Productions, Inc. in association with Actual Reality Pictures and Triage Entertainment, Inc.