Elite Competition, Interactive Fun Prevail in NBC's 'National Dog Show Presented By Purina'

Elite Competition, Interactive Fun Prevail in NBC's 'National Dog Show Presented By Purina'

Traditional Thanksgiving Day TV Special Features John O'Hurley, David Frei and 163 Breeds

BURBANK, Calif., Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The NBC Thanksgiving Day special "The National Dog Show Presented by Purina(R)" will crown one of America's great show dogs as its 2006 champion while offering features on the interactive website Petcentric.com and host John O'Hurley's new book, IT'S OKAY TO MISS THE BED ON THE FIRST JUMP: And Other Life Lessons I Learned from Dogs.

The holiday special follows the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC and is watched annually by a total of almost 20 million viewers. Exactly 163 breeds and varieties vie for "Best in Show" honors at the tradition-rich Kennel Club of Philadelphia competition.

In addition to the two-hour, television broadcast of the National Dog Show, NBC will offer extensive online coverage of the famed show including video and audio descriptions of each of the 163 breed winners. NBC's Kenan Harkin will also host "Unleashed," a series of informative and often humorous "webisodes" focusing upon the backstage stories from the show and spotlighting the top dogs and trainers. Both the breed video and "Unleashed" will be available at www.DOGSHOWUSA.com.

The special will introduce the website www.petcentric.com, which features O'Hurley reading from his book plus an interactive offering called DOGGIE- MAIL, an e-mail program with talking dogs. Visitors can outfit a dog, select or record audio and send a customized email to friends. There is also a sweepstakes with prizes including O'Hurley's book or one of 25 grand prize packages with toys, a treat machine and other fun stuff for dogs.

The Thursday TV special, set for noon-2 p.m. in all time zones, is hosted for the fifth straight year by O'Hurley, the "Seinfeld" ensemble actor (catalogue king J. Peterman, Elaine's boss) who emerged as the ultimate champion on ABC's inaugural presentation of "Dancing With The Stars." O'Hurley will be joined by expert analyst David Frei, who is the face and voice of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on USA Network and America's foremost authority on the sport.

Unlike traditional dog show coverage, the two-hour special offers family- oriented features on dogs and pet care, facilitated by the open format of the Kennel Club of Philadelphia event, one of only six remaining "benched" shows in which the dogs are on display for the visiting public.

Contact: Steve Griffith, Pyramid PR, 212 643 1068 x250

Genevieve Marrin, Pyramid PR, 212 643 1068 x257

Lisa Bruno, Pyramid PR, 212 643 1068 x254

Source: The National Dog Show

CONTACT: Steve Griffith, +1-212-643-1068 x250, or Genevieve Marrin,
+1-212-643-1068 x257, or Lisa Bruno, +1-212-643-1068 x254, all of Pyramid PR

Web site: http://www.petcentric.com/
http://www.dogshowusa.com/

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