posted November 12, 2014 08:23 PM            

"Fox's Cause for Paws: An All-Star Dog Spectacular" will air Nov. 27 and feature a slew of celebrities aiming to find thousands of needy dogs a home by Black Friday.

Hosted by Swank and "Glee" actress Jane Lynch, the two-hour program crams in dog stories, viral videos, musical tributes, a fundraiser, contests and glitterati galore.

It ranks among the many telethons to which celebrities have lent their fame to benefit everything from breast cancer research to Hurricane Katrina victims, but the program is believed to be the first televised effort to raise money for rescue dogs and get the animals adopted.

Though much more high-profile, the show comes amid a flurry of campaigns by rescues, shelters and animal welfare groups to get at-risk pets loving homes, from local adoption events to social media blitzes such as "muttbombing," digitally altered images that insert a needy dog into a photo of a celebrity.

"More than 9 million animals end up in shelters every year and only half of them make it out," said Swank, who has won Academy Awards for "Boys Don't Cry" and "Million Dollar Baby" and is a co-executive producer of the show. The program running 8-10 p.m. is partnering with Petfinder.com to help pet seekers nationwide find a dog or cat in need, she said.

Actors Scarlett Johansson, Betty White, Josh Duhamel and Kristen Bell as well as singers Fergie, Miranda Lambert, Paula Abdul, LeAnn Rimes and Kesha will be on hand to help the animals and, hopefully, turn the event into an annual affair, Swank said.

"We've seen the entertainment industry come together for so many worthwhile causes benefiting people, now it's time for them to rally for man's best friend," co-executive producer Michael Levitt said.

The show will star 35 adoptable pooches and feature a performance by the 10 flipping, twirling Olate dogs, past million-dollar winners of "America's Got Talent." There will be contests for cutest puppy, best celebrity lookalike, best licker, smartest dog and best viral dog video.

All the dogs on the show will be from rescues — animals that have been saved from shelters but still need homes, Levitt said. Until then, they are in foster care or kennels.

There will be segments devoted to spay-and-neuter awareness, the live-saving role of fostering and the joys of adopting senior or special-needs dogs.

"Rescue dogs are not broken animals," Levitt said. "They are the victims of bad circumstances, but most are loving and most grateful creatures."

If all the dogs on hand are placed, viewers will be urged to visit Petfinder.com to look at other adoptable dogs in their areas. Celebrities will also solicit donations to help support participating rescues.

Rica Powell's Smiling Dog Rescue in Tucson, Arizona, will bring a dog to the telethon. The group she founded in 2007 specializes in pit bulls, the breed that accounts for 70 percent of dogs in rescues.

Powell said the dog she's bringing is "a fabulous boy. I know we are going to get hundreds of applications for that dog."

Also up for adoption from rescues nationwide will be three-legged great Dane, a pooch that weighs just 4 pounds and a Chihuahua who uses a tiny wheelchair, among others.

The show's biggest competition on Thanksgiving will be football.

"We think we are amazing counterprogramming," Levitt said.

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posted December 20, 2014 06:33 AM            

"If only half of those result in adoptions, that would be huge," director Michael Levitt said.

Seventy dogs from rescues across the country were featured on the two-hour Thanksgiving night telecast — a show the producer see becoming a fixture in the future.

More than 4 million people tuned in to the show, which was co-hosted by actresses Hilary Swank and Jane Lynch, and aired on donated time from the Fox Network.

Besides the permanent homes offered, 250 people signed up as foster parents for homeless dogs, Levitt said.

Swank said for her, the magic of "Cause for Paws: An All-Star Dog Spectacular" was "watching the dream of saving hundreds of dogs turn into the reality that became thousands as the awareness was raised of the severe homeless pet problem."

She added the show was the best holiday gift she could receive.

"Knowing that lives were saved as people opened their hearts and homes to new four-legged family members warms my heart and touches my soul more than you can imagine," Swank said.

Levitt said the goal was to educate people in an entertaining way and show them the joy that comes from rescuing animals.

"There was one amazing comment after another posted on social media, including people who posted pictures of dogs they went out and rescued because of the show," the director said.

Singer-actress Miley Cyrus confirmed just three days before the show that she would be there, Levitt said. She agreed to do a segment on pit bulls, writing her own copy and doing her own research. It was a side of Cyrus some people have never seen, he said.

The director said he couldn't imagine that there wouldn't be more telethons because this one was so successful.

Viewers also donated more than $200,000 during the telethon that will be distributed to eligible rescues. The show had more than 150,000 unique users and over 1 million page views after the special aired.

Some of the rescues represented on the telethon reported getting an additional 15,000 hits on their websites in the days after the telethon.

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Online:

"Cause for Paws: An All-Star Dog Spectacular," www.fox.com/causeforpaws