Uggie has not been invited to the Oscars

First, the Academy announced that “Man or Muppet ” would not be performed at the Oscars and now this: Uggie is probably not attending the big show.

“The Artist’s” Golden Collar winner “has not been asked to participate or appear at the Oscars,” a spokesperson for the Weinstein Company told Reuters. Oscar sources also told Reuters that Uggie has not been rehearsing a bit for the ceremony with host Billy Crystal, as previous reports had indicated.

Could this be some terrible oversight? Is this a ruse to hide a double secret performance between Crystal and Uggie? Did the Oscar organizers miss the Golden Globes moment when Jean Dujardin made Uggie do tricks on the stage and the whole world smiled? What is going on?

The Academy didn’t get back to Reuters with comment, so there’s no answer there. So allow me to share a few guesses.

“The Artist” is probably going to win best picture at the Oscars. All signs point to that. Perhaps the humans don’t want to be out outshined by a dog during the acceptance speech? I would certainly understand that.

It’s also clear that director Michel Hazanavicius isn’t crazy over Uggie, like many of us are. “Artist” star Berenice Bejo — who, fun fact, is married to Hazanavicius — told Deadline her husband is “not a big fan of dogs.” He, reasonably, “grew tired” of the actors carrying around sausage to get Uggie to perform, according to Deadline. And based on this blooper reel , even having treats didn’t always ensure Uggie followed his commands. “Don’t work with children or animals” is a well worn adage for a reason.