For the entire week before the Academy Awards, Uggie the dog appeared on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live‘ to gain Oscar buzz for his film ‘The Artist.’ The adorable Jack Russell terrier, who was the real star of the Best Picture-winning silent film, made Oscar picks for Kimmel and was generally one charming pooch. Everybody was happy with the way his appearance went.

Until earlier this week, that is, when an eagle-eyed Kimmel staffer noticed that something was off. 

As it turned out, the markings on the “Uggie” who was on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ were different than the markings on the “Uggie” who appeared in ‘The Artist.’ As Uggie’s costar Jean Dujardin would say, “Quel scandale!”

“I believe we were given a fake Uggie,” Kimmel concluded. “A ‘Fuggie,’ if you will.”

But that’s not all. Kimmel also has video to suggest that an impostor Uggie also showed up on ‘Ellen‘ and was even present at the Golden Globes. In fact, the Uggie you saw on stage after ‘The Artist’ won Best Picture at the Oscars was also the fake. Since Uggie (who also appeared in ‘Water for Elephants’ last year) was set to bow out of showbiz after ‘The Artist,’ is there a chance he took an early retirement?

Kimmel was pretty miffed about this development, especially since he had paid “thousands” to have Uggie on his show. While his first instinct was to call McGruff the Crime Dog, or maybe Ace Ventura, he realized he had an ace in the hole — Kimmel will be hosting the White House Correspondents Dinner in April, which Uggie is expected to attend. With the help of the Secret Service, who certainly won’t tolerate anyone entering the White House under false pretenses, the late-night host should be able get to the bottom of UggieGate 2012.

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