Uggie, the canine star of Oscar-winning film The Artist, has made doggy history by becoming the first mutt to have his paw prints immortalised outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

The ceremony took place in Los Angeles yesterday to mark the 10-year-old Jack Russell’s retirement from acting, and saw his prints placed alongside those of Marilyn Monroe, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Clint Eastwood.

His trainer Omar Van Muller recently revealed that Uggie, who is 53 in dog years and has appeared in Mr. Fix It and Water for Elephants as well as The Artist, is “getting tired” and won’t be making any more films.

Van Muller also took the opportunity to highlight the importance of dog adoption at Uggie’s celebratory ceremony.

He said: "The main message that Uggie would like to send to everybody out there is to please adopt.

"He's adopted. He made it. If you guys can adopt a dog, even if they don't make it on the big screen, they'll be big stars at your house."

Following the ceremony, Uggie had his paws dipped in ink and “autographed” DVD and Blu-ray copies of The Artist for fans.

While Uggie is the first dog to be honoured outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre, three other canine thespians – Lassie, Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart – have stars on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.