Since I don't have a dog and I don't shop at Kroger stores, I apparently missed the news that the Walt Disney Co. has been selling Old Yeller brand dog food. A lot of it. Never mind the fact that if I did have a dog, I wouldn't feed it a product named for an infamously killed animal from an old film. Other people are into the idea, though, and now Disney is into the idea of further merchandising its brand into the pet food and accessory markets. First up, the company is planning for a cat food line (may I suggest Aristocats brand?) and a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed aquarium. And thanks to Paris Hilton and her penchant for playing dress-up with her Chihuahua, Disney wants to concentrate much of its focus on pet clothes and collars.

I don't know what is more surprising, that Disney execs are making decisions based on what they see Paris Hilton do, or that they've now discovered they can market pretty much anything. What is next after they take over the pet product industry? Honestly I think they could sell Bambi brand deer poop and people would buy it.

Apparently the Air Bud series isn't enough for the suits at the Humane Society - they want more animal movies, and they want them now! To that end, they've created Animal Content in Entertainment (ACE), a division of the organization that was founded with the express purpose of encouraging "writers, producers and directors to make movies and TV shows featuring story lines about animals." Well, sure. I mean, on some level, we all secretly long for the glory days of Lassie and Old Yeller. Don't we?

In addition to bugging filmmakers about dog movies, ACE will present itself as a sort of animal clearing house to the film industry, providing assistance ranging from fact-checking to story ideas; from script consultation to discounted stock footage. Plus, if the division expands as the Humane Society hopes, it may soon be offering large grants to independent filmmakers - of course, they have to be making animal movies. Still, though, money is money.

I wonder if ACE will have any noticeable impact in the industry. I have to admit that the thought of push for more TV shows and movies with an animal focus sounds sort of insane to me - advocating such a thing is weird by itself, but imagining that an audience exists for these films and shows is a leap not many studios seem likely to make. (And, yes, I've heard of March of the Penguins. I'm thinking that's an exception rather than a grand, new, animal-movie rule.)