And then there were 34.

If you have ever watched the television spectacle that is American Idol, you know that the competition is fierce. Thousands of people audition each year for just a handful of spots, all in hopes of becoming a star.

When The Natchez Democrat first proposed the idea of conducting a similar competition based on pets rather than singer-wannabees, I had my doubts.

After all, how would our local pet competition match in popularity to America’s No.1 television show?

Don’t get me wrong. I know that Natchez and its surrounding towns are filled with a few pet lovers.

If you go to the Vidalia Riverfront or one of Natchez’s fine parks at any time of the day, you are certain to find someone playing with a pet. Neighborhoods are filled mornings and evenings with dog walkers. And if you are lucky, you might even spy a cat leading his owner on a leash (I know this from personal experience).

The Miss-Lou is definitely a pet-friendly region. So, the question in my mind was not whether a pet competition would be popular. No, I wondered if we were setting the bar too high by comparing our little competition to the megahit that changed the face of the entertainment industry. Suffice it to say I was skeptical.

Boy, was I wrong.

Three weeks after we introduced the Miss-Lou to the 69 cats, dogs, horse and guinea pig that would compete for the enviable first ever Pet Idol title, I am now convinced that Natchez doesn’t just have pet lovers. We have pet fanatics.

In that short time, area pet lovers cast thousands of votes for their favorites pets. As a matter of fact, it didn’t take long before ballots started piling up in our office — so much so that we had to develop a spreadsheet to track the votes.

To be honest, such statistics didn’t take me by total surprise. But when owners began lobbying for their pets by sending in homemade campaign propaganda for the “Your Take” feature of our newspaper, I raised my eyebrows in curiosity at the creative tactics and wondered what else we may see before the end of this contest.

The pet lobbyists raised the bar and, much like the real American Idol contest, are creating new ways to set themselves apart from the other contestants. The craftiness and the technical skills of pet owners are even on display at area businesses that have staked a claim to one of the contestants.

This Sunday, the newspaper will unveil the 34 pet contestants who will go onto compete in round two.

Like before, these pets will compete for your vote. Each vote is 25 cents. The money raised will go to help supply area students with newspapers as part of our Newspapers in Education program. A portion of the proceeds will also be donated to the Natchez-Adams Humane Society.

Round Two voting will end at 5 p.m. on Sept. 28. Once again, the field of contestants will be divided in half with the top 50 percent of the vote getters advancing to the third round.

What will this round’s candidates do to lobby for votes? With these pet fanatics, who can tell.

I do know one thing. On Oct. 3, only 17 pets will remain in what has become an exciting contest — almost as exciting as the real thing.

Ben Hillyer is the Web editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3540 or by e-mail at ben.hillyer@natchezdemocrat.com.