C.J.: Actor Josh Duhamel lends gorgeous mug and name to wags at the Animal Humane Society

Puppy-dog-cute Josh Duhamel had no trouble moving a batch of displaced pooches into permanent homes.

The North Dakota-born acting heartthrob lent his celebrity status and executive producer talents to a Web series, "Rescue Waggin': Tales from the Road," for PetSmart Charities, which sent 21 rescue dogs from Carthage, Mo., to the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley for adoption.

"Really cool," said Bri Sharkey-Smith, content manager of SidewalkDog.com, which provides animal lovers with information about dog-friendly venues. "He came to town and spent two days at the humane society to sort of hang out and see what they do. The eight-part series — seven- to 10-minute Webisodes —just wrapped Monday.

"All 21 dogs have been adopted as part of the series," Sharkey-Smith told me Tuesday. It took the longest to locate a home for Isaiah, whose new owner loved the pooch but not his name (http://bit.ly/1p88hxm).

Ali Jarvis, founder of SidewalkDog.com, said she contacted Duhamel when she heard he was coming to the Animal Humane Society. "I tweeted him and said, 'We'd love to promote this, what is it about?' The funny piece for us is that he and I now have this Twitter relationship."

Not only did Duhamel lend star quality to this project, he also allowed dogs to be named after him and others in his circle. Others thusly honored included his wife, Fergie, vocalist for hip hop's Black Eyed Peas, and the married couple's baby boy Axl. There were also dogs named Boom Boom and Pow after the Peas' hit "Boom Boom Pow."

Asked if anybody tried to adopt Josh Duhamel, Sharkey-Smith was briefly speechless. "He is super puppy-dog cute. Honestly, if I could take Josh Duhamel home with me and my husband would allow it, I would be all over it."

Oprah's favorite designer shared this nugget last week on Rachael Ray's TV show. Ray arranged for Berkus to sample elaborate wedding cakes prepared by three pastry chefs.

Berkus picked a favorite but that doesn't mean much, since his fiancé, a former assistant to Rachel Zoe, wasn't there to taste, too.

I thought Berkus betrayed some reticence when Ray inquired about the number of guests. Berkus seems open but I assume he still wants to keep some matters private. Take July's off-the-beaten-path examination of wedding rings at a store from Berkus' childhood, J.B. Hudson on Nicollet Mall. My tipster saw the designing guys browsing, but so far there's no confirmation that they bought bands there.

Hearing the 200 mark, reasonably intimate given his celebrity status, started me calculating who'll be at this A-list wedding. Oprah, of course. Then there's Nate's mom, decorator and jewelry designer Nancy Golden. I am guessing Berkus' good friend Allison Kaplan, senior editor at Mpls.St. Paul magazine, will make the cut. If for no other reason than how much Berkus likes saying these words: "She was my girlfriend. She doesn't talk about that, but she was."

Twitter's @AliShops has not responded to my inquiring tweet.

While watching an episode of Andrew Zimmern's "Bizarre Foods," during which he noted that he was a German Jew, I tweeted AZ to find out if he knew about the goings-on at Gasthof.

"The owners should be ashamed and the revelers should be. ... Well, I can't even speak the words," Zimmern tweeted back.

C.J. can be reached at cj@startribune.com.