Busting bad pet owners. Wrestling alligators. Rehabilitating dogs through prison programs. It's all part of TV's animal crush

The two uniformed officers pull up to the house. They've told the camera what they're going to do, now they get out of the car and do it. A knock at the door; questions for the people inside; a quick inspection; evidence; and then the officers take action - but gingerly, so as not to provoke an already jittery suspect. It would be an entirely familiar televised scene, straight out of "Cops." Except that the victims walk around on all fours. And the officers do not work for an urban police department but rather for the New York City chapter of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or ASPCA. The show, though clearly modeled on "Cops," is called "Animal Precinct," and it's the newest pup from the kennel of Animal Planet, which has become one of cable TV's hottest networks by emphasizing the interconnectedness between humans and animals. The cops on "Animal Precinct" carry guns and they arrest bad guys - people who abuse or neglect their pets. Just 10 officers are expected to handle animal cruelty cases across New York's five boroughs. (Before they can show an animal owner on television, Animal Planet must get a signed broadcast waiver. If owners don't sign, their images are fuzzed out.) "I never saw this dog before in my life," says the truth-challenged owner of a mutt found dead in his back yard. The rib cage of another emaciated dog, this one kept in a basement, can be plainly seen. Cats crawl out from piles of trash in their owner's living room. It is not an easy show to watch. Yet more than a million viewers tuned in for the "Animal Precinct" premiere late last month, making it Animal Planet's highest-rated debut ever. Paul Romano, one of the ASPCA officers featured on the show, watches it with his 8-year-old daughter. "I tell her there are things on this show that will scare her," says Romano, who has been in law enforcement 20 years, the last three as an ASPCA officer. "But we've seen cases of children shooting animals, torturing them. It's so important that we educate our children. We know Jeffrey Dahmer started torturing animals as a kid, then he grew up and killed people." The subject matter is unprecedented for Animal Planet, a channel better known for whimsical shows such as "America's Funniest Pets" and a ubiquitous Aussie who cheerfully wrestles crocodiles. But "Animal Precinct" vividly demonstrates what makes the new generation of animal TV so different from the nature programming we grew up with. Old programs such as "Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom" kept the humans in the background - not unlike the new movie "Cats & Dogs," in which people are oblivious to the cold war going on among their pets. By contrast, animal TV brings humans into the drama and shows how animals are often barometers of our capacity for compassion or selfishness. "Let's face it, animals are endlessly fascinating, but the real secret to this channel is its humanity," says Michael Cascio, the new executive in charge of Animal Planet. "It's the idea that humans can become better people by observing the behavior of the world around them." That includes - at the opposite end of "Animal Precinct" - the story of inmates at an Ohio prison, recently featured on an Animal Planet documentary, who give obedience training to dogs rescued from area shelters. The training draws out the tender sides of the incarcerated men, and it also gives the once-condemned animals - who because of the training can be sold to new owners - the prospect of long and happy lives. Humans rescuing animals is a common theme of animal TV. But so is the opposite. The weekly series "Miracle Pets" on the Pax network, for example, tells of dogs who alert their owners to house fires and so forth. And so often, as with the Ohio inmates, animal TV warms viewers' hearts by showing that people who improve the welfare of animals boost their own as well. It may explain why Animal Planet is the fastest-growing cable channel in history and is now carried in 70 million homes. Though not among the top-rated cable channels, it always enjoys a ratings spike when its star, Steve Irwin, a.k.a. "the Crocodile Hunter," appears. A stocky bloke in khakis, Irwin is the kind of guy who gets excited trying a new flavor of ice cream. As we watch Irwin zanily profess his love for a croc that has just sunk her teeth into his thigh, or roll around in the mud with an exotic lizard, it's easy to forget that he is a respected zoologist who is on the forefront of saving marine life in his native Australia. Irwin also has achieved rare crossover success, appearing in four NBC specials last season. Despite network shows being expected to draw several times the audience of the average cable program, "The Crocodile Hunter" boosted NBC's ratings by more than 20 percent, and by even more among younger viewers, said spokesman Mike Nelson. "To take someone who is committed to science and exploit those parts of his personality that make him bigger than life - not everybody in that field wants to do that," Cascio says of Irwin. "But they understand it helps to get the message across if you make it fun or melodramatic. And incidentally, that's the way Steve really is. In much the same way Carl Sagan once represented science, Steve represents science and adventure." The same could be said of Jacques Cousteau, the original scientist-adventurer-personality who, like Sagan, was seen by millions on public TV. At least one current PBS show continues in that tradition - "Ocean Wilds" with marine biologist Feodor Pitcairn and his underwater friends - while others encourage humans to do it themselves, such as "Stokes Birds at Home," with birdwatchers Don and Lillian Stokes showing viewers how to build bird houses and identify species. Another member of the old guard, National Geographic, has responded to the growing popularity of animal TV by starting its own cable channel. Time Warner Cable is in negotiations to add National Geographic Channel to its lineup. Of course, naysayers argue that watching nature on television is a poor substitute for the real thing. But don't tell that to Animal Planet's Cascio, who's rolling out a new slate of shows including "Hollywood Unleashed," in which celebrities coo over their pets. One of them is Bettie Currie, the former assistant to Bill Clinton who inherited Socks, the presidential cat. Noting that it is Currie's first interview since the election, Cascio says: "We told her we don't care about the scandal. We want to know how Socks is." You can reach Aaron Barnhart through the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. An Animal Planet sampler "Emergency Vets" - This real-life "ER," filmed as it happens at a veterinary hospital in Colorado, is one of Animal Planet's best-loved shows. "Judge Wapner's Animal Court" - The retired "People's Court" judge returns to TV to adjudicate tiffs between pet owners. "Wild on the Set" - Secrets of how animals are trained for movies and commercials. (Does that chihuahua really say, "Yo quiero Taco Bell"?) "The Jeff Corwin Experience" - Animal Planet's other big personality is this amiable biologist-anthropologist who introduces viewers to interesting animals and their even more interesting keepers. "The Retrievers" - In this coming (July 30) movie, a rare fictional offering, Robert Hays ("Airplane!") and Mel Harris ("thirtysomething") rekindle their marriage with the help of a homeless golden retriever and its brood of young pups. "Moorpark 24/7" - Reality series follows 50 young people from around the world as they train to become zookeepers at a one-of-a-kind institute. "Big Cat Diary" - Filmmakers chronicle the lives, beginning at birth, of lions, cheetahs and cougars in the Kenyan wilderness. @ART CAPTION:Animal Planet's "The Awesome Pawsome" followed the first year of life for four Bengal tigers living in captivity. @ART CAPTION:Special Investigator Joann Sandano is one of the New York officers featured in Animal Planet's new series "Animal Precinct." @ART CAPTION:Steve Irwin, along with his wife, Terri, is behind much of Animal Planet's success. "The Crocodile Hunter" is one of the network's most popular shows. @ART CAPTION:Kevin T. Fitzgerald is one of the Emergency Vets on one of Animal Planet's most-watched shows. @ART:Photos (4, color and b/w) @ART CREDIT:Photos by Animal Planet