Final Vote Is In - But Not Counted

The vote that will determine the winner of "Survivor: The Australian Outback" has not yet been counted and will be unveiled live at the show's two-hour finale May 3, host Jeff Probst explained Tuesday on The Early Show.

This is a change from the original "Survivor" when the vote was taken and tallied during filming of the final episode. Everyone involved in the show had to sign confidentiality agreements promising not disclose the result. And despite enormous media speculation, the results were a surprise last summer.

"Last year, there was so much speculation," said Probst, who appeared on The Early Show as part of Puppy Chow's national pet adoption month campaign.

"We have had so many people trying to get into Australia, and helicopters flying over trying to find our camps. We have 250 people on our crew. We trust everybody, but there is an opportunity there for somebody to say, 'Hey, you know what,' so we just got rid of the risk."

Probst said he watched the contestants do the final votes and put them in the urn used at the tribal councils all season.

"Burnett ("Survivor" creator and executive producer Mark Burnett) took it, put it in a big box, they're gone," Probst explained.

Burnett has not peeked in it?

"That I don't know," Probst said. "But [the winner] absolutely did... does not know. That I know: They do not know."

As for adopting a pet, Probst said it is important to remember that it is a committment and that dogs cannot take care of themselves.

"In the end, the unconditional love you get from a dog is fantastic," he said.

Exact tips on how to care for puppies and dogs are available on the Puppy Chow Web site.

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