Smallest dog
 

I found this article and wanted to share:

ST. PETERSBURG -- Linda Skeels-Hopson is standing at the broken screen door with her ticket out of this place nestled in the palm of her hand. She holds it up and straightens the tiny red bow on its head.

"Go ahead," she tells a visitor. "You can touch him."

Two brown M&M eyes squint against the sunlight. He doesn't get out much. Curbs are a problem. So is tall grass. And any animal larger than he is.
Which is just about everything other than plankton.

This, Skeels-Hopson believes, is the smallest dog in the world.

Tiny Pinocchio, a steel blue and tan 1-year-old Yorkshire terrier, tips the scales, if you could call it that, at an even 1 pound. He is 8 inches long, stands 4.5 inches tall at his shoulder, and fits comfortably in a baseball cap.

To claim the title of world's smallest dog for her pet, Skeels-Hopson, who breeds Yorkies, has contacted the people at Guinness World Records to seek forms her veterinarian has to fill out to verify the dog's size. Or lack thereof. To discourage those who might abuse their dogs, the record is based not only on weight, but on height and length.

The current Guinness record is held by a Yorkie with the clever name of Big Boss that lives in Thailand. Big Boss stands 4.7 inches tall and weighs 17 ounces. His exact length is unclear, but Skeels-Hopson is sure her dog is smaller.

"And I'd agree with her," said Dr. Michael Rumore, a veterinarian at Lake Seminole Animal Hospital, where Noki (Tiny Pinocchio's nickname) gets his regular checkups. "I honestly think it is the smallest dog in the world. He's highly abnormal, even for a toy breed."

There are several possible causes, Rumore explained, including hormonal deficiencies or some unknown form of canine dwarfism. "He just stopped growing at eight weeks," Rumore said, "although he has matured and he's healthy.

"To be honest, we don't know why he's so small. He may be just tiny."

Rumore does know this: Noki owes his life to Skeels-Hopson, 52, who cared for the dog when it was first born. It weighed just 2 ounces, and no one, except her, thought it would survive. Noki, whose father weighs nearly 4 pounds and mother a gargantuan 71/4 pounds, was born in her house.

There is no fence or Beware of Dog sign in the front yard of the small, gray shingle house on Second Avenue S. Noki sleeps in a metal bird cage on the coffee table in the living room. That's also where he goes when there's company. So people won't step on him. His bark, such as it is, resembles a canary's chirp.

Forget conventional dog food. Noki eats Gerber baby food -- a 21/2-ounce jar every five days or so. He prefers beef or turkey flavor. And forget conventional dog bowls. He eats out of the baby food lids.

"People slow down and stare when I'm out walking him," Skeels-Hopson said. "They'll ask if it's a real dog.

"Like Pinocchio, he's my miracle," she added. "I prayed so hard he would live, and he did.

"Maybe he is my ticket out of this life I live."

Sam, her husband, is disabled. Their only income is from Linda's Yorkie breeding business. But if the record is verified, Skeels-Hopson hopes it will lead to Noki calendars, Noki T-shirts, books, movie deals . . . all things Noki. She already has a Web site (tinypinocchio.com) devoted to Noki and Noki-related products.

"I can see us on Oprah," she said. "Think of what he can do for the world."

The possibilities boggle the mind. But before that happens, he'll have to get out to meet his public. At least he travels well. Usually in a small MacGregor sports bag. Or a pocket will do. And if he doesn't get stepped on (his owner's biggest fear) or meet some other untimely fate, he could live 15 years. Maybe longer.

Yes, someday soon, he could be huge. Figuratively speaking.

"Don't worry," Skeels-Hopson said, repositioning his tiny red bow. "Fame won't go to his head."

How adorable! He's so tiny... :aimeeyork

He is tiny!!!!
I hope he's as healthy as they say he is.
Makes you wonder if he stopped growing at 8 weeks.
hmmmmmm you just never know.

Omg.. that is so tiny, I'd be scared to death to have one that little..

I wonder too
 

I mean is it even right for a yorkie to be that small?? This breed began as a medium sized dog 50 pounders , now we have them scaled down to 1 pound!! He is quite cute, but you gotta wonder whats next?

Holy moly...my cat would think that it was a rat and try to kill it.

It's so cute though. I definitely can't have something that small.

I dont think its right that she keeps him in a bird cage and wants to make money off of him. Hes cute though

Speaking of that, I was walking Bailey last night, we run into this woman with a very small Lhasp Apsa and very small Jack Russell, she looks at my 10 pound Yorkie and says kinda snotty,, " what kind of dog is that?" I said " Yorkie" She said " OhHHH, HE'S BIG." I said, " No, not really, most are bred to be tiny, I said the breed standard it 5-7 pounds he's 9-10." I wanted to say,, " Obviously like YOUR DOGS WERE." But I didn't it just pisses me off.. if he's bigger than standard, he is a defect,, but if they are smaller,, it's great,and the way it should be...:mad: :thumbdown
So, there's my opinion.

People like that make me so mad. I know I have gotten some comments about Chachi. He is 10 lbs

awww
 

my fav author of all times said it best

All creatures great and small , the lord god made them all!!

well I personally believe we should just let nature create them and love them for who they are, not for who we think they should be, or how we think they should look.Just like people all creatures are different, even within thier species.....so as My wonky yorkie Moe Says "Take me as I am warts and all, and if you don't like me, don't let the door his ya in the A** on the way out!", oh and by the way that was a dirrect quote from Moe.

Considering the size of his parents, I don't think the breeder did it on purpose. But I hope this doesn't encourage breeders to try to get a Yorkie that small. That would be really, really scary.

I hate this too. Starsky is 10 lbs and everyone says that a big yorkie. I talked to a groomer and a breeder of yorkies last night and she said that if she was grooming 12 yorkies, 8 of them would be bigger than average. That's what she has been seeing.
I wish they would change the weight of the standard yorkie if that is the case!!!!!!

Now that is just plain scary when they are that tiny:exclaim:

class
 

I thought it would be nice if they just did like they did for other breeds, allowed a toy version, the smallest ones...then had a standard size, this would certainly open things up for other "large" yorkies....big is beautiful too.You know they really should do that theres mini schnauzers, mini dachunds, Poodles ,ect...but then there are also standard sized...in these and other breeds the size differences are allowed, so long as the rest of the dog conforms to what a poodle is, or schnauzer ect...we should campaign at YT for equallity !!! Sorry if my spelling sucks, I am being lazy and not cross checking.

I believe both of the little dogs have passed away. :(

Size Doesn't matter
 

Here are some size facts on dogs and other critters:

Worlds Tallest Dog
The tallest dog on record was named Shamgret Danzas. He was 42 inches tall (at the shoulder) and weighed 238 pounds.

Worlds Smallest Dog
The smallest dog in history was a tiny Yorkie from Blackburn, England. At 2 years of age, and fully grown, was an incredible 2½ inches tall by 3¾ inches long. He weighed only 4 ounces. He was approximately the size of a box of wooden matches.

Worlds Largest Dog
The worlds heaviest, as well as, longest dog ever recorded was an Old English Mastiff named Zorba. In 1989, Zorba weighed 343 pounds and was 8 feet 3 inches long from nose to tail.

Worlds Most Poisonous Animal
The golden poison arrow frog of Columbia has a skin secretion that is so deadly it can not be handled by bare hands. Native Americans used the poison to coat their hunting arrows. Just 0.2 micrograms of his poison in your bloodstream would kill you.

Worlds Sleepiest Animal
No matter how lazy your pet cat is, he is no match for the armadillo, opossum or sloth. They spend an average 80% of their lives sleeping or dozing. Imagine how you feel at your 8 AM class? Armadillos, Opossums, and sloths feel that way ALL the time.

Worlds Largest Spider
The largest spider in the world is the giant bird eating spider of Guyana, Surinam, and French Guiana. In 1965, a male specimen was collected that had a leg span of more than 11 inches.

Worlds Strongest Animal
The strongest animal, relative to body size, is the Rhinoceros Beetle. It can support 850 times its own body weight on its back. Consider that in human terms, it would be as if a 150 pound man could carry 127,000 pounds.

Most Legs
The centipede in southern Europe has 177 PAIRS of legs.

Longest Flea Jump
Of the 1830 varieties of fleas, the champion jumper is the cat flea. It has been known to leap as high as 34 inches. This may not sound impressive, but consider that jumping to such a height relative to body size the flea is subjecting itself to over 200 g's. If a person leaped this high and fast, the g force endured would be as if they weighed 20,000 pounds. The flea takes off with greater acceleration than the Space Shuttle.

Worlds Fattest Cat
The worlds fattest cat was a neutered male tabby named "Himmey". When he died, he weighed almost 47 pounds. He had a 15 inch neck, was 38 inches long and had a 33 inch waist.

Worlds Smallest Cat
The worlds smallest cat is a male blue point Himalayan-Persian named "Tinker Toy". He is just 2¾ inches tall and 7½ inches long.

Worlds Largest Feline
The largest feline ever recorded is a captive Siberian Tiger named "Jauper" He is 10 feet 11 inches long and weighes 932 pounds.

Worlds Largest Bird
The largest bird is the male African Ostrich. They can stand as high as 9 feet and weigh as much as 345 pounds. They are also the fastest bird and can run at speeds up to 40 miles per hour.

Worlds Smallest Bird
The adult male "bee hummingbird" of Cuba is only 2¼ inches long from bill to tail. They weigh only 0.056 ounces.

Worlds Largest Wingspan
The wandering albatross has the largest wingspan of any living bird. One very old male bird had a recorded span of 11 feet 11 inches.

Worlds Oldest Bird
The greatest age for which a bird has been reliably recorded is 80 years old. A Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo named "Cocky" lived and died at the London Zoo.

are you serious?

i think unethical breeding is a vicious cycle. i dont think she planned him to be that small, but some people who do make me sick. so do people who question my dogs breed, and act like snobs- i love my dogs size!

They were both about 2 years old when they died. :(

Not sure probably heart or liver issues. :(

I know the little Yorkie died. :( Probably from genetic problems from being so tiny.

stop growing at such a young age somethings fishy there, i bet she gave him something to stunt his growth:mad:

Yes, neither of them little babies lived very long. They never said what they died from though, but oviously being that small was not healthy, otherwise they would have lived alot longer.:( :(

in celebrities with yorkies we had already talked about all this
isn't it weird how small he is
I've seen quite a few pictures of him
i guess he fits in the owners pocket easily.

isn't it funny how yorkies started out as rat hunters
but now some of the yorkies weight less then a rat...
not that yorkies are rats but still
wow