Local pup may be headed for record book,
At 163 grams, Yorkie is too fragile to be kept with her 400-gram litter mates
The Yorkie is the tiniest puppy the local veterinarian has ever seen. It may one day be the smallest dog in the world.
But first, it must survive, and Kim Passero is doing all she can to keep the squeaking palmful of dog healthy and strong.
Born five weeks ago, Angel weighs 163 grams, a measurement that makes more sense when you’re ordering lunch meat at the deli. In a playpen in a kitchen near Alliston, Ont. she stumbles around next to Beanie Babies three times her size. Her 400-gram siblings are in another room. She is too fragile to be with them.
“You wanna play? You wanna bite mommy?” Passero, 49, coos at the puppy, lying on its back, batting its limbs at her fingers
Dr. Tashfeen Abbasi, of Pyne Hills Veterinary Hospital in nearby Tottenham, has never seen a puppy this small in his 16 years of practice.
“I expect maybe we’ll have the smallest puppy,” Abbasi says, referencing the world record.
The smallest dog in the world is Milly, a Chihuahua from Puerto Rico, which measured 9.65 centimetres from her feet to her shoulder blades this past February. Angel can’t be measured because she’s not that stable on her feet, but Abbasi guesses her height is five centimetres.
For a dog to qualify as the world’s smallest, it has to be a year old. The category is based on height and length, not weight, because Guinness doesn’t want to encourage owners to under- or overfeed their pets.
Sometimes, in a litter, one puppy is born small because of its placement in the uterus, but those dogs usually grow normally after birth, Abbasi says. Angel is not like that — she has a smaller skeletal structure than her 400-gram siblings, he says.
Abbasi was initially concerned the dog might have a congenital abnormality, but her sensory response is good, and she is now trying to walk and balance herself. He was also worried the digestive system might not kick in, but the dog has a good appetite, and she’s gaining weight.
Passero’s home is decorated with Yorkshire terriers. There is a Yorkie welcome mat at the front door, and pictures of a beloved deceased Yorkie named Tinkerbell on the kitchen ta- ble. In her living room, an area has been fenced off where the regularsized puppies are snoozing. Some of her dogs are on the smaller side, called teacup Yorkies. Passero says such Yorkies weigh, on average, 1.8 kilograms. The American Kennel Club recognizes Yorkshire Terriers as dogs that weigh between 1.8 and three kilograms. Eric Franz, a rescue co-ordinator with the Canadian Yorkshire Terrier Association, says breeding for a small size is controversial within the Yorkshire community, because of health concerns. “Any breeder with a conscience will not breed a bitch that is any smaller than 4.5, five pounds (two, 2.2 kilograms),” he says. Passero, who isn’t a registered breeder (she breeds them as a hobby because of a lifelong love of the breed), says Angel’s mother, Ali, weighs just shy of 2.3 kilograms. She agrees extra small dogs shouldn’t be bred. Two other Yorkies she owns, half the size of Ali, are fixed because breeding wouldn’t be right, she says. Passero says she doesn’t breed for the teacup size, but small dogs happen. Her smaller dogs don’t have health issues, she says.
“It’s more people than it is, I feel, the dog. You have to really be careful because of their size, your job is to protect them.” Passero says she is very selective about her customers — teacup dogs can sell for upwards of $1,500 — because smaller Yorkies need extra care. They can be stepped on, or sat on. She sometimes does home inspections before she agrees to sell. Angel will not be sold, Passero says. “She needs to be protected forever, and of course, we have such a bond.” Abbasi says if Angel survives another two to four weeks, she will have a good life. That time is almost done. Passero is excited by a potential record, but it’s not her priority. “Honestly, I really hope she grows, it would be easier for her,” she says. “I love her no matter what.”