The puppy the size of your iphone
When she was born, Beyoncé weighed just one ounce and was so tiny she could fit in a spoon. Now two weeks old, she’s still about the size of a credit card.
And – like the title of a song penned by her namesake – she’s a survivor.
Beyoncé was the runt of a litter born a fortnight ago to an abandoned dachshund mix, named Casey, in a dog rescue centre in El Dorado Hills, California. When she was delivered the vet thought she was still born. She didn’t have a heartbeat and wasn’t breathing. Dr Michael Russell, the Grace Foundation’s vet, tried giving her heart compressions, but she still wasn’t breathing.
That’s when assistant Beth Decaprio started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
She said: ‘It was actually a little funny, and gross, trying to get my mouth around hers, but after a couple of really small breaths she took a deep breath and started to really move around.
‘We cleaned out her little nasal passages, and I gave her a couple more breaths and then she started breathing on her own.
‘She is just a remarkable little survivor.’
Beyoncé is still smaller than the rest of her siblings, but she’s grown to 124grammes and is said to be thriving.
The rescue centre said she will be available for adoption in a few weeks.
‘Our hope is that Beyoncé and her miraculous story of survival helps spread awareness about the plight of rescue dogs,’ said Miss Decaprio.
‘Most people are not aware of how many dogs and pups are euthanised each year because shelters do not have the capability of holding on to them until they are weaned and able to be spayed and neutered.’ Beyoncé isn’t officially the world’s tiniest dog yet, but the foundation has submitted an application to Guinness World Records. She is expected to weigh less than 1kg when fully grown. The current small-dog record holder is Boo Boo, a Chihuahua from Kentucky, in the U.S. who is six years old, about 10cm tall and weighs less than 1kg.