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Irish Times
22-05-2025
- General
- Irish Times
I'm a late convert to the charms of the self-important little dog
I was never much of a small-dog person. Maybe because my great uncle had a Jack Russell will razor-sharp teeth. My granny had something similar, living up to the name of Nipper. We were a 'big-dog' family. There was a Labrador in the house for much of my childhood. Chieftain was born in the kitchen when I was three and died when I was 17. He'd gone doddery at that point, and we brought him to the vet to be placed into the humane long sleep. At school the next day his golden hairs were still on my uniform. He was a great dog. Small dogs, to me, were yippy and argumentative. They could turn on you for looking at them wrong. I held a particular disdain for little curly white dogs. It's unfair, I know, to paint them all with the same brush, but when I picture a little white dog all I see is a river of eye snot, one snaggle tooth hanging from the roof of its mouth and the aura of an animal that died six months ago but is holding on out of spite. I will say, however, that I have always respected the way small dogs move through the world. Seeing a terrier trot along like it's on its way to a very important cabinet meeting followed by some urgent stick-chasing and butt-sniffing can really turn my day around. Last year a good friend adopted a tiny dog. When she picked him up from the rescue he was undernourished and preposterously small – a mix between a chihuahua and something else with big pointy ears. I fell for him immediately and so began my love affair with arsey little dogs. He vibrates with excitement. He runs like he's gunning for Olympic gold, and he leaps with all four paws in the air in a manner that makes me want to weep. He has devised every way possible to make his way on to the kitchen counter, despite his miniature stature. He rips through toys like he's making a wage doing it. He steals shoes. He piddles on the curtains. He's perfect. There are so many internet videos to cry over at the moment. At least Tiki's story comes with a modicum of hope Since I met him my internet offerings have become quickly curated so that I'm consistently served a diet of self-important little dogs. All classes and crosses of Pomeranians, chihuahuas, miniature dachshunds have been flooding my Instagram and TikTok feed. I've followed so many dog accounts that the algorithm has finally taken a break from insisting my only interests must be blinds and breast pumps and has started serving me ads for organic dog food. READ MORE Every few months a new animal takes over the internet. Last year we had Moo Deng, the tiny hippo. Before that it was Noodle the pug and his 'bones or no bones' TikTok phenomenon. Mr Winkle, a small dog of indeterminate origin, is generally considered to be the web's first animal celebrity with his huge eyes and ever-present tongue. Grumpy Cat, Lil Bub and the original DOGE all had their days in the sun. The current animal king of the internet is probably the most unassuming yet, a little foster dog called Tiki, living in an apartment in Brooklyn. [ Grumpy Cat, Lil Bub and Maru: How cats took over the internet Opens in new window ] I would kill for Tiki. I would die for him. Every day his carer introduces us to a day in the life of her 'extremely fearful, shut-down foster dog'. She's something of an expert at rehabilitating traumatised dogs, and Tiki may be her most difficult case yet. But over the course of a few weeks this little hero has gone from quivering in a cage to playing, tail wagging and even crawling into her lap for a cuddle. I've cried over Tiki multiple times. There are so many internet videos to cry over at the moment. At least Tiki's story comes with a modicum of hope. At least one of my cries has been at the prospect, no matter how distant, of Tiki dying some day. He'll have put all this energy into learning to love and then, like all good dogs, he'll leave this earth some time in his early or mid-teens. I worry about all the dogs I know some day passing away, and how their owners will cope. I have a cat (whose main character syndrome is the reason I can't get a dog) who's 12, and I worry about losing her less than I do about some of the dogs I know. Cats are just that bit less codependent. When my time for a dog comes, maybe I'll even consider a little, curly, white friend. I probably just haven't met the right one yet. [ Squirrels don't hibernate? This information shook me to my core Opens in new window ]
Telegraph
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Pictured: The Queen's new dog
The Queen has shared a picture of her new rescue dog. The image of Moley, who was adopted from Battersea Dogs and Cats home, shows the animal perched on a wooden chair. The King and Queen are expected to see the names of their dogs featured in a Chelsea Flower Show garden when they visit the attraction on Monday. Monty Don, of BBC Gardeners' World, is behind a dog-friendly garden which aims to celebrate the UK's reputation as a nation of dog lovers and garden enthusiasts, opening to the public on Tuesday. The Queen, who is the patron of Battersea Dogs and Cats home, took the step of adopting an eight-week-old puppy after the death of her beloved rescue terrier Beth. She adopted Beth during 2011 along with a second terrier, Bluebell, in 2012, from Battersea. The names of Camilla's adopted Jack Russell terrier Bluebell and her new puppy Moley will also be featured on the path, alongside that of her much-loved dog Beth, who died last year. The name of Charles's dog, Snuff, is also included on the path. After the four-day show, which opens to the public on Tuesday, the dog garden will be moved to the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, which the Queen supports as patron. The Queen previously spoke to dog owner Susan Mason, 66, during a visit to a partially-sighted group at the Beaney House of Art & Knowledge, a museum, library and art gallery in Canterbury. At the time, she said: 'I've just got a new puppy. He's eight weeks old.' Asked what breed it was, the Queen replied: 'You may well ask. A bit of everything. It's a rescue dog. It's called Moley, looks just like a mole.' She was left devastated after Beth had to be put down in November because of an untreatable tumour leading the King to pledge to get a new dog just days later. The Queen has such a passion for dogs that their likenesses were embroidered into her Coronation gown and were at her side on royal engagements including when she was Duchess of Cornwall opened new kennels at the Battersea Dogs and Cats rescue centre in Windsor in 2020. In an interview with BBC Radio 5Live in 2020, the Queen said: 'Along I went to Battersea, and Beth appeared, and she had just been moved from pillar to post and dumped. 'We thought it would be nice for her to have a friend. They found [Bluebell] two or three weeks later, wandering about in woods, no hair on her, covered in sores, virtually dead. And they nursed her back to life and her hair grew again. She's very sweet, but a tiny bit neurotic, shall we say.' She added: 'The nice thing about dogs is you can sit them down, you could have a nice long conversation, you could be cross, you could be sad, and they just sit looking at you, wagging their tail.' It was back in 2017 that the Queen was named patron of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home after taking over the role from Elizabeth II. This year the King's Trust has a Chelsea garden, supported by Project Giving Back, called Seeding Success. It was designed by Joe Perkins and takes its inspiration from the more than one million young people the trust has supported since it was founded almost 50 years ago.
CTV News
14-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Ont. pup could be the world's smallest dog
Yorkshire Terrier, Lulu, may take the record for the smallest dog in the world. (CTV News/KC Colby)
