WORLD> Global General
Hopeful candidate for world's smallest dog
(Xinhua/Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-09 17:06

He is a third of the size of an average guinea pig, and weighs in at just a few ounces - but this tiny puppy could be a big deal when it comes to world records.

Hopeful candidate for world's smallest dog
The tiny puppy, called Tom Thumb, peers out of a coffee cup. [Xinhua] 
The miniscule chihuahua-Jack Russell cross - appropriately named Tom Thumb by its owners - is a serious contender for the title of being the smallest dog on the planet.

Little Tom was born just three weeks ago as part of a surprise litter to mum Spice, a chihuahua.

Hopeful candidate for world's smallest dog
Little Tom sits easily in his owner Susan Thomson's hand, pictured with husband Archie. [Xinhua]
Owners Susan and Archie Thomson were delighted when he and his brothers and sister were born at the family's West Dunbartonshire home.

His siblings are three times the size of the tiny dog, who can fit inside a teacup and cannot reach his mum to feed when she is standing up.

And he is unlikely to get much bigger - with some previous experience of rearing puppies through their early weeks, the couple are convinced that Tom is almost fully grown now.