超迷你寵物

When his owner shouts "Heel!" Ducky the dog has little choice but to take things literally. At just over ankle height, the three-year-old short-coat chihuahua from Boston in the U.S. has just been named the smallest living dog in the world by Guinness World Records.

At only 4.9in tall, Ducky weighs less than 1lb 6oz. His head is the size of a large strawberry. "He is such a funny little guy," says his owner Lisa Messier, who bought him for £2,500 when he was 13 months old. "He doesn't go out for walks, but if you want to go out, you can just put him in your bag."

Chihuahuas are the smallest dogs in the world - in fact, the only "natural" toy breed. Other small pups are the result of breeding down larger breeds. Celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Madonna are well-known fans of chihuahuas. Ducky succeeds Danka Kordak, a 5.4in chihuahua from Slovakia, in the record books.

Measuring just over 5in, Dylan the Papillon is Britain's smallest dog. The name of the breed comes from the French word for butterfly because its ears and head resemble the insect. The breed evolved in France and Belgium and it has been said that Marie Antoinette was a fan of the Papillon's ancestor - the toy spaniel - with one accompanying her to the guillotine.

Mr Peebles, the world's smallest short-haired domestic cat, measures just 6.1in - the size of a typical sixmonthold kitten. After being rescued from a house where he was badly treated, he lives in a vet's clinic in the U.S.

Tiny Tim is a 0.75in Roborovski - the world's smallest breed of domestic hamster. The Mongolian mammals were imported to Britain by London Zoo in the Sixties, and they are never more than 2in.

Walter, the smallest tortoise in the world, perches on the head of 35-year-old giant tortoise Otto at Hanover Zoo. While the largest tortoise measures up to 43in, the smallest is only 3in.