Princess Abby’s owner, Kathleen Francis, picks up a $1,000 cheque in prize money at the 22nd ugly dog event (yep, they’ve been holding this event every year for 22 years!).

Kathleen Francis doesn’t even consider her dog Princess Abby to be ugly, commenting:

“I don’t think she’s ugly at all. I think she’s the most beautiful dog.”

The dog’s back and legs are curved in a strange manner, and her left eye is closed, unable to open. The Princess defeated last year’s winner, Pabst, and a strong field of very ugly Chinese Crested dogs. Kathleen Francis only recently adopted the ugly dog, after she had been abandoned by her previous owner.

The deformities within Princess Abby are thought to have been caused by inbreeding, which was a subject hotly argued over not so long ago following the ‘Pedigree Dogs Exposed’ TV program, and also caused the BBC to drop its coverage of Crufts.

Abby was chosen as the ugliest dog in the world by a panel of celebrity judges, judges that included Christina Moore (from ‘That 70’s Show) and Matt Scannell, lead singer from Vertical Horizon.

Coronation Street actress and former member of pop group Hear’Say, Kym Marsh, has given up a rescue dog that she took in just a few months ago. Kym complained that her rescue dog, Oliver, didn’t gel with her pet Chihuahua, Charlie.

Only two weeks ago Kym appeared on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, despite being just 33 years old herself. On the frank interview Kym talked about her engagement to Jamie Lomas from Hollyoaks, her pervious marriage to Jack Ryder and her recent miscarriage.

Kym adopted the rescue dog when he was a puppy in January this year, but sadly Oliver and Charlie didn’t get on and Kym acted on a ‘last in, first out’ policy with her dogs. Oliver does still have a home however; as Kym made sure there was someone to take him in.

A spokeswoman for Kym Marsh commented:

Oliver was rather too enthusiastic and boisterous for the family’s older pet chihuahua Charlie.

Play between the dogs was getting rough and upsetting Charlie who is a bit old and grumpy.

An unnamed friend of Kym’s said that Oliver is now in a good home with people who can devote time to him. The friend added:

Oliver was with them for about a month but it wasn’t working out.

He is now living with some friends of Jamie’s who have all the time necessary to devote to a new dog.

Oliver was a proper handful. Because he’d had a difficult background he needed some serious training and socialisation.

Kym is sorry he had to go. But she is a bit embarrassed about the whole thing.

Kym adopted Oliver after seeing him on ITV’s This Morning. Oliver had been abandoned over Christmas after he was given as an unwanted present.

Girls Aloud singer and X-Factor judge Cheryl Cole has repeatedly stated in interviews recently that the most important things in her life are her two pet Chihuahuas, Buster and Coco. The problem is that Ashley also loves the two little dogs, meaning the couple could have a struggle on their hands deciding who gets to keep the dogs.

According to a close source however, the couple have worked out temporary arrangements for visitation rights to the two dogs.

An unnamed source reportedly said:

They want to sort this out as amicably as possible so, to keep the peace, Cheryl is allowing Ashley to spend a few days with them when he gets back to the UK.

But she’s not willing to drop them off in person – it’s simply too soon. Instead, Ashley has arranged for a car to pick them up from their home and take them to his makeshift apartment in London.

Who gets the dog is a common bone of contention in divorce cases, and one that is often fought as fiercely as child custody battles. It’s nice to see that Ashley and Cheryl are able to settle the problem amicably, although it does appear that Ashley wouldn’t stand a chance anyway!

Cheryl and the rest of Girls Aloud are well know for their love of dogs.

The latest Famous Grouse ad spot broke earlier this week on Monday and according to Campaign Live aims to:

tap into the cultural fascination with fame and its transient nature by presenting a brand to which fame actually does apply

A Chihuahua represents the pampered star with fleeting fame – suitably so, considering the fascination with ‘handbag pooches’ and the rather disconcerting growing popularity of the Chihuahua breed.

The diamonte dressed-Chihuahua struts across the screen accompanied by flashes of paparazzi cameras until it meets the Famous Grouse.  When they meet, the dog points its nose in the air and struts off screen, leaving the grouse to raise a rather quizzical eyebrow, shake its head and shiver before the words appear on screen:

Famous for a reason – Scotland’s favourite whisky

The ad is created by AMV BBDO and directed by Gerry O’Donnell.

No doubt there will much laughter generated by this great new advert, but also several dog owners rushing out to buy a diamonte dog coat for their dog…  Watch the advert here:

The dog was concealed in a handbag (as Chihuahuas tend to be these days) which was then put through the airport scanner. Airport officials believed the small shape inside the handbag to be a stuffed toy, but on closer inspection found that it was a live dog – albeit a very small one.

The dog, and his owner, had just arrived at Dublin on a flight from Madrid. His owner was Bulgarian, and he’d wanted to take his dog with him to Dublin. The dog has now been placed in quarantine with the Department of Agriculture and Food. The Bulgarian man was arrested at Dublin airport for trying to smuggle a dog into the country.

A spokesman for the Revenue explained:

Officers had discovered a Chihuahua-type toy dog which had been placed in a small cage and hidden in a holdall bag.

When Customs officers examined the luggage the image of a dog in a small cage appeared on the X-ray screen.

The dog appears to be in good health although a little dopey from the journey.

Dog owners are advised to leave their dogs behind when they go on holiday, either with a family member or friend, or to find suitable dog kennels for them.

1 – Obama’s dog Bo – Portuguese water dog
Top of the list at the moment, according to the Telegraph, is Obama’s dog Bo. We reported every step of Bo’s journey from when Bo was returned to his breeder to his welcoming as First Dog Bo. Bo’s addition to the Obama family has rocketed the Portuguese water dog breed to instant fame worldwide.

2 – Tinkerbell Hilton – Chihuahua
Hot on the heels of Bo, Paris Hilton’s Chihuahua is still seen as the first to set the trend for the handbag dog generation. Sales of Chihuahua puppies went through the roof and Chihuahua dog breeders and owners of stud dogs everywhere have been happy ever since. Unfortunately, not all of them get to live in the $325,000 dog kennel that Tinkerbell shares with her fellow dogs at Paris Hilton’s abode in Beverley Hills.

3 – The Queen’s Corgis
The royal dog breed, the Corgi, has been seen accompanying the Queen since the early age of 18 years old when her parents bought the young Princess a corgi bitch called Susan. The Queen hit the headlines earlier this year when it was announced the Queen would give up her Corgi breeding when two of her favourite dogs died from cancer earlier this year.

4 – Bit Bit – Britney Spears Chihuahua
Also feeding the frenzy of wannabe stars running to buy Chihuahua puppies, Bit Bit is the lucky Chihuahua owned by Britney Spears who has been seen feeding her handbag dog from her own plate in top restaurant. Bit Bit may not be the world’s richest dog, but she shot to fame when she accompanied Britney to an MTV event whilst wearing a rather expensive diamond collar.

5 – The dogs of the Osbourne family
Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne are known to be great dog lovers and have a number of dogs living in their mansion. The dogs featured in the reality TV show The Osbournes, although not always in a nice way. Earlier this year, one of the Osbournes beloved dogs Little Bit, a Pomeranian was killed by a coyote whilst they watched the Michael Jackson memorial.

6 – Buster – Cheryl Cole’s Chihuahua
You can see how celebrities have really paved the way for the trend of handbag dogs, as yet another celeb’s Chihuahua hits the Top 7 World’s Most Famous Dog, this time it is Buster, Cheryl Cole’s companion. The Girls Aloud group have supported Dogs Trust events and are renowned for their love of dogs and were reported to want a Girls Aloud dog crèche on their tour. Buster apparently made Girls Aloud over an hour late for a gig once as he wouldn’t let Cheryl leave the house – talk about separation anxiety! We’d like to see Cheryl Cole tell Simon Cowell that she’ll be late for an X-Factor show because of her dog..

7 – Jack – Mariah Carey’s Jack Russell
Mariah Carey has certainly been in and out of the spotlight and made plenty of comebacks, but the limelight has still managed to catch her dog, the Jack Russell appropriately named.. Jack. This pampered pooch has made appearances in more than a couple of her music videos and even in her movie, Glitter, which sadly for Jack didn’t do too well.

So there you have it – the Top 7 World’s Most Famous Dogs. Of course, the list doesn’t end there. We are a nation, and it would seem a world of dog lovers, and when our beloved celebrities get a dog, millions rush out to get one of the same breed too.

Lest we forget, other famous dogs include Jennifer Aniston’s German shepherd Dolly and Welsh Corgi-terrier Norman, who accompany her to film sets on a regular basis, Desperate Housewives model Eva Longoria-Parker’s Maltese Jinxy, who was actually crowned the most well groomed pet by weekly magazine In Touch and Elton John’s Cocker spaniel Arthur, who was best man – or dog – at the civil partnership of John and David Furnish.

We could go on, but we’d be here all day and night, and our dogs need feeding.

The little dog is only seven weeks old and vets in New York removed her extra limb in an operation that lasted ninety minutes.

The puppy’s new owner, Allyson Siegel told the local paper:

“She’s alert. She’s kind of running around. There were no complications whatsoever.  The vet says he expects her to make a full recovery. All four legs work great.”

The little dog’s life could have turned out much differently though as the dog breeder almost sold the puppy to the owner of an animal show in Coney Island in New York.  In Coney Island there are several sideshow attractions such as the bearded lady and other ‘oddities, freaks and amazing animals’.  Coney Island owner, John Strong, claimed to have had an agreement with the dog breeder Calvin Owensby.

Instead though, Owensby sold Lilly to Siegel who promised to have the extra leg amputated and allow the Chihuahua to live a normal life.

Strong laid claim to owning the puppy, but Siegel, who had Lilly, said it would be:

“over my dead body”

Good for her and quite rightly so!

Cheeky little Berry the Chihuahua pictured here was playing with her best friend, a 900 kg Clydesdale horse named Leroy when the huge horse accidentally stepped back onto Berry’s little head.

Berry’s owner, Abbey Newton, who lives close to Melbourne in Australia told the papers:

“Leroy stepped back, right on her head. There was just this little tiny bit of her nose sticking out. I thought she was dead. There was this horrible high-pitched screaming noise. It was terrible.”

Mrs Newton took Berry to the vet immediately and the vet offered to put the Chihuahua to sleep but Mrs Newton decided to take her back to die at home. She checked on the little dog on an hourly basis all through the night and was amazed in the morning to see that Berry appeared to have recovered completely.

Mrs Newton added:

“In the morning she just got up and ate the other dog’s breakfast. She’s had nine lives and it’s cost me every time.”

That’s one lucky little Chihuahua.

Tilly’s owner, Karen McPhearson of East Kilbride, said:

“Tilly is so boisterous and enthusiastic for someone so small.  We took her to the vets last week and we were told that she will not grow any more.  She has not got any bigger since she was four weeks old and now weighs just one pound four ounces and is just eight inches long and about eight inches tall from head to floor or six inches from her back to the floor.”

Earlier this month, there were talks that a Chihuahua-Jack Russell cross puppy called Tom Thumb could take the record for the smallest dog in Britain, however, although he measures only four inches from nose to tail he is only three weeks old and could still grow yet.

Karen stated that records are not important to her and her husband Norrie, who now had another adorable dog to feed.  She added:

“Tilly weighs just one pound four ounces but she has a big appetite.  Apart from her usual five meals a day of dog food, she loves to drink tea and eat baby ruskies.  Norrie and I are always running around after Tilly, her parents Sasha and Tyson (both Chorkies) and our fourth dog, CJ. a Japanese Akita.  They can be quite a handful but they are definitely worth it.”

Although Tilly might be very small, she is still to large to qualify for the world’s smallest puppy, as the record is still held by a four year old Chihuahua in Florida, America, called Heaven Sent Brandy, who measures just six inches long.

Rourke took Loki everywhere with him, even to the Venice Film Festival, where Loki walked up the red carpet.

Rourke spoke about Loki’s death:

Loki fell asleep peacefully in my arms.

Loki is deeply missed but with me in spirit.

Rourke has owned Chihuahuas all his life, and even thanked his dogs in his acceptance speech when he picked up a Golden Globe award for his performance as a burnt out wrestler. Rourke commented:

Sometimes when a man’s alone, all you got is your dogs.

Rourke is the bookie’s favourite to land the best actor award at this year’s Oscars, and will surely mention his beloved dog in his speech if he wins.