Pip pip hooray for petite pug from Dudley
They say good things come in small packages – so how's this cute little puppy for size.
Weighing little more than 1 lb, Pip the pug certainly lives up to her expectations as a small breed.
She was so small when she was born – just five ounces – she challenged the record books.
Her owners in Dudley feared for her chances of survival when they saw just how tiny she was, but four months on she's making good progress. It was the first time Joanne Astley had bred dogs when she decided her pet Ruby would make a good mother.
She said: "To be honest I didn't think she was going to make it."
Other puppies in the litter were three times the size of Pip, meaning she had a lot of catching up to do. A rigorous bottle-feed routine every two hours has seen Pip's weight increase above one pound, but only just. She now weighs roughly the same as a tin of beans – 1lb 5oz. The original plan was to sell the newly born pugs but having nursed Pip since day one, the family found it impossible to give her away.
Joanne, who lives on Russells Hall estate, said Pip will be far from lonely at home.
"We have a little shih tzu and George the cat. They all play together. She is like a normal little puppy. She is a bit quieter but she likes to play. No-one can believe how small she is."
