Meet pocket-sized Pearl, the world's shortest dog
MIAMI -- Pearl is no ordinary handbag dog. She's so tiny, her owner can just slip her into her pocket.
The two-year-old chihuahua, who measures around the same length as a dollar bill, has been named the world's shortest dog by Guinness World Records.
Born in Florida on September 1 2020, Pearl is shorter than a Popsicle stick at just 3.59 inches tall. She is 5 inches long -- around the same as a dollar bill -- and weighs a tiny 1.22 pounds, a huge gain on the less than one ounce that she weighed at birth.
Pearl is related to previous record holder Miracle Milly, who measured 3.8 inches tall. She died in 2020, before Pearl was born. Pearl's mother is one of Milly's identical sisters, according to Guinness World Records.
Her owner Vanesa Semler, who was also the owner of Miracle Milly, told Guinness World Records: "We're blessed to have her. And to have this unique opportunity to break our own record and share with the world this amazing news."
Pearl was recently unveiled on "Lo Show Dei Record," Guinness' TV talent show in Italy.
Appearing alongside her at the studio in Milan, Semler said Pearl was "a bit of a diva," though she seemed calm and unfazed in front of the live studio audience.
Semler is the owner of three other dogs, all of whom are of "normal" size, she said.
Describing her pet as "small like a ball" and slightly taller than a teacup, Semler said Pearl is accustomed to a high quality diet of chicken and salmon.
She also loves "dressing up nice," according to Semler. "We have lots of fun together," she said, adding that her adult dog is still a "child at heart."
Pearl's record was confirmed after she was measured at the Crystal Creek Animal Hospital in Orlando, Florida, where she was born.
According to Guinness' official guidelines, each measurement was taken from the base of the front leg foot up to the top of the ridge between her shoulder blades in a straight vertical line.
The smallest ever dog, a dwarf Yorkshire terrier, stood at just 2.8 inches tall and measured just 3.75 inches long, from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail. Owned by UK-based Arthur Marples, the tiny terrier died in 1945, before its second birthday.