Chihuahua Clothes

Some people live in small homes. Others to drive small cars.

Summit Township resident Pauline Taylor claims to own the smallest dog in the world.

Poquito, a 2-year-old teacup Chihuahua, weighs 1 pound, 1 ounce. That is smaller than the Guinness world record-holder by 7 ounces.

“I get the same reaction everywhere I go: ‘Is that real?’ That is real ... look at that puppy dog’” Taylor said.

Her response? “It’s not a puppy dog.” That’s as big as he gets.

Taylor purchased Poquito (the name means “very little” in Spanish) when he was 11 months old, sight unseen, for $400 from a family near Hillsdale two years ago. Her goal was to find a small dog to breed with Fancy, her 5-year-old female Yorkshire Terrier.

The two dogs have been unsuccessful, but Taylor, a widow, has found a new best friend in the process. She says she spends 24/7 with both of her pets, but Poquito gets most of the attention.

“He’ll jump up and down like a yo-yo, wanting you to pick him up,” she said. When she sits down to read the newspaper or knit, “He bats it away. He wants full attention on him.”

He gets his wish when the two go out in public, drawing reactions from everyone they run into.
Katie Rausch | Jackson Citizen Patriot

“This dog’s had its picture taken (so many times),” Taylor said. “People are always bringing their friends, relatives, neighbors, asking, ‘Can we see the dog?’”

Taylor said she realized just how distinctive her dog might be a few weeks ago while watching the news. A national story came on about Boo Boo, a female Chihuahua from Kentucky, recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s smallest living dog. Records show her measuring 4 inches tall and 1 pound, 8 ounces.

Taylor says Poquito weighed 1 pound, 1 ounce during a Sept. 16 visit to Blackman Animal Clinic, 2300 Wildwood Ave.

Patrick J. Gorczyca, a veterinarian at the clinic, confirmed the measurement Wednesday. Still, Taylor says she has no interest in having Poquito recognized by Guinness.

Gorczyca says the average full-grown Chihuahua weighs anywhere from four to 10 pounds.

“While it is an abnormally small dog ... I’m not an extremist or reactionary person,” Gorczyca said, pointing out that people often breed animals to achieve a certain size. “I’m at that point in my career in which it doesn’t faze me.”

Taylor says she always puts Poquito on a leash when they go outside. She fears birds and seagulls will take him, recalling an incident outside her daughter’s home in which three seagulls circled her dog.


“I worry about hawks and seagulls,” she says. “I’ve had people with dogs bigger than mine say they’ve had seagulls come in and take the dog ... and you never see the dog again.”

When it comes to clothing Poquito, Taylor says she has all but given up. She’s tried a XXX-small sweater to no avail. Barbie doll clothes are too tight on the waist. Toy stores don’t carry bear and doll clothing in small enough sizes.