Pocket-sized pooch Belle is Facebook star
TINY terrier Belle is causing a real storm in a teacup - as one of Britain's smallest dogs.
At six weeks old she is around eight times smaller than the size she should be and has only survived thanks to the care and diligence of her devoted owner Karenza Cruse.
And the pocket-sized pooch has become so asked-after in her hometown of Great Yarmouth she now has her own Facebook page - Belle's Journey - with all the latest updates.
Benefiting from the kind of constant attention usually reserved for newborn babies the tiny puppy is hand fed using a pipette day and night.
She was rejected by her mother Darcy and had to be resuscitated soon after she was delivered
She is about to take her first wobbly steps - a developmental milestone that is applauded and photographed for the family album.
Miss Cruse, 34, said she was amazed by her pet's fighting spirit, shrugging off every gloomy prognosis to battle through to the next stage.
Belle - named after tiny Tinkerbelle the fairy - is the sole survivor of a litter of four with a tiny nose half the size of a little finger nail.
She was rejected by her mother Darcy and had to be resuscitated soon after she was delivered.
Initially guesthouse owner Miss Cruse was caring for both her and her brother but the boy sadly died.
Determined that she should have the best chance and inspired by her pluckiness the mother-of-two has kept constant watch over the miniature Yorkshire terrier, sleeping nearby on the sofa every night.
Thanks to her efforts the dog has doubled in size but is still vanishingly tiny and cooed over wherever she goes.
"I take her everywhere with me," she said. "But once people see what is in my handbag they can't get enough of her. She is quite a celebrity round her and even in the local pub. She amazes me. I still just smile at her even if it is 2am or 4am. She reminds me of a little clockwork toy. Everyone just assumes she is a newborn."
