World’s tiniest therapy dog

Tiny Dancer, a five inch Chihuahua, was in the running for the World’s Smallest Dog, but alas…it was not to be. He lost out when he towered over his competitors.

Ducky from Massachusetts came in at 4.9 inches in length and Boo Boo from Kentucky came in at 4 inches tall. (Guiness no longer recognizes dogs by weight because of the health dangers of over or underfeeding a dog.)

Having lost out on that title, Dancer (and his owner) still had big dreams. Or maybe it was just his owner, Jenny Gomes of Okahumpka, Fla. who had the big dreams. At any rate, after being turned down by several schools and overcoming defeat time after time, Dancer finally was accepted and certified by Caring Canines, a Eustis, Florida nonprofit group.

Now as the world’s smallest certified therapy dog, Dancer brings doggy cheer to kids with life-threatening and chronic illnesses and to elderly people with disabilities. Obviously tiny Dancer isn’t going to guide the blind or help support a disabled person but he should be great at cheering up people confined to hospitals.

"Everybody says teeny-tiny dogs can't do anything," Gomes said. "Now everybody can say, 'Hey, look what the little dog can do.' He's not just a purse ornament."

Comments

[saintlover]

Great story...

[YesBiscuit!]

Yay! He cheers me up just thinking about it.

[Rhea]

That's a great size for a therapy dog. I have my gigantic, 12-pound Lhasa Apso doing pet therapy but he is sooooo big and I have to lift him onto the bed of the person we are visiting.

[Kahshe Cottager aka Jen]

Tiny dogs are just the right size for the elderly who haven't the strength to hold a larger dog. Big cuddles come in little packages. My Nana loved to have her visits with the little Boston Terrier who came to visit in her nursing home. He would jump up on her lap and snuggle in under her arm to get and give love!

[teetotaled]

awww... Go Tiny Dancer! I bet he will bring a lot of joy to a lot of sick people.

[rosemary]

When my mom was terminally ill and in the hospital, the light in her day was when Noodle the doxie came to visit. After my mom passed away, I started a pet therapy program in the TCU at the hospital where I worked. Best nursing I ever did.

[Marion]

Those small, tiny dogs are just perfect for arthritic fingers to fondle. The elderly love these little healers...we need more of them.

[Serendipity]

Way to go, Tiny Dancer! He sure is tiny.

[Jean]

I must say I'm scared of tiny dogs like this one. I'd be afraid I'd accidentally hurt one or it would trip me as I walk. Maybe that's why so many people carry them around. A little dog like that would be perfect to romp on a patient's bed, though.

Levi's mom

[Linda]

I have to agree - small dogs unnerve me in the same way as rodents. The smallest I will go to is a patterdale terrier. Any smaller and you could lose them in your shopping bag!

Big dogs are too clumsy for a hospital visit though. Our friend's lab once knocked a man clean over - that's nowhere near pet therapy!

[Lindsay]

Aw, that's so cute. I'm glad Dancer and his owner are making a difference for so many people. Makes me want to do more volunteering involving my mutt. Sometimes a dog can bring a smile when nothing else can.

[jackiesue]

i'd be afraid of sitting on a dog that small...and annie would et it for sure..

[cube]

So sweet. Even tiny dogs can have a job.

[K9 Amiga]

unconditional love comes in all shapes and sizes : )

[Jimmy]

My kinda therapy!!!

[Coll]

Tiny dog equates big smiles. :-)