Tiny little bundles of teeth, tantrums and trouble

I remember only too well a night deep in the Cornish countryside, where at approximately 2am in the morning, my then four month old cocker spaniel puppy started howling, whining and working herself into canine hysterics. My boyfriend couldn't quite comprehend the verbosity of such a tiny cute thing, but endless sleepless nights when we first brought the little teething furball home were still fresh in my mind, and I sat patiently by her basket until she whinged the night away. Because that's what you do with dogs, you stick with them. Shoes, handbags and accessories come and go, but a dog really is for life.
So which category do chihuahuas come into? Too comical and ratty to be classed as 'proper' dogs by canine fanatics the world over, but so perfectly pint sized as to slip into a Louis Vuitton mesh carry case, the Mexican whippersnappers have become just another piece of arm candy, to be purchased and disposed of at leisure. You may think me cynical, but Operation Chihuahua Airlift is sadly factual enough to affirm my mournful disposition. Aboard a flight from San Francisco to NY, 15 chihuahuas become one of a series of rescue missions to transport the unwanted mutts to areas in America suffering chihuahua drought. Apparently, NY is the perfect place for them to be dispatched; many apartments won't allow dogs over 25lb to reside there, and so demand for the tiny creatures far outweighs the supply. LA's starlets could easily be blamed for the enduring toy dog craze - but let's not forget dogs frequently fall in and out of fashion. Demand for dalmatians grew after 101 Dalmatians, everyone wanted their own Lassie, cocker spaniel puppies became popular after Disney's Lady and the Tramp, and, more recently, Obama's rescue dog flung Portuguese water hounds into the spotlight. But never before has a dog come so paw-in-hand with the world of celebrity. The trouble is, in a plastic fantastic utopia where consumption is paramount, trends come and go quickly, and the poor little chihuahua needs to be as readily removable as last seasons statement heels, dogtooth garments and bunny ears (the abandoned baby of an itsy bitsy micro trend). The average life expectancy of a dog is 12 years, but many websites warn that some little chihuahuas could outrun the big guns in canine life span rates, and reach the grand old age of 18. Imagine that, 2028 and your darling Princess could still be nipping at your ankles! It's quite the commitment. Whilst the practicalities of NY living certainly seem to be driving the popularity of chihuahuas there, I still can't help but think the catalyst comes screaming from Hollywood hills, along with fake tan, fake boobs, fake teeth, fake... everything?! Perhaps all they are doing is moving the poor blighters to a different state to face the same problems. Cute and cuddly though they may be, chihuahuas are the epitome of Noughties living; inexcusably dispensable, desperate and dumped.