Beyonce may enter Guinness as world's smallest bitch

(Reuters) - R&B diva Beyonce is facing competition from a fluffy, furry namesake who has become a celebrity and is winning fans around the world.

Only three weeks old, the Beyoncé dog has everything to become a star, and its owners want to put her in the Guinness book as the smallest dog in the world to have been saved by humans.

Beyonce was born on March 8, weighing less than 30 grams, after her mother, Casey, was rescued from the streets of a California city. At birth it fit in a spoon.

Judging by its mother, the animal is believed to be a mixed breed of dachshund, miniature pinscher and chihuahua breeds. The father, however, is unknown.

Her saviors at the Grace Foundation in Northern California said Beyonce looked stillborn but began to breathe on her own after receiving cardiac massage and other resuscitation techniques.

The name was given in allusion to the song "Survivor" by Beyoncé. The youngest joins brothers Bono, Jagger, Lady Gaga and Jay-Z at mealtimes.

"She's a wonderful pet, representing what can happen to a rescued dog, " said Jeanne Warr, chief operating officer of the Grace Foundation, which receives dogs collected in kennels and carts.

The World Academy of Records has already made Beyoncé the smallest puppy in the world, a new category created especially for her. Warr hopes the title will make people aware of the benefits of adopting stray animals.

But hardly the same title will be given by the prestigious Guinness Book of Records, which only accepts animals at least one year old.

"We're not going to open this up as a new category, but we can reevaluate it when Beyonce turns a year old, and put it against current title holders, " said Jamie Panas, public relations director at Guinness World Records.

Currently, the smallest living dogs are two Chihuahuas: Boo Boo of Kentucky, 10.6 cm tall (lowest), and Heaven Sent Brandy, Florida, which is 15.2 cm long (shortest).

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy)