Shortest service dog was immortalised in book after making massive impact on owner's life

An adorable service dog who broke a world record thanks to her tiny stature made such a huge impact on her owner’s life that she was immortalised in a book.

Cupcake, a female long-haired chihuahua, earned the title for shortest service dog in 2012.

She measured just 15.87 cm (6.25 in) tall and was the exact support owner Angela Bain (USA) of Moorestown, New Jersey, needed.

And Angela wrote all about how much Cupcake meant to her in her book Cupcake: the Angel that Saved My Life.

A description for the book, released in 2015, reads: “An inspiring story of a woman's struggle through the storms of life. By sharing her journey from the streets at age 14, Angie hopes to help others find God's angels to help them through storms of their own.

“Not all angels are in human form. Cupcake, a 2.2 lb chihuahua has saved her from drowning and given her purpose. This is the story of how they found each other.”

In this adorable video from 2012, Angela described how Cupcake, who was featured in the 2013 edition of Guinness World Records, helped her as a service and therapy dog.

She said: “When I saw this little face, I knew Cupcake was special. You know how you just have that feeling, have that sense? I just felt that Cupcake was the one for me.

“It was the greatest day of my whole life – seeing that little fuzz ball that looked like a little mouse.”

Read about more record-breaking animals in our dedicated section.

Angela added: “Cupcake has helped me a lot because of all the trauma I’ve had in my life.”

After having a son, Angela said she was being abused and left to raise her son alone.

Tragically, Angela lost her son when he was five years old and said she felt like life was no longer worth it.

Around the same time, Angela’s brother was battling leukaemia and a week before he passed away, she also lost her stepfather.

Later, Angela had to have routine carpal tunnel surgery on her left hand but ended up suffering from Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) and losing the limb.

She said: “For five months, I mentally had to prepare myself that my hand was coming off.

“So Cupcake has seen me through that too, keeping my spirits high.

“Cupcake just does it because she loves people.”

We don’t deserve dogs.