There was a time when being the runt of the litter was considered a bad thing. (Wilbur, the pig co-star of the title spider character in "Charlotte's Web," was almost killed for being a runt, as any children's literature fan will remember.) But nowadays, tiny dogs are fashionable -- as evidenced by the hotly contested Guinness World Records for smallest dog by height and smallest dog by length.

Scooter, above, is a 6-month-old Maltese whose owner, Cheryl McKnight of New Zealand, believes will one day hold the title of smallest dog by height. Scooter is just over 3 inches tall, measured from his feet to the top of his shoulder blade. Although he's still a puppy, McKnight says he hasn't grown at all since he was 2 months old, and she believes he won't grow any taller -- certainly no taller than the current recordholder, an American Chihuahua.

McKnight's sister breeds Maltese and gave Scooter to her as a gift. The tiny animal eats from an egg cup and apparently has his share of challenges as a result of his stature. "I can't take him for a walk or put a leash on him," McKnight told the New Zealand Herald.

Another diminutive puppy vying for smallest-dog status is Tom Thumb, a Jack Russell terrier-Chihuahua mix puppy from Scotland. Tom Thumb is even younger than Scooter, but his owners, Susan and Archie Thomson, are convinced he'll still be shorter than the current record-holder for smallest dog by length when he's an adult. At three weeks old, Tom Thumb measured less than 4 inches from nose tip to tail tip; Archie Thomson, a hobby breeder of Chihuahuas, told the Daily Mail he doubted the pup would grow "much bigger than an inch or two more." The current record-holder, another American Chihuahua named Heaven Sent Brandy, is fully grown and measures 6 inches long.