Meet 'Scooter' the pup that is smaller than a teacup!

Wellington, July 14 (ANI): Maltese pup Scooter, who is almost the size of a teacup, has every chance of making it into the Guinness Book of World Records, as he could be the smallest dog in the world.

The six-month-old pup is just 8cm tall, measures just over 20cm from his nose to his tail, and even though he is still young, he appears to have stopped growing.

Scooter's size is also evident in his weight, or lack of it. He weighs less than a block of butter at 400 grams, and that too while he is wearing clothes.

Gisborne owner Cheryl McKnight fashioned a regular purple sock into a jersey, which Scooter wears so he is easily seen around the house.

"It really is quite something. I can't take him for a walk or put a leash on him," the NZPA quoted her as saying.

McKnight said six-month-old Scooter came from a litter of three, and stopped growing before he reached two months.

"He was the same size as the other two pups when they were born but as they grew, he didn't," she said.

"Dogs have to weigh at least 870 grams before they can leave their mums for the shops, and he has not even reached halfway," she explained.

Even as Scooter scoots around the lounge floor plastic toy figurines belonging to McKnight's grandson dwarf him.

McKnight revealed that Scooter feeds from an eggcup of food three times a day, and sleeps in a shoebox, but "does everything a normal dog does."

However, making his way up steps is challenging for the pup.

"Because of the height of steps, they would be enormously big steps for him. It must be like living with giants," McKnight added.

Scooter had originally been named Pee Wee, but McKnight decided to change it, saying that she didn't want him to suffer an inferiority complex.

The current Guinness Book of World Records titleholder is a longhaired Chihuahua in America named Boo Boo, who is bigger at just over 10cm tall. (ANI)