The £10,000 pup

Europe's first ever litter of the world's rarest breed of dog has been welcomed into the world by a dog lover in Brighton.

Catherine Lane, 42, is the only person in Europe to own and successfully breed a litter of Phu Quoc Ridgeback puppies - with each one worth upwards of £10,000.

The dogs are so rare there are only 800 registered in the world. Catherine travelled all the way to Vietnam to collect two of the prize-winning Phu Quoc Ridgebacks.

The dogs are so rare there are only 800 registered in the world. Catherine travelled all the way to Vietnam to collect two of the prize-winning Phu Quoc Ridgebacks.

Mood and Sirius are now the proud parents of the four adorable jet black pups that are available for sale to the right families.

She said that so far she was received offers of between £500 and £10,000 for the eight-week-old pups.

The puppies will be ready for re-homing in two weeks and she hopes at least one will go to a home within the UK.

Catherine said: "One puppy is already being exported to a Dallas-based Danish couple, while the other two have been snapped up by owners in Milan and the Seychelles."

The dogs share a name with the Vietnamese island where they originate from which translates to "beautiful island".

They are known for a long strip of hair along their spine, similar to a mohawk hairstyle.

Native to the island, the dogs were isolated from the rest of the world so only bred with each other, creating the exclusive gene pool that makes them so rare.

The dogs are known to be attractive, highly intelligent and easy to train.

Catherine spent six months importing the breeding pair and now that they are finally here she's hoping they will have many more litters.

She added: "The dogs themselves are stunning. Every walk along the beach means I get stopped on average by four or five people wanting to know what they are and admiring them."