Hundreds of chihuahuas gather for world record attempt

Tiny dogs on show - a selection of the hundreds of chihuahuas gathered in Newquay Credit: Cara Watson Hunt and Dehaan Van-Evelingen

More than 200 chihuahuas and their owners arrived at Chapel Farm in Newquay on Sunday 5 August in a bid to break the record for the number of the tiny dogs gathered in one place. Some of them had travelled from as far afield as South Wales and Bristol to join in with the event.

The target, set in Hong Kong last August, was 270. Sadly the Cornish attempt missed out by just 13 pooches - with a grand total of 257 chihuahuas.

It was all very close.

Perhaps part of the reason they missed out this year was because of the heat. Organisers Cara Watson Hunt and Dehaan Van-Evelingen were very conscious of the need to keep the little pets cool. There was plenty of doggy ice cream on offer and paddling pools to cool down in but they still had to cancel some of the competitions because it got too hot.

It wasn't all about world record attempts, it was also a rare chance for chihuahuas to meet friends of their own size and for their owners to swap stories.

Cara and Dehaan say there is much more to these little dogs than you might imagine. They have both experienced mental health issues and say chihuahuas are brilliant at helping them with their problems - "they are small dogs with big hearts".

And here are some more of those would-be record breakers. Maybe next time! Credit: Cara Watson Hunt and Dehaan Van-Evelingen