The listings below come from Yorkshire Terriers for Dummies by Tracy Barr and Peter F. V eling, DVM
Do you know what the smallest dog ever recorded was?
Breed, Size, Life span, etc. It was a Yorkie, she was 2 1/2 inches tall, by 3 inches long, at two years old she weighed 4 onces. Sadly she passed away at two years old.
The first Yorkie born in the U.S. was a little boy in 1872
The first Yorkies registered in the British Kennel Club stud book was in 1874
The AKC (American Kennel Club) recognized Yorkies as a breed in 1885
The first Yorkie American Champion was a little guy named Bradford Harry in 1889
The first Yorkshire Terrior breed club was formed in 1898
A few of the Rich and Famous who owned Yorkies, Queen Victoria, Richard Nixon, Princess Masako of Japan, Audrey Hepburn, Tara Reld, Joan Rivers, Elizabeth Taylor Eva Gabor and Serena Williams.
There has been a Yorkie War Hero, During WWII. A yorkie was found in a shell hole in New Guinea. She was lost and alone, William Wynne found her and took her with him on 150 air raids and several air-sea rescue missions. She even jumped from a 30' tower, wearing her own parachute. She tunneled a wire through a 70 ' long pipe underneath an air strip.
Yorkies were used as vermin chasers, but they also worked in coal mines. Their job was to carry wires through underground tubes.
In 1978 a Yorkshire Terrier won best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Since 1907 only nine times had a toy dog won this prestigeous award. The dogs name was Ch Cede Higgins.
In 2003 the Yorkie was recored as the sixth most popular of all the 150 AKC recognized breeds.