We are posh little pooches who have been loved by the rich and famous for decades, but it was one starlette in particular who really put us center stage! Audrey Hepburn and her beloved Yorkie, Mr. Famous, are credited for introducing us to Hollywood. It became very high-fashion to have a dog like us sitting in your lap. Mr. Famous even appeared on the big screen in Hepburn’s 1957 musical Funny Face.

We Yorkshire Terriers come from Northern England, specifically Yorkshire and Lancashire. During the Industrial Revolution, Scottish workers moved to Yorkshire to work in coal mines, textile mills, and factories and they brought dogs called Clydesdale Terriers with them. These little dogs were used to catch rats inside the mills and factories – yuck! Clydesdale Terriers, also known as Paisley Terriers, were our ancestors and they were likely crossed with English Black and Tan Toy Terriers, Skye Terriers, Waterside Terriers, Dandie Dinmonts, and/or Maltese to create the tiny little sweetheart Yorkies you see today. This new breed was also used to catch rodents inside the mills. Pawsonally, I’m glad our exterminator past is behind us. In 1861, a Yorkshire Terrier was shown in a small animal competition and was referred to as a “broken-haired Scotch Terrier.” Later in the decade, a Yorkie named Huddersfield Ben became a really popular show dog and he’s considered the father of our modern b