This image was lost some time after publication.

California has a Chihuahua problem. Shelters there have been overwhelmed by the breed and few people are interested in adopting them, so animal welfare groups are now planning to fly a big bunch of them to New York since they're still popular here. (That's probably because it's the only kind of dog that fits in most NYC apartments.) But why is California teeming with Chihuahuas in the first place? It's all Paris Hilton's fault: "Experts blame the unexpected rise in abandoned California Chihuahuas partly on fans who hoped to emulate celebs like Paris Hilton, who carries one in her handbag, but later became bored with the little creatures and abandoned them." [NYDN]