KOOCHI has always been a top dog to his loving owners, but now they have the proof that he's pretty special.
The two-year-old long-haired chihuahua has been named Croydon's Top Dog in an online vote run by the Advertiser, pipping 54 other pet pooches to the post.
Affectionate Koochi has been a best friend to Carol Hudson, her partner Geoff Winters and son Reece Ingram, 12, since he became theirs at eight weeks old.
The Fieldway-based family entered him in the contest after leafing through the Advertiser one afternoon, and Miss Hudson says it is little surprise to her that he won the public's hearts.
She said: "His character is just so big it is amazing. Everyone loves him to bits.
"I walk down the road and everyone says hello to Koochi before they say hello to the rest of us.
"He is the littlest hobo - everyone knows him."
Koochi joined the family through a friend who owned his father, shortly after the death of Mr Winters' Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Jake.
Miss Hudson, 41, said: "I was adamant that we were not going to have another puppy but I was persuaded.
"We don't need an alarm clock for Reece - all we do is say to Koochi, 'Where's Reece?' - and he goes to his bed and licks him until he is awake."
She added: "He likes to watch Reece's hamster. He goes up to him and the hamster likes to chase him in his ball.
"He greets you when you come in. I have to put my bags down and then he climbs on top and sits on your shoulders. He does not realise he is a chunky chihuahua."
Koochi now shares the family home in Underwood with his six-month-old son, Turner, whose mother belongs to a family who lived nearby.
He is often seen in tow of Miss Hudson as she jogs around the local woods or goes shopping in Central Parade, where he is frequently showered with affection at Burgess Boys Pet Care.
Miss Hudson said: "Everywhere we go, he goes with us. He is one in a million.
"We go to the pet shop, where they adore him.
"He prances up and down the shop like he owns the place."
The runner-up was Gucci, a Jack Russell Terrier belonging to Dawn Howe, from Waddon - who wins a month's supply of Butchers Lean & Tasty dog food.Our Top Dog will feature on the cover of the Croydon Advertiser's go! section this Friday
