Flick through any celebrity gossip magazine these days and you will be bombarded with photos of celebrities gracing the red carpets of film premieres and restaurant openings with a glass of champagne in one hand, mobile phone in the other and a miniature dog in a designer handbag slung over their shoulder.

In fact it seems that a portable pet is now the essential celebrity must have item. So here, just for the fun of it The Parents Guide UK looks at the weird and wonderful world of celebrities and their pets.

Sir Winston Churchill owned a tabby cat named Jock who accompanied him to many of his war cabinet meetings. Rumour has it that meal time couldn’t start at the Churchill table until Jock was present!

Sir Isaac Newton was a big cat lover and owned numerous cats. Infact he was so concerned that cats should be able to wander around freely in his house that he invented the cat-flap.

Radio One DJ Sara Cox has a Bassett Hound named Snoop after the famous rapper turned actor Snoop Dogg whilst pop star Christine Aguilera has a pooch named Jackson after her idol Michael Jackson.

American ‘it’ girl Paris Hilton has a Chihuahua named Tinkerbell that has to win the award for the most spoilt pooch. Not only does the posh pooch travel everywhere in a Louis Vuitton handbag but has a walk in wardrobe and has even, bizarrely, had a book published entitled ‘’The Tinkerbell Hilton Diaries: My Life Tailing Paris Hilton’’.

Nicole Richie owns a Shih Tzu named Honey Child that can often been spotted out and about with coloured hair extensions matching those of her owner and also has a miniature copy of Nicole’s bed complete with identical linen.

Pop star Britney Spears recently took her Chihuahua, Bit Bit, to the Billboards where she treated the pooch to a $180 steak.

Gwen Stefani’s rock star husband Gavin Rossdale loved his recently deceased Hungarian Sheepdog, Winston, so much that he had him insured for £3million and even has a tattoo on his left forearm of a star with the name Winston underneath it.