Pet of the Month: August 2009

what started as a single photographer noticing aston amid the models and celebrities at mercedes-benz fashion week quickly turned into his moment of fame.

"one photographer just started taking pictures and before we knew it we had like 20 photographers crowding around him taking pictures," said aston's owner, dara king. "they must have thought he was a celebrity dog!"

aston belongs to the relatively uncommon dog breed, the brussels griffon. due some high-profile exposure, such as an appearance in the movie as good as it gets, the breed has dramatically risen in popularity. since 1998, registration of new brussels griffons increased 73 percent, and the breed now ranks as the 67th most popular in america, according to the american kennel club. a win at the 2008 westminster dog show by a brussels griffon caused even more interest in the breed, giving dogs such as aston plenty of curious new fans.

"he gets a lot of attention," king said. "i walk him down the street and i get stopped like 80 times a day from people asking what he is."