The Kennel Club said it would monitor the trend, adding: "A dog should be for life, not just for fashion."

Cross-breeders are said to be cashing in on the popularity of the peculiar pets.


Some puggle puppies reportedly change hands for up to £3,000 each, while some cockerpoos have been sold for £600.

Labradoodles, the result of the mating of a labrador and a poodle, are also proving popular.

Kennel Club spokesman Phil Buckley said the puggle was particularly popular in the US, where there are waiting lists for the cross-breed, while the labradoodle and cockerpoo were gaining in popularity in this country.

Although there are no official sales figures, the spokesman said anecdotal evidence suggested demand is growing for designer dogs.

'Delightful' dog

He said there were fears that "unscrupulous breeders" would take advantage of the popularity of certain dogs by selling them at massively inflated prices and failing to provide adequate after-sale care.

Mr Buckley, who admitted that the puggle "looks delightful", told BBC News: "The average life of a dog is 12 years and it will cost around £1,000-a-year to pay for food, bedding and vet fees.

"Getting a dog is not a decision that should be taken lightly. A dog should be for life, not just for fashion."

Actor Sylvester Stallone is said to own a puggle and singer Jessica Simpson owns a Maltipoo - a Maltese and poodle cross.

Samples collected from infected birds had been sent to the National Veterinary Research Institute in Plateau state and the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital for analysis, said Salihu Jibrin, director of Veterinary Services at Kano's Agriculture Ministry.

It is not clear when the results are expected.

Jibrin cautioned poultry farmers against moving infected birds from their farms to other areas.

"We advise poultry farmers to promptly report cases of strange ailments in their birds. They are also advised to properly dispose of dead birds in a hygienic manner to avoid further spread of the disease," he said.

According to the official, the state government had set up a committee, comprising veterinary surgeons, to pay regular visits to poultry farms across the state.

Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler described a teenager determined to get away. Sadler said law officers set up road blocks and fired shotguns at Robida but couldn't stop him until spike strips finally flattened two tires. That slowed his green Pontiac to around 30 mph as he approached another small town, Norfork.

Officers had a clear view of Robida and his passenger, Jennifer Rena Bailey, 33, of Charleston, W.Va., after Robida's car spun nearly 180 degrees, crashing into a pair of parked cars.

"Investigators now believe Robida raised a handgun to the head of Bailey, fired, and it is believed she was killed instantly by that gunshot," Sadler said. "Robida raised that same handgun and fired on the officers who were present at the scene. They returned fire."

It appeared Sell had no idea that he had pulled over the Massachusetts suspect as Robida headed westbound. The Kentucky plates on the car Robida was driving hadn't been reported stolen.

Lt. Bill Beach, a criminal investigator for the state police, said the officers who pursued Robida's car after Sell's death also didn't know who was in the car until the chase ended.

West Virginia State Police said Bailey apparently had corresponded with Robida over the Internet and in letters and that Robida had picked her up after the Massachusetts attack.

"How they met, we don't have any idea at this point," Sgt. C.J. Ellyson said. State police there were investigating whether Bailey went willingly with Bailey or was abducted.

Bailey's youngest child is 4 and Ellyson said the children were with relatives. He did not know if Bailey was divorced or separated from her husband.

It was unclear how or why Robida and Bailey traveled to Arkansas. Robida's friends said they didn't know him to hold animosity toward homosexuals, though police investigators said he dabbled in Nazism.

Had Robida survived the Arkansas shootout, he could have faced the death penalty for capital murder in either Sell or Bailey's deaths.

Bob Perry, one of the bar patrons attacked, said before Robida's death that he was hopeful Robida would survive.

"I'd like him to be able to regain consciousness and answer some questions," Perry said Saturday. "I should have been dead 48 hours ago. I have so many questions."

David Brown, chief investigator for the Greene County Medical Examiner's office in Springfield, Mo., said Robida's body was sent to Little Rock on Sunday. Brown said the Arkansas state medical examiner would perform autopsies on all three.

Curiously, the alien was discovered stored in an old toffee jar wrapped in a copy of the Daily Mirror dating from October 1947. In July of that year, officials at the American air base of Roswell reported and then denied finding the remains of a flying saucer. The Roswell incident sparked a popular fascination with UFOs and led the US air force to collect data on sightings.

One theory is that the alien was left in the loft by a US serviceman working at a nearby US air base. Mr Broom's two-bedroom cottage at Gunthorpe, north Norfolk, which he bought eight months ago, is 45 miles from two large US air bases at RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall. Many US servicemen and women live and work in the region.

Mr Broom told the Guardian he was "a bit spooked" by the discovery but said he was not yet living in fear of being beamed up by aliens.

"It was stuffed in the corner of the loft with other old newspapers. Before me, an old spinster lived in the house. I don't think anybody had been up there for years. I haven't got three heads and I'm not the sort of eccentric lunatic to think it's an alien but it's a funny thing to find in your loft."

Mr Broom reported his finding to the Sci Fi Channel, who called in Professor Adam Roberts, an expert in science fiction literature, to examine the creature.

"The easy thing to do is dismiss it all and say it's a hoax. It may be or may not be," said Prof Roberts. "The fact that it was found near a US air base suggests there may be a military component to it."

A spokeswoman for the US air force said it had never made such models of an alien, the figure was not government property and the serial number could mean it had been catalogued by a museum. "It's a hoax," the spokeswoman said.

Prof Roberts admitted it could be a film prop dating from the 1960s, but said he was not surprised at US denials: "That is the US air force line. They deny these alien encounters. It is quite possible they concoct stories to cover up for more nefarious activities."

The Sci Fi Channel will this week broadcast live footage of the alien on its website. After further tests, Mr Broom will put it on his mantelpiece.