As a Hollywood tastemaker throughout her pop culture career, Paris Hilton has been a part of popularizing many different trends. But one of the fixtures she helped personally kick off was that of walking around with dogs in purses, which has basically always been one of her behavioral trademarks. Today that history is viewed through a bittersweet prism, as one of Hilton’s beloved Chihuahuas, Harajuku Bitch, has died at the age of 23.
HIlton shared the announcement through Instagram, sharing several photos of her menagerie of furry loved ones all palling around with Harajuku Bitch throughout the pup's long life. That post included a heartfelt remembrance, which you can read below:
While the world may also know Hilton for her career in reality television with shows like Cooking with Paris, The Simple Life, and Paris In Love, her dog companions have also taken significant time in the spotlight. The Daily Mail even highlighted Hilton’s trend sparking love for other, bag sized dog breeds through photos of Spice Girl Geri Halliwell and fellow pop culture icon/reality star Lindsay Lohan joining the ranks.
Eventually, the trend died down on the pop media stage, but not for Paris Hilton. While the socialite did once have an MTV show that tried to find her a "new BFF", Paris has been seen taking home new babies to join her fur family for quite some time.
Those additions tended to make headlines, like the time TMZ reported back in 2014 that Hilton had acquired “the world’s smallest Pomeranian.” Paris Hilton’s love of her dogs was even shown in a series of commercials she’d filmed for her family’s hotel chain. While Harajuku Bitch was not featured in spot included below, which we swear isn't a deep-fake co-starring Paris and Tom Cruise, we do get to see Paris play dog mom this fun little moment:
Chihuahuas seem to be on the verge of a pop culture resurgence as well, thanks to the dog known as Betty being one of the best reasons to watch ABC’s Will Trent. While that’s not exactly a part of the “dogs in bags” trend, it is a testament to the lasting impression of this specific breed. Bringing much status to those dogs, enough that Disney basically cashed in on it with the Beverly HIlls Chihuahua franchise, Paris Hilton’s notoriety laid the groundwork for this scrappy variant of love bugs to steal the hearts of the world.
The passing of a family pet is certainly a moment that contains great sorrow and reflection. Harajuku Bitch lived a lavish life with her mom and her siblings, which has left a beautiful impression through the many posts Paris Hilton has shared to show her off.
23 years old is pretty amazing for a dog, but that still doesn’t change the fact that a loving companion has said goodbye. It is because of that sadness that we here at CinemaBlend send deep condolences to Paris Hilton and her husband Carter Reum for their loss.
