Why Do Musicians Mistreat Their Pets?

What kind of dog you prefer, they say, speaks volumes. Pit bulls are favoured by the insecure, teacup dogs by those frilly enough to name their pets Lord Foo Foo D'Amour.

But how you treat those animals says a lot more.

Yesterday, Musictoob, the website I edit, was the first to report the shattering news that Beyonce left her pet shih tzu at her record company last year -- then never came back to pick her up.

Munchie, once named America's Most Eligible Pet by a US magazine, was dumped at Columbia Records' offices in Manhattan at the end of last summer and since then, "Puddles of liquid are appearing all over the office," said a source.

Munchie is now a candidate for pet therapy alongside Tinkerbell, Paris Hilton's, Shih Tzu, the one she managed to "lose" in 2004. DMX's 12 pit bull terriers, meanwhile, were so terrorized by the scary rapper police had to rescue them in a 2007 raid. They must still be in pieces, poor dears.

So why are musician's such stinkers at looking after their pooches?

"They're self-centred idiots" is the usual answer offered here. But actors don't seem to have the same problem. And they're often self-centred too.

Mickey Rourke adores Jaws, his pet Chihuahua. He walked off set after a director wouldn't give the hound a part in the movie Rourke was making. (Something about learning his lines, I think). Still, that is commitment.

The pair are the star of the latest PETA ad urging you to remove your pet's testicles. That big lug Rourke wrote a Haiku for the ad:

"When dogs get knocked up
Puppies get put down
Because there aren't enough homes for them."

I am sure if Beyonce read those words she would cry salty tears of remorse.