iPhone Savior: Daschund iModel Quits Biz Claiming Exhaustion

TOKYO - Her name is Cocoa, a wildly popular Daschund iModel working in Japan since she was only a pup, modeling devices for several local Apple resellers. Miss Cocoa shocked the dog modeling world this past week with an announcement that she's stepping down from the business indefinitely. A decision that has left many Apple resellers in Tokyo scrambling for a fall back plan.

Cocoa has held the title of Japan's top iModel for the past three years, earning the equivalent of over $200K US annually, not including endorsement money from various pet food companies eager to cash in on her fame. Miss Cocoa has become an icon in Tokyo, credited for making the iPhone a must-have gadget in Japan, contrary to recent negative reports by some.

Her handlers cited exhaustion to the press as the key reason for Cocoa's sudden departure from modeling. Though others close to the pup pointed to her strong desire to spend more time with family and to travel as the real reasons for her decision.

"The dog modeling world looks so glamorous, especially when your the best like Cocoa is," said handler Tokai Yamura, "Balancing an iPhone or iPod on your head for long hours is very grueling work. She makes it look easy, but Cocoa wants more out of life."

Reports indicate that Cocoa has been extremely perky since getting some much needed downtime away from the spotlight, enjoying a break from being constantly hounded by the paparazzi. She quickly showed us her sense of humor on camera by balancing a large zucchini on her nose free of charge. "Consider that a gift," Cocoa's owner said, "She obviously likes you."

"It's good to have our silly Cocoa back modeling food just for fun," Yamura said, "It's too early to start talking about breeding with the owner, but we're very interested in getting Cocoa's offspring into the modeling business sooner than later. We're certain a streaming puppy cam could fetch us millions."

[Photography by Nao-cha] [Miss Cocoa Fan Site] sa