Chicago area pup crowned People's 'World's Cutest Rescue Dog'

ST. CHARLES, Ill. (WLS) -- The world's cutest rescue dog lives right here in the Chicago suburbs!

Heaven, a 3-year-old mixed breed pup from St. Charles, has just been crowned the top dog in People magazine's World's Cutest Rescue Dog Contest.

Her owner, Jackie Rakers, said she first spotted Heaven on Facebook on her lunch break. Two days later, she picked her up from Starfish Animal Rescue in Plainfield.

Rakers only intended to care for Heaven temporarily, but she was too cute to resist. Her "foster fail" ended up a fur-ever home.

"From day one, she was kind of meant to be," Rakers said.

Rakers shares her four-legged friend's adventures with her 11,000 followers on Instagram @heaven_is_a_dog, but said she never expected Heaven to win. In fact, when People Magazine first contacted her, she worried it was a scam.

With her newfound fame comes national attention, and Rakers said Heaven is lapping up. Whenever someone on the street calls out to Heaven by name, she just "lights up."

"It's been a ton of fun," Rakers said. "I keep joking that I'm going to have to get a separate planner to keep track of my dog's schedule at the rate things are going."

Rakers hopes Heaven's story will inspire others to help dogs by adopting or fostering, or even do something as simple as donating old newspapers to shelters.

The new edition of People hits newsstands Friday.