An Ohio chihuahua is now a world record holder.
Guinness World Records declared Spike the oldest living dog.
Say hello to the new oldest dog in the world! 🥰️
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) January 19, 2023
Spike, who lives with human Rita Kimball in Ohio, is 23 years and 7 days old. pic.twitter.com/iTGKegBBN9
The Preble County pup celebrated his 23rd birthday on Nov. 10.
Pebbles, who lived in South Carolina, was the original record holder and lived to the ripe old age of 22 before dying in October.
TobyKeith, who lives in Florida, was named the oldest living dog at 21.
But now Spike is the official title holder as of last month, beating the most recent recorder — Gino Wolf, who was 22 years old and 52 days, which was verified on Nov. 15, 2022.
Spike joined the Kimball family in 2009 when they made a trip to get groceries.
“We went out to the car and he followed us and he jumped right in... it was meant to be,” Rita Kimball told WHIO last summer.
“The clerk in the grocery told us he had been there for three days, and they were feeding him scraps,” Kimball told Guinness World Records.
When Spike found the Kimballs, he had been shaved on his back and had blood stains from a chain or rope on his neck, she said.
Kimball didn’t know how old Spike was at the time but a vet told them he was born on Nov. 10, 1999. She didn’t say how they came up with that precise of a day.
Spike, who is 9 inches tall and weighs 12.9 pounds, has had a rough time over the years.
He had been attacked by a dog when he was 15 and almost got taken away by a coyote, WHIO reported.
Spike, at his advanced age, is also nearly blind and is hard of hearing, Kimball told Guinness World Records.
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