There are many reasons why dogs are considered man’s best friend. Among them is the fact that they can grow comparatively old and be faithful companions to their owners for many years. And yet, the following pelt-nose still clearly stands out from the crowd in this respect.
We are talking about the currently oldest dog in the world, who is enjoying his twilight years with his mistress in sunny Florida (USA):
“TobyKeith is my little bodyguard. He follows me everywhere. He lays on top of me while we watch TV. I love him,” said Gisela Shore. The Chihuahua and his owner met by chance many years ago:
“I was volunteering at an animal welfare organization. One of the staff told me about two elderly couples who wanted to surrender a puppy because they could no longer care for it. I met with them and was introduced to a small tan Chihuahua. His first name was Peanut Butter. After thinking about I changed the name in TobyKeith,” Gisela says.
More than twenty years have passed since then. Toby was born on January 9, 2001, and broke the Guinness World Record on March 16, 2022, when he was 21 years and 66 days old – the typical life expectancy of a Chihuahua is 12 to 18 years.
Gisela believes her dog was able to live this long despite his heart condition because he exercises regularly and eats a diet of vegetables, rice and chicken. Sugary treats, on the other hand, were never on the menu.
“People can’t believe how good he looks for his age,” says Gisela, who owns two other dogs and two parrots. However, Toby is not yet the oldest dog to have ever lived: Australian Kelpie dog Maggie died in 2016 at the age of 30. Whether Toby will also crack this record?