Anything is paw-sible.
A Chihuahua from Ohio has officially been crowned the “oldest dog living” by Guinness World Records.
Spike, born in Nov. 1999, is 23 years and 7 days old as of Dec. 7, 2022, certifying him as the record holder.
His human, Rita Kimball, found the 9-inch-long dog in a grocery store parking lot in August 2009 when he was already 10 years old.
Thirteen years later, she had no idea Spike would still be her pet — or that he’d be a Guinness World Record holder.
Kimball discovered her dog might be the oldest in the world while watching an episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” in which Fallon discussed the news of a former oldest dog living, Pebbles — who died in October at 22 — and realized Spike was older.
“Most of our family knew that Spike was old but didn’t know he had a shot at being the oldest in the world,” Kimball told Guinness. “Now that he is a record holder, they see him as a celebrity.”
Kimball credited 12.9-pound Spike’s long life to having a solid routine.
The pooch begins his day around 7 a.m., sometimes eating breakfast right away and sometimes waiting just a bit.
During the summer, Spike and Kimball go for walks and visit the animals in the barn, such as cows, horses and cats.
“If it’s a good day, he will chase a cat or two,” Kimball shared. “When he was younger, he tried intimidating the cows and horses by barking and trying to chase them. Now they just stare at him and don’t even move.”
After his morning walks, Spike naps on the porch to rest up for his day on the farm while his human has coffee.
“There’s always something to do on a farm; we cut wood, clean out fence rows, bale hay and harvest crops,” Kimball said. “Spike has ridden on tractors, been a passenger inside the combine and tags along when we cut wood.”
On Saturday evenings, Spike has a little self-care time and enjoys a bath. He will occasionally treat himself to braunschweiger with cheese for dinner — sometimes adding his favorite chips, Doritos.
Spike’s other hobbies include napping, playing cat and mouse with the house cat, and hiding his toy fox around the house.
The dog had blood stains around his neck “from a chain or rope” and was shaved up his back when Kimball and her family found him.
“The clerk in the grocery told us he had been there for three days, and they were feeding him scraps,” Kimball shared. “When we left the store and entered the parking lot, he followed. We opened the car door to put our grandson in his car seat, and Spike jumped right in and sat on the seat, as if he knew where we was [sic] going. It was meant to be.”
Kimball took the poor pup home to her small farm and named him Spike after the Looney Tunes cartoon dog known for its size and aggression.
“My dog seemed to be the opposite; he was small and friendly, so I thought it just seemed to fit him,” she said. “Spike was a name for a large dog. My guy was small, but he had the attitude of a big dog.”
Spike is friendly and great with the grandkids in the family, but due to being almost blind and hard of hearing, he prefers to spend his time with the people with whom he’s familiar.
Rita said that everyone with a furry friend should give their pets a healthy diet and daily exercise, but most importantly, unlimited love and attention.
“I believe Spike is still here because after having such a terrible life at first, he makes the best of each day,” she said.
The previous record holder for the oldest dog living was a 22-year-old dog named Gino, who achieved the record at 22 years and 52 days on Nov. 15, 2022.
