The Guinness Book of World records added another chapter today as a Ohio chihuahua by the name of Spike was officially named and certified as the oldest living dog living at the age of 23 years and 7 days old.
According to Guinness, pike the 9-inch-tall chihuahua was certified as the oldest dog living on December 7th.
Rita Kimball, Spike’s owner, said that she and her family found the canine in the parking lot of a Camden grocery store around 13 years ago.
“He had been shaved up his back, had blood stains around his neck from a chain or rope, and looked pretty rough,” Kimball said, per Guinness. “The clerk in the grocery told us he had been there for three days and they were feeding him scraps.”
“Spike was a name for a large dog. My guy was small, but he had the attitude of a big dog,” she said.
After she took the dog to a vet, it was determined that Spike’s likely birthday as November 10th, 1999.
“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 said. “Now that he is a record holder, they see him as a celebrity.”
