Guinness Book of Records: World’s largest dog is dead

Guinness World Records
The largest dog in the world is dead

For a few days, Great Dane Kevin was considered the world’s largest dog. Now the record-breaking dog has died unexpectedly at the age of three. His owner has come forward with a heartwarming message.

“Our whole family is devastated for Kevin. He was simply the best giant boy,” says Tracey Wolfe. She is the owner of Kevin, the world’s tallest male dog. Kevin held this title for only a few days, as Guinness World Records announced: “The three-year-old Great Dane, who lived with his loving family in West Des Moines, Iowa, USA, passed away this week following an unplanned surgery after becoming ill.”

The grief is, like Kevin himself, enormous. He was 2.13 meters tall when standing. But he got his world record for another measurement: his height from his paws to his withers at his neck of 93 centimeters. No dog in the world has been officially registered as being taller. For comparison: an average Great Dane has a height of around 76 centimeters at the withers.

Owner Tracy describes Kevin as a “big baby”

Kevin’s owner, Wolfe, works in a veterinary clinic. She recently described Kevin as a “big baby” in an entry in the Guinness Book of Records. He often behaves as if he doesn’t know how big he is. “He’s always trying to squeeze himself into little beds, sit on us and do everything the smaller dogs do.” Kevin is the epitome of a gentle giant, Wolfe enthuses in the article. “He’s actually afraid of most things.” For example, the vacuum cleaner. “He won’t let it come anywhere near ten feet! He jumps and runs away to get away from it.”

Even the measurements for the world record proved difficult. Kevin was not comfortable with the measuring tape.

“Giant George” was 1.09 meters tall

But alongside all the sadness, Wolfe also feels gratitude. Wolfe told Guinness World Records that she was “so happy that he managed to break the record and bring this light to himself.” Kevin absolutely enjoyed the attention. “I wish these giant breeds and all dogs could live longer. There is never enough time.”

Only six months earlier, Zeus, the previous record holder, an American mastiff, had died. He was also three years old and died of pneumonia. Zeus reached a height of 1.046 meters. The tallest dog ever officially measured was another one: Giant George in 2010, who was 1.09 meters tall.

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