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Worlds Largest Dog Dies


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Zeus dies age 5

THE world’s largest dog, a Great Dane named Zeus, has died, his owners say.

The five-year-old, donkey-sized dog stood 112cm at the shoulder.

His owner, Kevin Doorlag of Otsego, Michigan, told the Kalamazoo Gazette that the beloved family pet died last week.

Zeus had been declared the world’s tallest dog in the 2012 edition of the Guiness World’s Records. He topped 220cm when standing on his hind legs.

Doorlag family photos showed Zeus dwarfing a sofa that he sat on, and drinking from the running kitchen tap without having to stretch or strain.

Doorlag described Zeus as a “wonderful dog” who loved to sit on his family members’ laps, oblivious to his own size and 70kg weight.

Zeus’s daily ration was up to 13kg of dog food.

Guinness World Records picture editor Michael Whitty, who had met Zeus, said the dog was “the gentlest giant you could ever wish to meet.”

“He will be greatly missed by his lovely owners and will live on in Guinness World Records history as the tallest dog we ever measured,” he said.

Great Danes and other giant breeds tend to have short lives, which veterinarians attribute to the strain that their huge bodies put on the heart and other organs.

Zeus would have been 6 in November.

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I remember reading a book about Giant George who held the title before Zeus and he was also a beautiful boy who was well loved. He died when he was 7 (last year I think). What shocked me most in the story (which would be the same for Zeus) is the size of the beds these gentle giants need to sleep on!

RIP Zeus - I'm sure your parents wished you were around for far longer than 5 years.

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Records never to strive for... see above.

That photo shows the poor dog was appallingly constructed - I'm not surprised he didn't make double digits. :(

you're right the poor dog in an abomination of canine design. Yeah he may have had a nice temperament but it's no excuse to perpetuate disasters like this. Yes I know this particular dog may have been a 'freak of nature' but it seems to be whenever something 'unusual' (read defective) crops up in a pet species it seems people want to perpetuate it no matter how detrimental it is to the animal. :mad

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Great Danes and other giant breeds tend to have short lives, which veterinarians attribute to the strain that their huge bodies put on the heart and other organs.

I think it has more to do with their genetics than size.

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Great Danes and other giant breeds tend to have short lives, which veterinarians attribute to the strain that their huge bodies put on the heart and other organs.

I think it has more to do with their genetics than size.

No it is size based as it is a breed wide thing - average lifespan around 9-10. Like many other giant breeds.

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I doubt the 13kg of food claim - that is an excessive amount of food and I doubt it would be physically possible for them to consume that amount.

As a Dane owner, if this was my Dane I'd be too embarrassed to seek such public recognition of a Guiness World Record. This dog's structure is appalling (questionable breeding??) and it was never going to have a long life.

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