At 23, Spike is the world's oldest dog in the Guinness Book of World Records.
His family found him abandoned in a parking lot.
At 23 years and seven months, white Chihuahua mix Spike was recently named the oldest dog in the world.
For this he was awarded the Guinness World Record certificate.
The year of his birth stands out: in November 1999 the little Chihuahua saw the light of day.
But you can't tell his age.
Because Spike is in top shape – but that wasn't always the case.
Spike is the oldest dog in the world - and has a touching life story
Say hello to the new oldest dog in the world!
🥰️
Spike, who lives with human Rita Kimball in Ohio, is 23 years and 7 days old.
pic.twitter.com/iTGKegBBN9
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) January 19, 2023
Spike lives with his family and his mistress Rita Kimball in Ohio, USA.
They are all happy about the award.
After all, Spike really deserves it.
As Rita reports to
Guinness World Records
, the four-legged friend has had to go through a lot in his long life.
When Spike was about ten years old, Rita Kimball spotted him in a store parking lot.
"When we left the store and got into the parking lot, he followed us," Rita recalls.
"We opened the car door to put our grandson in his car seat and Spike immediately jumped in and sat in the seat like he knew where we were going.
It should be so.”
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Spike is the oldest dog in the world - that's when he was abandoned in a parking lot
Back in the parking lot, Spike looked pretty bad: "He had his back shaved, bloodstains around his neck from a chain or rope, and he looked pretty rough," Rita says.
The shop assistant told her that the dog had been there for three days and that they were feeding him leftovers.
Ten dog breeds with the strongest bite
Ten dog breeds with the strongest bite
The decision was made for everyone that the four-legged friend should go home with them.
And although Spike seems to have known even then that he would be driving to a new and better life in Rita's car, nobody expected that he would have so many happy years there.
Spike is the oldest dog in the world - in top shape he enjoys his life on the farm
Spike, who by the way was always older than the now deceased dog Pebbles, who was named the oldest dog at the age of 22, is still in great shape and enjoying life on Rita's farm to the fullest.
His family never knew he had a chance to break the record, but now that he holds the record, they consider him a real celebrity.
But despite the great honor, Spike continues to live his life as before.
He visits horses, cows and cats in the barn.
On a good day, he also likes to chase one or the other velvet paw around.
And enjoys a warm bath on Saturday evenings after a long week of work in the yard.
Rubric list image: © Guinness World Records (Twitter)