A “severely neglected” chihuahua who was abandoned in a supermarket car park has gone on to be named the world’s oldest living dog.
Spike, a Chihuahua cross, from Camden, Ohio, has now been photographed with a Guinness World Records certificate as the oldest dog, thanks to being taken in by Rita Kimball in August 2009.
He was 23-years and 43 days old, on December 7, 2022, and was already 10 when he was found by Rita and her family.
“Most of our family knew that Spike was old but didn’t know he had a shot at being the oldest in the world,” said Rita.
“Now that he is a record holder, they see him as a celebrity. They can't believe he lived this long.
"I believe he is still here because, after having such a terrible life at first, he makes the best of every day and now sees his rewards in his later years."
She was watching US television when she realised Spike was older than the dog, Pebbles, who was claimed to hold the title.
Spike has shown himself to be a fighter after being in a bad state when they found him outside a grocery store.
“He had been shaved up his back, had blood stains around his neck from a chain or rope, and looked pretty rough,” Rita told Guinness World Records.
“The clerk in the grocery told us he had been there for three days, and they were feeding him scraps.”
And she said that Spike automatically felt at home with Rita’s family saying: “Spike jumped right in and sat on the seat, as if he knew where we were going. It was meant to be.”
Years later, the almost blind and hard of hearing Spike has made himself at home with his family, waking up at 7am on most days and visiting the animals on the Kimballs' farm, which include horses, cows and cats.
He has survived multiple attacks from other animals despite being given a low chance of survival each time.
“He is friendly but since he’s almost blind and hard of hearing, he gets testy at times and just wants to be left alone,” said Rita.
The previous record holder for the oldest dog living was Gino Wolf, who achieved the record at 22 years and 52 days, which was verified on November 15, 2022.
