Gino goes to all his veterinary check-ups and is doing great in his retirement (Picture: Alex Wolf)
Have you got a really elderly dog?
Well, if so, you’d better register them with Guinness quickly if you think they can take on the mighty (and very cute) Gino, who at age 22 has been named the world’s oldest living dog.
Yes, that is in human years and not in dog years.
Owner Alex Wolf, from Colorado, got him from a rescue shelter in 2022 – over 20 years ago.
But he was born two years earlier than this, on September 24, 2000.
The record was verified by Guinness World Records earlier this month
Alex, now 40, got him when he was in university in California.
Alex Wolf with his mini wolf Gino (Picture: Alex Wolf)
Long live Gino! (Picture: Alex Wolf)
He told Today: ‘He’s been there every step of the way. ‘I’m so glad we got him. He’s the best.
‘If we were having a later night, he would stay up, and if I was sleeping in, he would sleep in. He was one of the guys.’
Asked what he thought was the secret to his longevity, he said: ‘I give him all the credit. He’s gotten a lot of love, and I think he’s just a strong dog. He’s been there every step of the way. I’m so glad we got him. He’s the best.’
When he first went to get a dog from the animal shelter, he had been intending to get a larger dog than 7kg Gino.
But after meeting the pupper, he decided he was the one and never looked back.
He said: ‘I’ve taken great care of him over the years and he is still in relatively very good shape…and really cute still which is surprising considering his age!’
Gino is remarkable – but he is not the oldest dog to have ever lived on record.
That record goes to Bluey, an Australian cattle dog who lived to be 29 and was eventually put to sleep in 1939.
The average lifespan of a medium-sized dog is 10 to 13 years.
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The record was verified by Guinness World Records earlier this month