Guinness Records Awarded to Tallest Dog, Tallest Cat and Tallest Horse
Published on September 13, 2012
Watch out, Giant George. Zeus, a Great Dane, has got a whole inch on you.
Guinness World Records named the enormous 3-year-old dog from Michigan the tallest dog ever recorded. When Zeus, who weighs 155 pounds, stands on his hind legs, he measures a whopping 7 feet, 4 inches tall.
That means the therapy dog can reach the counter tops, and likes to drink his water right from the kitchen faucet, says his owner, Denise Doorlag.
"The most common thing people ask is: 'Is that a dog or a horse?' and 'Where's his saddle?'” Doorlag says.
Tallest Horse
Zeus isn’t the only towering animal honoree to appear in the Guinness World Records 2013 book. In fact, one actually does wear a saddle — that’s Big Jake, the world’s tallest horse.
The 11-year-old Belgian gelding, who also hails from Wisconsin, stands 6 feet, 10 inches tall.
"He was extremely hard to hold on to when he was young … sometimes he would take me with him!” recalls Big Jake’s owner, Jerry Gilbert. But Jake’s calmed down as he’s matured. "He has a great temperament and works hard when he is harnessed to a wagon."
Tallest Cat
Both Zeus and Jake would tower over Savannah Islands Trouble, but this feline is no size slouch, either. Trouble, as he was known, appears in the book as the tallest cat, at 19 inches.
Unfortunately, Trouble passed away last month. He was a Savannah cat, a breed created by crossing an African Serval with a domestic feline, reports the Huffington Post.
Trouble lived in Lodi, Calif, with his owner, Debby Maraspini.
“Trouble seemed to enjoy all the attention he got, he'd sit up like a king or take a stroll about like he owned wherever he was,” reads a tribute on his web site.
You can see Trouble in this 2011 video from the Sacramento Bee.