World's Oldest Dog Fight

This story has been published by the South Korean citizen reporters' journal OhmyNewsInternational:
http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=385348&rel_no=1



Chanel, Sammy, Smokey, Bluey, Max or Taffy Gayle?

Dog owners, TV stations and newspapers in the United States and Britain
are embroiled in a lively dogfight to discover The World's Oldest Dog.

Naturally, they favor their local pooches. But they can't all be right.

The competition began last December, when Lee Lutz, in the Times Beacon
Record,
http://www.northshoreoflongisland.com/Articles-i-2008-12-18-77396.112114_Is_this_dachshund_the_oldest_dog_in_the_world.html
on the North Shore of Long Island, New York, asked, "Is this dachshund the
oldest dog in the world?" He drew attention to a 19-year-old wire-haired
dachshund named Chanel.

A few months later, the global spotlight focused on Chanel when she
celebrated her 20th birthday. The Guinness Book of Records listed her as
The World's Oldest Dog. Pictures of a cute little mutt wearing goggles and
a colorful sweater, looking like a First World War aviator in an aerial
dogfight, were seen on TV and in newspapers by millions of doglovers (and
doghaters too).

In April 2009 OhmyNewsInternational rained on the pooch's picnic with a
story, Chanel is NOT the World's Oldest Dog,
http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=384908&rel_no=1
We said many dogs had lived much longer than Chanel, but were not eligible
to be listed by Guinness, which insists on their ages being documented.

That's not always possible.

We said that the 100th birthday of Bluey, a famous Australian cattle dog
born on June 7, 1910, is to be celebrated next year by people living in
Rochester, a country town 130 miles (209 kilometers) north of Melbourne,
Victoria.
Bluey worked among sheep and cattle for 20 years, and survived until Nov.
14, 1939, when he was put down. He had lived for 29 years, five months and
seven days, on a diet of kangaroos and emus. He was the world's oldest dog,
a record that has never been beaten.


On May 22, 2009 TV station 10-KLFY
http://www.klfy.com/Global/story.asp?S=10406754 in New Iberia, Louisiana,
reported that a "terier mix" named Max, owned by Janelle Derouen of New
Iberia, was laying claim to the Guinness Book of World Records title of
"Oldest Dog in the World." The report said:

"Max is a terrier mix who's been part of Janelle Derouen's family just a
few weeks after his birth on August 9th, 1983. That makes Max almost 26
years old.
"Janelle says Max is in remarkably good shape. He suffers from cataracts, so
he wears doggie goggles when he's out in the sun, and a touch of arthritis
has slowed him down, but not by much.
"When Janelle spotted our story on the current record holder, Chanel, she
knew she had to let the world know about her incredible canine. We'll keep
you posted on Max's quest for the title of world's oldest dog, but in the
meantime, Max isn't letting his sudden celebrity go to his head."

You can see a video of Max and his owner here http://xmangerm.vox.com/library/video/6a00d4141bbfae685e0110160aba58860b.html

Serendipitously, George Rodrigue,
http://www.georgerodrigue.com/biography.htm a Cajun artist, grew up in
New Iberia. His Blue Dog series of paintings, known worlwide, are thought
to have been inspired by his dog named Tiffany.

Apparently oblivious of Max's claim to the title, Florida's St. Petersburg
Times promoted another contestant on May 30. A story by Stefan
Jaeger http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article1005572.ece was
headed "St. Petersburg Man Says He Owns the World's Oldest Dog". It said:

"Joe Slatton of St. Petersburg wasn't impressed when he learned NBC's Today
show had featured what it deemed the world's oldest living dog at 21.
Slatton says that at the time the show aired May 6, he was most likely out
walking his 23-year-old Shih Tzu, Smokey. "My wife told me about the show,"
Slatton said. "Of course she knew, too, that Smokey was way older than that
dog on TV."
"Smokey, golden brown with all his hair, is not only older, but more active.

He loves his walks and has his own wardrobe.

"Slatton, 78, and Mary, 76, his wife of 55 years, took in Smokey nine years
ago when the dog's former owner moved to a place where she couldn't have a
pet.

"Records at the VCA St. Petersburg Animal Hospital show Smokey was born Jan.
18, 1986. That was two days before the first federal Martin Luther King Jr.
Day was celebrated and 10 days before the space shuttle Challenger
disaster."

The rival claims of Max and Smokey failed to cross the Atlantic, because on
June 1 Andy Crick wrote in the London tabloid The Sun :
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2458899/Sun-teaches-old-dog-new-tricks.html

"Yorkshire terrier Sammy is 23-years-old which makes him two years older
than the current canine world record holder...

"The pensioner pooch has had half his teeth out and can barely see or hear.

But owner Doug Percival, 73, has only had to take him to the vets ONCE since
he got him as a two-year-old pup.

"He puts his longevity down to them looking after each other and
twice-weekly treats from the fish and chip shop."

We were about to award the WOD (World's Oldest Dog) crown to Max, when we
stumbled on a story in The Daily Mountain Eagle, in Jasper, Alabama. Staff
reporter Jennifer Williams has discovered a pooch that's a year older than
Max!

"Brenda and Barney Harvill of Curry don't mind that their poodle, Taffy
Gayle, is blind, deaf and missing most of her teeth.," Williams wrote.
"Taffy Gayle has been the couple's baby since they could never have children
of their own. 'We've been so partial to her. Never having any children, I
just think it's a blessing that God's let us keep her this long,' Brenda
Harvill said.

"Taffy Gayle was born Sept. 22, 1982... The puppy was given Brenda Harvill's
middle name, Gayle, when she was registered with the American Kennel Club.

"Harvill likes to buy infant clothing at the thrift store and play dress-up
with her. The little dog's wardrobe includes T-shirts, sweaters and a pink
party dress. Taffy Gayle doesn't have to live on a strict diet of dry dog
food. She is fed Vienna sausages as a treat. She also eats any potted meat,
stewed chicken and ground hamburger.

"On her birthday, Taffy Gayle gets her own little cupcake with a candle in
it. She also wears her party dress that day to celebrate."

You can read much more about this tiny dog by visiting The Daily Mountain
Eagle http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:ymNcdg9J5xYJ:www.mountaineagle.com/index.cfm%3Fevent%3Dnews.view%26id%3D746DCF5C-19B9-E2E2-678600C6B88F17E4+%22taffy+gayle%22&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au

Summing up, it seems that Louisiana's Max, at 25 going on 26, is not quite
the max, Alabama's Taffy Gayle, 26 last September, is PROBABLY the world's
oldest living dog. She will even beat Australia's Bluey as the oldest dog of
all time if she clings to life for three more years .

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown is trying to find his city's oldest
dog. http://www.suntimes.com/news/brown/1606664,CST-NWS-brown04.article

One of his readers who calls herself rozzzzzzy wrote this comment:
"No category for the smelliest dog? If you ever add it, let me know! We
adopted a black, long-haired pug named Snowball, changed his name to Jack
Black, after which we discovered that no matter what he was fed, even treats
with chlorophyll, he can clear a room in seconds. Feed him chicken, and he
can clear a stadium. Even my teenagers, who find passing gas extremely
humorous, run from rooms with their t-shirts over their noses, and NO ONE
wants to let the little fellow sleep with them, despite taking dibbies on
our other two dogs."

Well, that may account for Chicago being called The Windy City.

Chanel (20) is NOT the World's Oldest Pooch

This story was first published by OhmyNewsInternational. To read their version, with interesting illustrations and live links, please cut and paste this address:
http://tinyurl.com/cpvx7n


Australian cattle dog Bluey lived 29 years 5 months and 7 days!

The 100th birthday of Bluey, a famous Australian cattle dog born on Jun 7, 1910, will be celebrated next year by people living in Rochester, a country town 130 miles (209km) north of Melbourne, Victoria, not far from last month's disastrous bushfires.

Bluey worked among sheep and cattle for 20 years, and survived until November 14, 1939, when he was put down. He had lived for 29 years, five months and seven days, on a diet of kangaroos and emus. He was the world's oldest dog, a record that has never been beaten.

John Harley, top dog of the Rochester Historical and Pioneer Society, told OhmyNews "We know about Bluey, in fact the daughter of the man who owned it is still with us and a regular attender of the Anglican church. No doubt there will be some sort of celebration for the oldest dog's centenary."

He said that William Hall, of Rochester, was Bluey's first owner. When William Hall died, his son Les looked after the dog. On the other hand, Wikipedia says Bluey's owner was named Esma Hall, who lived to be 103. It's not known whether she too ate kangaroo and emu meat.

While Rochester prepares for Bluey's centenary, a 20-year-old wire-haired dachshund called Chanel, living in Port Jefferson Station, a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, has mistakenly been hailed as the world's oldest living dog. She has set the canine world barking mad... and, despite the error, is rapidly becoming a world-famous bitch.

Incidentally,when Marilyn Monroe was asked what she wore in bed, she famously replied, "Why, Chanel No. 5, of course."

Two British national newspapers, The Daily Telegraph and The Sun, and America's
NBC radio and TV network fell for the story, but their readers, listeners and viewers promptly named many other dogs who are (or were) older than Chanel.

"This dog's age is no big deal," JT Cro growled on The Sun website. "My grandparents had a dog before they passed away, 33 years old in human years and in remarkably good health. I am certain he could of gone another 10 maybe 15 years before he would of died, however he was put down once my grandparents died. They loved their dogs very much, most of the dogs they had lasted 25-30 years."

Chanel's bid for fame began on Dec 17, 2008, with a story in her local newspaper, the Times Beacon Record, http://www.northshoreoflongisland.com/Articles-i-2008-12-18-77396.112114_Is_this_dachshund_the_oldest_dog_in_the_world.html published on the North Shore of Long Island, New York. "Is this dachshund the oldest dog in the world?" Lee Lutz asked, adding:

Chanel, a blond, wire-haired dachshund who calls Port Jefferson Station home, is famous — or soon will be if her owners' expectation becomes reality in 2009. The Shaughnessy family has been told by the publisher of "Guinness World Records" that Chanel will be listed in next year's edition as the oldest known dog in the world.

Born on May 8, 1988, Chanel is over 20 years old and going strong, according to Denice Shaughnessy, a retired Army veteran who now works in the principal's office of the Rocky Point Middle School.

"She's pretty healthy," said Shaughnessy, "cataracts, a little, but OK." The Shaughnessys adopted Chanel in Virginia at 6 weeks old, and the German-breed dachshund spent almost six years in the country of its origin when the family was stationed in Europe in the early 1990s.

Slow forward to February 23, when Rupert Murdoch's British tabloid giant The Sun (circulation 3 million+) published a sensational story under screaming headlines: Oldest dog is Chanel No 20: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2264244.ece

The Daily Telegraph published the story with a more restrained headline: World's oldest dog needs jumper and goggles. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4785996/Worlds-oldest-dog-needs-jumper-and-goggles.html

Next day, Chanel skipped back to America, where media outlets gleefully seized on the London furphy [false report], without checking the facts. "World's oldest dog is 20, needs glasses," http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/weird/Worlds-Oldest-Dog-is-20-Needs-Glasses.html NBC outlets reported in California, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere..

The story prompted The Daily Doxie ("your source for free daily dachshund photos, past dachshund pictures, dachshund resources, and more") to publish this article:

Breaking: The strange story of the Dachshund who would be the world's oldest dog
Last time this story was in the headlines the competition noted that there appeared to be something fishy going on. First of all, in the past, the holders of the world's oldest dog title have all been in their late twenties. What's more, there are plenty of comments here at the Daily Doxie from people who have 18- and 19- year-old wiener dogs, so they don't appear that unusual.

Is it really possible, then, that there are no dogs between the ages of 20 and 29 who could claim the crown? And how come there's no official announcement from Guinness World Records?

Guinness requires a dog's age to be documented, which bars many animals older than Chanel from the record book. At 20, Chanel is only as old as a 93-year-old human. Forget that old wive's tale of a dog's age beine one seventh of a human's. It's not always true. See How old is your dog? http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/age.htm


In recent years, dozens of venerable pooches have been nominated for the proud title of The World's Oldest Dog. Here are just a few:

Bramble, in Bridgewater, Somerset, http://www.ourdogs.co.uk/News/2002/October2002/News111002/ripeold.htm celebrated her 27th birthday in 2002, making her Britain's oldest living dog and a contender for the oldest dog in the world. Her owner, Anne Heritage, 43, is a vegan and has brought up her pet on the same diet regime she herself follows. "She has a big bowl of rice, lentils and organic vegetables every evening," says Ms. Heritage.


Jerry. A 26-year-old mongrel living with an Aboriginal family in Australia's Outback has the potential to become the world's oldest living dog, a newspaper reported Sunday. Jerry, an Australian cattle dog-bull terrier cross, will next month turn 27 - the equivalent of 189 years for a human - said Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals veterinarian Honey Nelson...

Jerry's owner, Waddie Harris - an Aboriginal tribal leader in New South Wales state's Wilcannia town, put Jerry's longevity down to his high-protein diet of Outback wildlife. "Jerry has grown up on kangaroo, rabbit and emu as well as scraps off the table," the newspaper quoted Harris as saying. - Associated Press, Jul 11, 2004 http://www.australianfauna.com/news/outbackmongrel.php



Jip celebrated his 25th birthday -- his age in human terms is 175 --last Thursday and incredulous owners Marilyn and John Regan, of West Lane, think he could be the world's oldest living dog.

Mrs Regan, 64, said: "He's already outlived two of our other dogs and a cat. He's going to outlive us all at this rate." ...The Regans acquired Jip through Airedale Vets after his owner abandoned him at the age of six. In his younger days he was treated to leisurely walks around the Clough, but now he much prefers to be ferried around like his royal counterparts at Buckingham Palace. Mrs Regan said: "He loves riding around in the car with John. Whenever he grabs the keys you can see his ears prick up." - Bradford (UK) Telegraph and Argus http://archive.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/2005/9/23/180804.html Sep 23, 2005.



Titch. The tiny terrier has already clocked up 19 years and turns 20 in September, making him a whopping 140 years old if he was human. - Coventry (UK) Telegraph, Feb.26, 2009.
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/2009/02/26/is-titch-the-oldest-dog-in-town-92746-23016416


Derek the Mongrel, at the age of 19, the equivalent of 133 in dog years - is still going strong, according to a report ... The dog is the much-loved pet of Jill Molnar, from Scunthorpe, who adopted him after he kept chasing her daughter's young sons. While he could be the oldest dog in the area, a Papillon named Fred made it to 29... - Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph, (UK), April 16, 2008.


Tip, the 29-year-old collie is the world's oldest dog, claims Ann Elliott, of Canterbury, who found him as a pup on a rubbish dump. - London Daily Mirror, Jan 17, 2004.


Bella. A dog believed to be the oldest in the world has died, aged 29 years. Bella, a Labrador cross, was bought by David Richardson from the RSPCA, 26 years ago when she was three years old. She had lived with Mr Richardson, 76, and his partner Daisy, 81, since 1982 in Clay Cross, Derbyshire. But she was put down on Saturday following a heart attack while on holiday with the couple. - London Daily Telegraph, Sep 8, 2008.


Skye, our border collie, will be 20 years old on March 1. Do you think she could be the oldest dog in Scotland? James Logan, Prestonpans, East Lothian. - Daily Record (Glasgow), Feb 1, 2007.


Cindy. Britain's oldest dog is a 24-year-old Jack Russell called Cindy. The secret to its long life is tea and walking eight miles a day. - Daily Mirror (London); July 26, 2002


Butch. 'His name is Butch. He's a beagle. His title is etched in official Guinness World Records certification and he earned it by living for 27 years...189 in human years... His eyes, however, are bright and his tail still wags. He still begs for petting, and as with all beagles, food is a major holiday to celebrate often. On regular occasions he lets loose and does a bit of running about the house...' -Charlottesville, Virginia Daily Progress, Nov 4, 2002. [Butch died in 2003, aged 28].


Beagle. I have a Beagle and he is 17 years old now. I kiss him many times every day and tell him "Mommy loves you. Stay with Mommy, Okay?". He gets fresh carrots for snack for many years. My husband told me that is why he still hears good and sees good. - Lilianne, in a Buzzle.com http://www.buzzle.com/comments/56493-1.html forum message.


FOOTNOTE Then there's Hercules, said to be the world's heaaviest dog. "The Hercules English Mastiff is a real dog, but most of the images you see of him are not," says Kelly Roper. But that's another story. http://dogs.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Hercules_English_Mastiff



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