Another record for the world’s oldest dog living has officially been shattered in Florida: Born on January 9th, 2001, meet the 21 year old chihuahua named TobyKeith.
Gisela Shore, TobyKeith’s owner, has been with him for most of his life after adopting him from a shelter.
“I was a volunteer at Peggy Adams Animal Rescue and one of the employees told me about an elderly couple trying to surrender a puppy because they could not take care of him any longer,” Gisela told Guinness World Records. “I met with the elderly couple and I was introduced to a tiny tan Chihuahua. They had named him Peanut Butter. I later changed his name to TobyKeith.”
And that’s where Gisela and TobyKeith’s story started, one that has proceeded to span over twenty years.
Gisela began to consider that TobyKeith could be the oldest living dog when he turned the big two-o’ (20).
“When he turned 20 years everyone’s reaction was WOW! My friends and family thought he was the oldest dog they knew about,” Gisella said.
When his record was confirmed, Gisela along with her friends and family were very excited and thrilled.
“It definitely brought a big smile on my face!,” she said.
TobyKeith has a very close friendship with Gisela’s 28 year old umbrella cockatoo Coco. They frequently take strolls around together, and he enjoys eating cuts of turkey, while going on little walks, and lying close to Gisela’s work station while she works from home.
The celebration wasn’t limited to the humans only either, to celebrate being crowned the world’s oldest dog alive, on the day Guinness confirmed the news, TobyKeith got a good shower, he had his nails filed down, and then he got to do his favorite thing of all – go on a car ride!
As you can imagine, the pair have an extremely cozy relationship.
“Tobykeith is my little bodyguard. Follows me everywhere. Lays on me while we watch TV. I adore him!,” Gisella told Guenniss.
TobyKieth shares Gisela’s love with two other canines, Luna, who’s a seven year old American Bulldog, and Lala, a three year old Chinese Crested. In addition to the pups, Gisela also has two parrots, Coqui, a 32 year old African Gray, and Coco – the parrot who TobyKieth shares a special bond with. However, he also loves to play with Lala and Luna.
A typical day for this old gentleman sees him getting up at 6:30 am for his first trip outside prior to getting his first snack of the day which also happens to be his number one treat – a cut of turkey.
TobyKeith has a heart condition, yet that doesn’t slow him down from living his best life. As a matter of fact, as of now, 21 years 4 months old at the time of composing, TobyKeith has far surpassed the standard life expectancy of a typical Chihuahua, which can range anywhere from 12 to 18 years.
Gisella believes TobyKeith’s continued well being is helped by regular exercise and a healthy diet, consisting of rice and chicken, vegetables, and no sweet treats. She believes the key to his grand advanced age is healthy genetics, a healthy diet, and most of all, a loving and caring home.
Throughout recent years, Gisella has also fostered north of 150 canines and pups from Peggy Adams Animal Rescue, where she met TobyKeith all those years ago.
This story syndicated with permission from My Faith News