21-Year-Old Florida Chihuahua Is The World’s Oldest Dog

A 21-year-old tiny white chihuahua from Florida named TobyKeith was granted the honor of World’s Oldest Dog as of March 16th, 2020. Officials from the Guinness Book of World Records confirmed TobyKeith’s age to be 21 years and 66 days and shared an adorable video of the pooch on their Instagram.

TobyKeith’s owner, Gisela Shore, is an animal lover who met the chihuahua when he was only a few months old as a volunteer at Peggy Adams Animal Rescue in West Palm Beach. TobyKeith also shares the spotlight in Shore’s house with two parrots and two more dogs.

From the video, he seemed extremely chill and mild-mannered, which likely comes with age. Shore assured viewers he is in great health. “He’s in pretty good health considering his age. And he does a lot of sleeping, but other than that he’s doing great,” she said. She also mentioned that he was born on January 9, 2001. She also said that TobyKeith has a balanced diet of “vegetables, rice and chicken and no sugary treats,” which have also likely bolstered his lifespan.

Chihuahuas have a long lifespan which can range from 12-18 years, and small dogs typically live much longer than larger dogs because it takes less energy to keep them going.

TobyKeith has a lot to boast about as the current Oldest Dog, but he doesn’t have the overall record beat by a long shot. That belongs to an Australian cattle dog named Bluey who was born in 1910 and lived to be 29 years old.