Wonder if he was a lapdog....

OTSEGO, Mich. (AP) — The Great Dane from Michigan that held the title of world's tallest dog has died at age 5.

Owner Kevin Doorlag told the Kalamazoo Gazette that Zeus made his debut in the 2012 edition of Guinness World Records as the tallest living dog. Zeus was 44 inches tall at the shoulder and 7 feet, 4 inches on his hind legs.

Zeus weighed 165 pounds and ate a 30-pound bag of food every two weeks, the Battle Creek Enquirer reported.

Doorlag, of Otsego, said the entire family will miss Zeus.

Zeus was a local celebrity in the Kalamazoo area and frequently visited local schools and hospitals as a therapy dog. Doorlag said he will also miss seeing the joy Zeus brought to other people.

"Those are some of the things I'll never forget about him," Doorlag said. "He was definitely a great dog."

Zeus died last week from old age, just two months shy of his sixth birthday, according to Doorlag.


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That's the sad thing about the bigger breeds... Their life spans are far too short.

A friend told me that one his great dane got ahold of a wanna be intruder in the backyard. The intruder did manage to get away after having half of his clothes ripped off though.
I am sure Otsego is now at the Rainbow bridge.

Wow, 5 still seems young. We raised Dane's when I was a kid and they'd often live to 8-10 years old. His mammoth size probably shortened his lifespan.

I'm surprised he was only 165. One of my girls was 165 and they had a brother who was 210. Man, I miss them. Love me some Danes.

When I used to take my Lab to the local dog park (we stopped after a bad incident) there was a *huge* Great Dane we'd seen quite frequently.

The owner said it was from a lineage of some of the biggest Dane's on record and I believe it.

One of the few dogs I've ever seen where you didn't have to bend to pet it's back. Super, super sweet dog and love the breed in general.

Wife promised when we moved to our current home we could get a Dane - I've always wanted another one. House already has an underground fence in place. Just waiting for the right time. Prefer to find one at a rescue that is already out of the puppy stage. Also waiting for our long haired Chihuahua to pass (has congestive heart failure).

The biggest of my girls could drink out of a sink faucet while standing flat footed on all fours.

I'm surprised he was only 165. One of my girls was 165 and they had a brother who was 210. Man, I miss them. Love me some Danes.

That does seem small. Both of my Harley girls are 135 pound and have no problem looking me in the eye or counter surfing flat footed. I have had Danes for 17 years (always multiples) and can't imagine not having a couple lying around the house in the future.

Wife promised when we moved to our current home we could get a Dane - I've always wanted another one. House already has an underground fence in place. Just waiting for the right time. Prefer to find one at a rescue that is already out of the puppy stage. Also waiting for our long haired Chihuahua to pass (has congestive heart failure).

I'm so sorry to hear about your little furbaby having that disease. I lost 2 male ferrets to that and it's so hard to watch. My condolences.

Some smaller dogs do seem to live longer. The Schipperke, a small Belgian breed, routinely makes it to 13-15, and once in a while a Schip will pass 20.

I had a Corgi that lived 17 years.