21-Year-Old Chihuahua Breaks Guinness Record for World’s Oldest Dog

TobyKeith lives in Florida with his human owner Gisela Shore. The Chihuahua was born on January 9th, 2001, making him a record-breaking 21 years old. On March 16th this year, Guinness World Records confirmed that TobyKeith is the oldest dog alive, and he’s still living it up in his hometown.
Gisela Shore told Guinness World Records’ representatives that people can’t believe how good TobyKeith looks for his age. She adopted him as a puppy, and he has far exceeded the average lifespan expected of the Chihuahua dog breed.

The Beginning of TobyKeith

Originally part of a family where he was loved by an elderly couple, TobyKeith was surrendered to a shelter when they made the hard decision to give him up after caring for him became too difficult for them. They had named him Peanut Butter.

“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 said in her interview with Guinness.

When Gisela met Peanut Butter, she saw a tiny, tan Chihuahua in need of a home and decided to take him and later rename him TobyKeith. Today, he shares his home with two other canine companions and two parrots.

After a couple of decades passed, friends and family began to wonder if TobyKeith could be the world’s oldest living dog, especially because Chihuahuas usually only live between 12 and 18 years.

How TobyKeith Got to His Age

Photo Credit: Guinness World Records

Shore told Guinness that TobyKeith’s long life can be attributed to good genetics, a healthy diet, and loving home.
His day-to-day life consists of a walk in the morning, a post-walk slice of turkey meat, and a few more short walks throughout the day. He socializes with his owner while she’s working by laying down next to her.

Although he’s incredibly healthy, TobyKeith does have a heart condition. Shore informed Guinness that it rarely bothers him.
According to records, TobyKeith is thought to be the 14th oldest dog in the world (including dogs that are still living and those that have already passed).

The World’s Oldest Dog Record

Guinness World Records has recorded that the oldest dog who ever lived reached 29 years and 5 months of age. They were an Australian Cattle Dog named Bluey, and they were owned by Les Hall of Rochester, Australia.
Interestingly enough, Australian Cattle Dogs only live for an average of 13.4 years, which means that Bluey lived more than double the number of years that she should have.

Unfortunately, Bluey passed back in 1939, so there are very few records about her and her life, but it’s known that she was a very active and busy dog who worked with sheep and cattle for over 20 years.