Giant George was a blue

Great Dane The Great Dane is a German list of dog breeds, breed of large mastiff-sighthound, which descends from hunting dogs of the Middle Ages used to hunt bears, wild boar, and deer. They were also used as guardian dogs of German nobility. It is one o ...

previously recognised as the world's tallest living dog, and the tallest dog ever by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

. There were originally conflicting media reports regarding his height, but the official measurement showed that he was three-quarters of an inch taller than the previous record holder,

Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

(at at the

withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...

) and an inch shorter than the subsequent record holder,

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

. His records were announced as he appeared on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'' in February 2010.

Biography

George was born on November 17, 2005, and was owned by David Nasser since George was 7 weeks old. While measured high at the midpoint of the neck and wrongly advertised by Guinness as at the withers, his legitimate height was at the withers according to GPCA Illustrated Standard and he weighed , which is about more than an average

. At the time of his death, Giant George resided in

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. At home he slept in a queen-sized bed, and one of his hobbies was to ride around his family's neighborhood in a

golf cart A golf cart (alternatively known as a golf buggy or golf car) is a small motorized vehicle designed originally to carry two golfers and their golf clubs around a golf course with less effort than walking. Over time, variants were introduced t ...

. While traveling to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

for his 2010 appearance on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', George was given a row of three

airline seat An airline seat is a seat on an airliner in which passengers are accommodated for the duration of the journey. Such seats are usually arranged in rows running across the airplane's fuselage. A diagram of such seats in an aircraft is called an ...

s to himself. He caused a commotion with fellow passengers visiting him to take photographs. "There were so many people coming to the front of the plane, the pilot ended up illuminating the 'fasten seat belt' sign to get everyone to sit down," explained his owner, David. During the flight, George along with David and wife Christine had to sit in the bulkhead, the partition that divides first class from the rest of the passengers. They were to fly first class on

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

, but they found that there wasn't enough room for George and instead flew the following day. George died on October 17, 2013.

Nomination

Conflicting reports were made of George's height, so a Guinness judge was sent to verify it.

Craig Glenday ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

, Editor-in-Chief of Guinness World Records explained, "This is a hotly contested record and after some controversy and conflicting media reports we decided to send our own official adjudicator to put the final stamp on this record holder." The measurement by

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

Jim Boulay and witnessed by Guinness representative Jamie Panas showed that George was three-quarters of an inch larger than the previous record hold, another Great Dane,

. The records were announced by

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

on February 22, 2010, when George appeared on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show''. George had been awarded the titles secretly on February 15, 2010, with Oprah's producers asking all parties and media to keep the announcement quiet until after his appearance on the show. Inquiries had been made by the show for George to appear prior to him gaining the titles; however, his owner requested that they hold off their appearance until Guinness had reviewed his application. The announcement of the new record was used by Guinness World Records to publicize a variety of other pet-related record searches, including longest ears on a dog, smallest dog (length), oldest dog, smallest cat and oldest cat.

References

External links

* {{end 2005 animal births 2013 animal deaths Individual dogs in the United States

Biography

Nomination

See also

References

External links