lankiest canine in recorded history was Zeus, a great dane that measured 1.12 metres (44in) tall until his death last year. The lofty mutt was owned by the Doorlag family from Michigan and his record-breaking career began when Kevin Doorlag was watching TV: “
We saw [previous title-holder] Giant George on Oprah Winfrey and I was like, ‘Man, Zeus has got to be right up there.’ We tried to measure him but he’s such a baby, he was scared of the tape measure.” Zeus was indeed a gentle giant and a part-time pet therapy dog. When he stood on his hind legs, he was 2.2m (7ft 4in) tall,