MOL
London -Relaxing imperiously on the sofa, Freddy the Great Dane leaves no room to doubt who is top dog in Claire Stoneman’s home.
For at 7ft 4in standing on his hind legs, he is thought to be Britain’s tallest dog and he hasn’t finished growing yet. At 18 months old, he measures 41 inches from his paws to his withers the ridge between the shoulder blades and only needs to grow a few more inches to lay claim to the title of the world’s tallest dog. The Guinness World Record is currently held by Zeus, a four-year-old Great Dane from Michigan, US, who is 44 inches tall – the size of a donkey. As for Freddy, he now weighs 11st 2lb and costs £75 a week to feed on standard dog food.
He is also partial to the occasional whole roast chicken or some peanut butter on toast as a treat. Unfortunately, as a puppy he also had a taste for sofas and demolished 14 before realising quite how comfortable they are. Miss Stoneman, 38, from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, said: ‘I’d come home and find a sea of foam across the floor. But he’s my baby and I can’t imagine life without him.’
She even gets up in the small hours for his daily 40-minute walk so they won’t meet other dogs who might be intimidated by him. ‘If he wants to run after a dog I wouldn’t be able to stop him,’ said Miss Stoneman, who is 5ft 4in tall. In stark contrast, the world’s smallest dog is a Chihuahua called Miracle Milly, who is 3.8in tall, weighs 1lb and sleeps in a doll’s crib.