Spike, an Ohio Chihuahua mix, has been named the oldest living dog in the world.

CAMDEN, Ohio – Spike, a 23-year-old Chihuahua mix from Ohio, is officially named the oldest dog in the world by Guinness World Records.

According to GWR, the dog was 23 years and 43 days old as of December 7, 2022, was 9 inches tall and weighed just 12.9 pounds.

Its owner, Rita Kimball, said she found the dog abandoned in a Camden grocery store parking lot in 2009 and knew she couldn’t leave the animal. According to GWR, he was already 10 years old at the time.

Kimball said she remembers looking badly abandoned, with “bloodstains on his neck from a chain or rope,” but the dog followed the family back to their car and jumped inside as soon as the door opened.

“The grocery store clerk told us he was there for three days and they fed him scraps,” Kimball told GWR. “We opened the car door to put our grandson in the car seat and Spike jumped in and sat in the seat like he knew where we were. [sic] going. She should have been.”

Nearly 14 years later, Spike remains a beloved member of the family and “never met a stranger.” He’s almost blind and hard of hearing, so lately he prefers to spend time with those closest to him, including Kimball’s grandchildren, she said.

Spike’s routine usually includes getting up around 7 a.m., and he enjoys spending time visiting the animals at Kimball’s farm, including cows, horses and house cats, she said.

According to Kimball, sometimes he likes to have a cheese braunschweiger for dinner, and sometimes he indulges in his favorite chips.

“He loved Doritos in his early years,” Kimball recalled. “He loved them crunchy and every time we had them, he ate cheesy Doritos.”

According to Kimball, Spike survived many attacks from other animals throughout his life and, despite having a low chance of survival, fought to become stronger each time.

Spike’s owner said she realized he might be the world record holder when she was watching The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and saw a photo of Pebbles, the former oldest living dog title holder, who was younger than Spike.

Spike received his new title on December 7, 2022.

“Most of our family knew that Spike was old, but [they] didn’t know he had a chance to be the oldest in the world,” Kimball said. – Now that he [Guinness World Records title] holder, they look at him like a celebrity. They can’t believe he lived that long.”

According to GWR, the previous record holder for the oldest living dog was Gino Wolf of Los Angeles, who set the record at 22 years and 52 days old as of November 15, 2022.

“I believe he is still here because after such a terrible life, he does his best at first and now sees his rewards in his later years,” Kimball said.

This was reported from Cincinnati.