Kevin, the World’s Tallest Dog, Was a ‘Gentle Giant’

A Great Dane named Kevin, the record holder as tallest living dog, died less than two weeks after earning the title. Guinness World Records said Kevin, following an unexpected surgery, had “tragically died just days after his record-breaking achievement was announced to the world.”

Kevin, who was named after the Macaulay Culkin character in the 1990 film “Home Alone,” stood a stately 0.97 meters (3 feet, 2 inches) tall, from his feet to his “withers” (the highest point of a dog's shoulder blades). 

The three-year-old dog had a happy if-too-brief life in West Des Moines, Iowa, with the Wolfe family, which included a couple of kids, three other dogs, four cats, as well as chickens, goats, and horses.

“Our whole family is devastated about Kevin. He was just the best giant boy,” Tracy Wolfe tells ABC News. “We are so glad that he was able to break the record and have that light on him. He absolutely adored the attention.” 

Giant breeds tend to have shorter lifespans than smaller dogs (Great Danes usually live about six to eight years), and veterinary scientists are not sure why. 

“Large dogs appear to age faster than small dogs,” according to the American Kennel Club. “It is almost as if large dogs live their adult lives in fast motion, and for better or for worse, the bigger the dog, it seems, the less time we have with them.”

The tallest dog ever was another Great Dane, Zeus, who topped out at 3 feet, 5.18 inches. He died in 2014, a couple months shy of his sixth birthday.

Photo credit: Guinness World Records