Given their size, Chihuahuas are not synonymous with endurance and longevity, although they can live up to twenty years. But Spike, from the Kimball family in Camden, Ohio, has passed 23 years, and on January 7, he became the oldest living dog in the world, as confirmed by a certificate from the Guinness World Records organization.

Despite the fact that his life was not easy, Spike earned the title of the oldest dog on the planet. His owner, Rita Kimball, found him in very poor condition in the supermarket parking lot.

“He had a bald back and bloodstains from a rope or chain around his neck. The peddler says he’s been hanging around for three days and been fed scraps,” Kimball describes his first encounter with Spike. After all, that’s why he gave him this name: “That’s a name for a big dog, but our little Spike acts like a big dog.”

From the parking lot, Kimball first brought Spike home and then to the vet, who, in addition to medication, also set his birth date as November 10, 1999.

The Kimballs start to think that Spike might be the record holder after the supposedly oldest dog, who is younger than Spike, appears on Jimmy Fallon’s show.

Today, Spike is nearly blind and deaf, but he is happy on the Kimball family’s small farm. He usually wakes up at seven in the morning and goes to check on other animals such as horses, cows and cats.

Over the years, he has also proven to be a valiant fighter. He managed several attacks from other animals, although they only gave him a small chance of survival a few times.

“He’s probably been around all this because he had a very bad life from the start and now he’s trying to make the most of every day,” Kimball thinks, adding that since Spike got his Guinness certificate he’s become a real celebrity in their family. .