Meet Spike, officially the world’s oldest living dog

(CNN) — Spike, a 23-year-old Chihuahua mix from Ohio, was named the world’s oldest living dog by Guinness World Records (GWR).

Born in November 1999, Spike earned bragging rights on December 7, 2022, with a certificate proving he was “at least 23 years and 7 days old” on the date of verification in Camden Town.

Spike’s owner, Rita Kimball, has had it for nearly 14 years, after finding it abandoned in a grocery store parking lot in 2009, the GWR explained in a statement sent to CNN on Friday.

“He was shaved on the back, had blood stains around his neck from a chain or rope and he looked pretty tough,” Kimball said.

After a grocery store clerk told him the dog—nearly 10 years old—had been there for three days, Kimball decided to take him back to his farm.

“Spike jumped up and sat on the seat, like he knew where we were going. He was meant to be,” Kimball said.

Taking inspiration from the big, aggressive dog in the “Tom and Jerry” cartoons, Kimball named his friendly little new friend “Spike,” according to GWR.

“Spike was a big dog name. My boy was little, but he had the big dog attitude,” he added.

According to GWR, Spike, who weighs just 5.85 kilograms, had “survived multiple attacks” from other animals and was “getting stronger each time.”

Kimball first realized Spike had a chance to become top dog when he heard “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon discuss a former record holder, Pebbles the fox terrier, who died in October 2022. .

Spike won the throne from Gino Wolf, who was verified in Los Angeles on November 15, 2022 as the then-oldest at 22 years and 52 days, the statement added.

Spike is now considered a celebrity in his family, Kimball said, adding that the elderly dog, who is nearly blind and hard of hearing, prefers to spend time with people he knows and visit the animals on his farm.

According to GWR, the longest-living dog reliably on record was an Australian cattle dog named Bluey, who died in 1939 at the age of 29 years and five days.