Meet Freddy the Great Dane, the Tallest Dog in Britain (and Possibly the Tallest Dog in the World!)

Claire Stoneman of Southend-on-Sea reports that her dog is over 7 feet tall, standing on his hind legs

By John Boone Feb 10, 2014 9:18 PMTags
Claire Stoneman, Freddy the Great DaneMatt Writtle/Barcroft Media/Landov

Freddy is a horse. Actually, if we're getting technical, he is a donkey.

Let's back up: Freddy is actually an 18-month-old Great Dane. But at 41 inches tall from paws to withers ("the ridge between the shoulder blades") and measuring 7' 4" tall standing on his hind legs, Freddy is the size of a donkey.

He is already the tallest dog in Britain, where he lives in Southend-on-Sea with his owner, Claire Stoneman. And he may soon be the tallest dog in the world: Zeus, the current Guinness Record holder, is 44 inches tall, but Freddy is still growing.

Matt Writtle/Barcroft Media/Landov

Claire got Freddy when he was 5 weeks old, along with his sister Fleur (yes, Claire lives with two enormous Great Danes) but says, "He just started growing and growing, doing an inch a month."

The Daily Mail reports that Freddy eats over $120 worth of food a week, including whole roast chickens and, at one point in his life, entire couches (he apparently destroyed 14 sofas when he was just a puppy). He's also tall enough that he can drink from the kitchen sink.

Claire walks Freddy for 40 minutes every morning, in the wee hours of the morning so that they don't encounter other dogs. "If he wants to run after a dog, I wouldn't be able to stop him," his 5' 4" owner says, noting that she also doesn't want other dogs to be intimidated by him.

"I love spending time with them. They're my life, they're my babies! They're my number one priority," Claire gushes. "Everything I do revolves around the dogs. I haven't got any children, they are my fur babies. I spoil them in the ways someone might spoil their children."

And though she would be excited if Freddy were able to outgrow Zeus for the title ("It would be totally amazing and obviously unexpected, considering how he started off his life being so small") she has other priorities:

"As long as he's healthy, that's the main thing for me," she says.

On the other end of the spectrum, the world's smallest dog is Miracle Milly, a 3.8-inch tall Chihuahua. We would give anything to see a picture of Freddy and Miracle Milly together.

(H/T Laughing Squid)