Giant George

Life with the World's Biggest Dog
by Dave Nasser with Lynne Barrett-Lee

When the author and his wife started looking for a great dane puppy, they knew they wanted a big dog. But they had no idea how big George was going to get. It amused me that he was the runt of his litter, and ended up being the largest one! He tipped the scales at two hundred and forty-five pounds, standing four feet at the shoulder. He had to have his own queen-sized mattress to sleep on, and wouldn't fit in their regular car, only a truck. He liked to ride around in a golf cart. You would think living with such a large animal would be problematic, but aside from his huge appetite, and the inconvenience that his head easily reaches every countertop, the dog is actually mild-mannered and very gentle. He was very close to his family, in fact would get extremely anxious if left alone. It was touching to read how bonded George became with his owners, and how he helped them get through some tough times. When their veterinarian made comments that George was larger than any other dog he'd seen, they looked into it and friends suggested they try for the world record, since the dog currently holding the title had recently died. The part about how they had to apply for the Guinness World Record was interesting, and I was surprised to see how passionate some people got about this- other dog owners trying for the same record going so far as to contest his measurements, some said they were exploiting their pet and posted unkindly remarks about the dog online. Of course he became famous and the family tells about taking their dog to visit schools, veterinary conferences and other events. Many people travelled to see him- it was difficult to fly George anywhere as he didn't fit in any commercially-made pet crates! This was a fun read.

Rating: 3/5     255 pages, 2011

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