Biggest Dog George

For the first time we saw George, beloved Great Dane, was just a little fuzzy ball of fur curled up.

As my wife Christie opened the cage door had traveled, who failed to stand up and looked out of us, shaking his head slowly from left to right, taking in the wonder of it all.

Finally, as if weighed and decided it was acceptable, timidly opened the nose slightly ahead and gave Christie her first lick.

Though not actually enroll, the legs were comically large George then. But all I saw was cute puppy.

We certainly never dreamed that one day becoming the world's largest dog, standing about 4 feet tall at the shoulder and 7 feet long and weighs about 18 stones. At this time, he just looked scared.

He came into our lives in January 2006, a few months later we married and settled in Arizona. We both had a job waiting, medical equipment sales Christie when I was a developer, but she had always hoped that once had a house, she also has a dog.

She wanted a Great Dane, and they make great family pets, so they tracked down a range of 13 years, born 1000 miles in Oregon. The owner sent us a photo showing a chaotic jumble of legs, muzzle and tail.

Twelve were entangled with each other, but our eyes were drawn to a puppy standing apart from others. It was clearly the runt, tying Christie immediately.

George made the long journey from Oregon to Phoenix by plane, and we have picked up from the freight sector, tired, but steadfast.

When George set up in our house, we discovered our plans to be fair, but parents were strong wishful thinking.

All the things that make wonderful pets are Great Danes - they have the aggressiveness and their attachment to humans - are emotionally fragile than other dogs.

They have their "package" at all times during the night and a cute puppy is a blue eyes have become caterwauling banshee when we tried to leave him alone in the kitchen.

No matter how much he reminded us that he had a home heating (hot dog bed, warm blankets, hot meals, a squeaky bone), which evokes tragic wails leaders, abandoned baby, a desperate mother.

Eventually, we gave basic dog George, and thrown into the bedroom. In the coming months, actually, Christie threw the mother of George. As well as a photo album, was the growth curve - we were awe just read.

Five months have acted like a puppy chasing its tail, and games, as well as fetch and tug of war for his little 'favorite rope. But he has already had the entire adult Labrador.

It took more than a pound a day, and he jumped around like Bambi, skittering on our wood floors and threw everything he did, including us humans. His displays of affection could leave you temporarily attached to a wall or cabinet.

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Its size has not gone unnoticed by the outside world. The local park was part of the puppies, but we were bullied by other owners who were afraid of hurting their children, George, - but the opposite was true.

Smaller dogs and ran under him, and he would always escape them, obviously anxious and nervous. Slowly we realized that our puppy was a great big wimp. In addition to his fear of being left alone, he had a fear of water.

He had rumble forward on the side of our pool, fear that members of his "pack" would also like to put themselves in danger of drowning.

If the pool is the most hated, our room was his favorite. Finally exceeded the simple mattress, we have put there for him and prefers the comfort of our king-size bed - large over us as the Prince was given, we spent half the night, hanging around the edges.

In summer 2006, we solved this problem by buying him his own queen-size mattress, where he still sleeps in the bottom of our bed.

But soon, we met another challenge George dog reaches puberty. Once he had grabbed life by the lapels, now it was striking in its legs - legs, chair legs, human legs, he was not picky - and do what all dogs do with the energy of a dogfight.

Calmed down and the mobile unit, where he had sterilized, but then started a new hobby, eating as if it were an Olympic sport.

A grilled sausage was like a siren of a passing sailor. I could not turn my back for a minute. And it was so great I actually had to stoop to picking food from the kitchen counter.

It could reach the higher shelves, and all had to hide in closets. Soon she was getting nearly 100 pounds of dry dog ​​food each month.

As he approached his first birthday in November 2006, weighing about 14 stone, it was becoming physically impossible to go anywhere he did not want - the veterinary surgery. She had not forgotten my time there, holding his manhood - and went out less than the whole.

As soon as he acknowledged at the entrance, refused to move. So I had to carry everything to the back door less familiar with the place.

All of these problems, George gave us a lot in return, not least the next year, when Christie lost the baby she was carrying.

Apparently listening to her pain, George was a constant presence at his side. As she sat, he sat down too. When she was, he got up and padded with her wherever she went.

His personality has grown more beautiful has got bigger. Male Great Dane is usually weighs nine stone 11, but by Christmas 2007, George weighed 15 stone - more than most men. At this point, he wanted to be chauffeured around in my golf cart, and sat in his place of front legs and thighs on the floor.

At Christmas 2008, our dogs weighed 18 stone colossus. A friend suggested it could be a contender for the Guinness Book of Records, but we had other things to think about: Christie had discovered she was pregnant again.

The size of the problem: George is unlikely that the giant SUVs to fit into the back of its owner

The problem was that when our daughter Anna, who arrived in September, George has made clear that no one wanted anything to do with this threat. He used to spend a pleasant night in Oblivion, at the foot of our bed. Annabel was the presence of a high decibels simply did not exist.

When he cried, he woke up, and then return to harrumph inconvenience. Once it became clear that the racket continues, exhaling heavily again, until one of us has finished feed that mysterious thing we did with the noisy intruders.

However, although they may not have worried much about Annabel, George loves his wrists, especially a green felt playing a song in a hurry. Whenever he could, placed it between her legs and squeezed it so he could hear the melody.

It was like a security blanket. It 'been a long time to adjust to him, that if you made him happy, so it was nice for us, and our patience was rewarded.

Slowly, George understands that Annabel was the youngest member of our package and the need for affection and protection. And on Christmas morning, he completed his three months in a bad mood, acknowledging the presence of a layer of your hand. It was the best gift I could have had - although the beginning of 2010 was more good news.

During the previous week, while Annabel slept Christie had asked people Guinness World records on behalf of George. This February, one of their judges came to see George is measured in the presence of a veterinarian. It was officially declared not only the world's largest dog show (43 inches from paw to shoulder), but the top dog ever.

A week later we flew to Chicago to appear on Oprah Winfrey Show and was placed in one of the most luxurious hotels in the city. We had a huge living room, dining room and even a bar - but there was just one problem. There was nowhere for George to sleep.

As we enjoyed a gourmet meal and a bottle of red wine that night, he struggled to settle on two sofas roll under him. Violently, they would not stay together. While he had his head on one back-end to the other side, but his stomach was collapsed on the carpet.

"You know what to do," I joked. "We do, and have read George sleep sofa in the living room to ourselves."

Christie looked at me with a light reveals in her eyes and I knew as soon as my joke was a fatal mistake. An hour later, our son had explained the glory of our huge, soft bed.

"Yes," murmured Christie, "George is the star here, after all." She was right, of course, and since its appearance on television, Giant George has built a following around the world, with its own fan club, Web site and 70,000 fans on Facebook.

None of these is, of course, means nothing to George. He still spends his days doing what he always loved best: eating, playing and sleeping.

Our beloved pet, may have become world famous - but really it is just one of the family.