TALL AND SMALL

I was told  ' If a dog bites a man it's  not a news; but if a man bites a dog, it's  news.'. Like many others, me too was saddened by the death of the world 's tallest dog.

I watch on our roads and aware that millions of dogs or other cattle/  or insects lose their lives on roads  meant for humans alone. Similarly  hundreds of elephants and other wild animals are hit by heavy trains and they lose their lives. But all of them can't be reported. A lucky dog was here  with an obituary mention as he was tall. By becoming the  only owner of the earth man has grown small. 



On four legs, he stood 44 inches tall. On two, he hit 7-foot-4.

Zeus was the father of the gods in Ancient Greece, and his namesake, a 3-year-old Great Dane from Otsego, Michigan, USA, can today be referred to as the "father of the dogs" as he is announced as the Tallest Dog Ever.

Measuring an incredible 111.8 cm (44 in) from foot to withers, Zeus is the same size as an average donkey. 

Standing on hind legs, he stretches to 7 ft 4 in and towers over his owner Denise Doorlag.

The humongous hound weighs 70.3 kg (155 pounds or 11 stone) and eats around 12 cups of food a day (equivalent to one whole 30-lb bag of food!).

"Zeus is an awesome dog," says owner Denise.

"The only downside is that everything costs more; the food, medicines, transport. We had to get a van to be able to transport him, oh, and if he steps on your foot - he leaves bruises!"

Denise loves the reaction Zeus gets when the family takes him out: "The most common thing people ask is:  'Is that a dog or a horse?' and 'Where's his saddle?'

Zeus breaks the record of previous record-breaking pooch Giant George, who is 1-inch shorter, which makes Zeus the tallest dog ever recorded in history.