Giant George the world's tallest dog EVER who stood over 7ft tall on his hind legs passes away at home



Giant George, the world's tallest dog ever has died at home in Tuscon, Arizona one month before his eighth birthday.



Passing away surrounded by owners on October 17th, the blue Great Dane measured 43 inches tall from paw to shoulders and was able to stand seven-feet-three-inches tall on his hind legs.



Weighing 245 pounds, George was in fact the runt of his litter when born but grew up to be recognized by Guinness World Records in 2010 not just as the World's Tallest Dog, but the Tallest Dog Ever.

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RIP: Giant George the world's largest ever dog sadly passed away on October 17th - here he is sitting with his dad Dave Nasser

The enormous but gentle beast consumed 180 pounds of food a month and slept in his own queen sized mattress.

In a poignant posting on his own official Facebook page, owners Dave and Christie Nasser wrote, 'It is with a heavy heart that we announce Giant George died last night. George passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones; one month before his eighth birthday.'

Huge: Standing at nearly 43 inches tall from paw to shoulder and weighing a staggering 245lbs George was the reigning Guinness record holder for tallest dog on Earth

Standing almost four-foot-tall at the shoulder and seven-foot three-inches on his hind legs, George consumes 180 pounds of food a month and sleeps on a queen sized mattress

'We appreciate the love and support you have given Giant George over the last several years. We look forward to honoring his spirit by continuing his charitable works.'



George would spend his days sleeping, barking at the UPS deliveryman and eating his favourite chicken and rice dinners.



He weighed an incredible 100 pounds more than the average Great Dane and last year was ordered to lose a stone in weight to preserve his health.



Life for George with Dave Nasser and his wife Christie began as a seven-week-old puppy born into a litter of 13 over 1,000 miles away from Arizona in Oregon.



'At five months he still acted like a puppy, chasing his tail and playing games of fetch and tug-of-war with his favorite bit of rope. But he was already the size of a fully-grown Labrador,' explained Dave in his 2012 book, 'Giant George, Life with the World's Biggest Dog'.

Proud Parent: Christie Nasser with her George at home in Tucson, Arizona in 2011

Magnificent: George measures more than 7ft from nose to tail and tucked away 180lbs of food every month

David and Christine raised George from when he was 7 weeks old, but never expected him to grow so big

It was about this time that Dave and his wife realized that they may have a record breaker on their hands.



'His size did not go unnoticed in the outside world. Our local park had a section for puppies but we were bullied out of it by other owners, who were scared George would hurt their pups,' said Dave.



'Eventually he outgrew the single mattress we placed there for him and preferred instead the comfort of our king-sized bed — sprawling between us like some over-indulged prince while we spent half the night clinging onto the edges.

Paws for thought: George's giant feet dwarf Dave's hand

One man and his giant dog: George and Dave pose with the Guinness certificate

'In the summer of 2006, we solved this problem by buying him his own queen-sized mattress, which he slept on until his sad passing last week.



Hitting 252 pounds by the time he was two years old, a friend suggested that contacting Guinness might be worth a go.



Setting off a chain of publicity, George eventually appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2010, the ultimate litmus test of worldwide fame - where he was unveiled as the world's largest dog.

