Robert Allen

Detroit Free Press

This kind of leash would be a dog's fantasy: At 2,620 feet, 8 inches long, it stretches nearly half a mile.

And it's probably the world's longest. Experts on Thursday used land-surveying equipment to officially measure the rope leash at the Michigan Humane Society in Detroit, submitting it as an entry to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Link, a 2-year-old Icelandic sheepdog, was connected to the end of it for some photos. But he didn't take full advantage of the roughly 300-pound leash.

"Certainly, it would take a large dog and a large human" to use, said Ryan McTigue, Humane Society spokesman.

Later Thursday, they planned to encircle the Humane Society's new building for a special event: dedication of the $15.5-million MHS Dresner Foundation Animal Care Campus. The Humane Society in March moved into the center at 7887 Chrysler Drive, just up the road from its former location.

The leash measuring included multiple witnesses to meet the requirements for the record books. After the commemoration event, the leash will go to the Detroit Historical Society for a couple of months. The standing record for longest leash, at 2,250 feet, was set in March 2005 by Pedigree, the dog food company, at a dog show in Birmingham, England, according to Guinness World Records.

Jonah Lonero, survey crew chief with Spalding DeDecker in Detroit, used infrared light equipment to get precise measurements. He said he's usually working on industrial sites.

"It's fun to do this type of stuff," he said.

Shinola, the Detroit-based watch company that also makes dog leashes, donated the super-long, red-orange leash to the humane society, McTigue said.

He said the new facilities offer an expanded veterinary center, and separate entrances for adoption and intake, which helps to keep the happy people adding a new family member separate from the sad people dropping one off. There are also two spacious cat colonies and some cat condos, along with a number of spacious dog kennels among the accommodations.

The Humane Society, a nonprofit organization, describes itself as the largest and oldest animal welfare organization in the state.

Contact Robert Allen: @rallenMI or rallen@freepress.com.