Max, the Canine Time Master

Oldest dog in the world (recorded, anyway) is almost 30 years old.

That's a face that says "I've sniffed more butts than you've seen in your whole life."

Max, a terrier who lives with his owners in New Iberia, Louisiana, was born on 9 August 1983, making him the oldest living dog, and the oldest dog on record, whether dead or alive. 

The article is from 2009, but as of the 17th of May, this year, Max is alive and kicking, according to the wikipedia article on the oldest dogs on record. 

What’s really interesting is how the owners describe Max’s life. He was fed “Kiddles and Bits (sic),” was “never” fed table scraps, and only had a couple toys – a rope and a ball. This dog lived a more minimal life than most other dogs, and comparatively even more minimal lives than most humans. This reminds me of a story that I read recently about one of the oldest living humans, who lived by similarly minimal means. I’ll have to find that article now, because I’m starting to sense a pattern to longevity that I should investigate.

But first, I have to put this into perspective. This dog was born 5 years before me. So, when I was just starting to crawl, it was already house trained (more than likely) and could probably sit on command. Max has been alive longer than I have. If we were in a cartoon movie, Max would be sitting on a porch and giving me life advice in the form of anecdotes about chasing balls that “only come back when you go out and get ‘em yourself.”

Also, the fact that I now have a dog makes me wonder if ours could ever live as long as Max. If Kashmir sees her 29th birthday, I will be 54 years old. At that point, I will have had her for more than half of my life. That’s a connection that I’ve never considered. I often find myself thinking “the next dog we get will probably already be grown,” but I have to realize that the next dog we get (if we wait until after Kash dies) could not happen until I’m in my 50s. Or, even if Kash doesn’t make such a milestone age as 29 and only lives to be the average 12-14, I’ll be near my forties. I’ll be a completely different person at that point. I will have taught my first college class (coming up in a few short months), and maybe even hundreds after that. Sarah and I might even have a kid then. 

Sometimes life can seem both miniscule and infinite all at the same time.

-JJ