Our psyches are fascinating, mysterious realms of consciousness. Why and how we develop fears can sometimes be traced, but they can also be quite elusive at times. Particularly curious is the common trend of larger beings having phobias of smaller creatures. Nicole Kidman is afraid of butterflies. Elephants fear mice (allegedly). And now add to that list Kevin Wolfe. Newly crowned as the world’s tallest living dog by Guinness World Records, his family can confirm that their beloved Great Dane is deathly afraid of… the vacuum cleaner! Bless that big boy’s heart.
Meet Kevin. Standing 3’2” tall, he’s the tallest dog living (male), according to Guinness World Record.
The 3-year-old Great Dane was officially verified as the world’s tallest on March 20.
His humans, the Wolfe family, weren’t thinking about finding another Great Dane after the sad loss of a previous pet, but a friend posted about the last Great Dane of a recent litter looking for a home and they decided to adopt him.
The family named him after Kevin McCallister from the movie “Home Alone.”
By the time Kevin was a year old, the family was sure he was one of the tallest dogs they had ever seen.
Despite his stature, Tracy Wolfe describes Kevin as a gentle giant.
“In fact, he is scared of most things. He is terrified of the vacuum. He won’t let it come within 6 feet of him. He will jump and run to get away from it,” Wolfe told Guinness.
According to GWR, Kevin does well with other dogs and has been known to crouch and crawl to make himself appear smaller and less intimidating.
Oh the big floof! He’s a big boy with an abundance of puppy energy. And yes of course the Wolfe family wasn’t planning on adopting another Great Dane, isn’t that how it always happens? At least it did for me and My Girl, who I’m fairly certain is shorter than Kevin’s water bowl stand. Guinness put together a little Instagram video of Kevin at home, and by my count he shares quarters with 2-3 other dogs, all smaller, and one cat. There’s a slo-mo shot of Kevin shaking off water after bath time (props to his parents for bathing him at home; My Girl gets dropped off at the groomers, it’s better for our relationship). After Kevin scampers off the camera stays on a poor little pug left behind in the tub, bearing a woeful, Buster Keaton-esque face that screams, “I’m always left behind.” All my love to the gentle giants out there, and also to the smaller pups who not-so-secretly run the show. And to the Wolfe humans, maybe throw a dog a bone and save the vacuuming for when Kevin is outside playing?
Photos via Instagram/Guinness
We have a huge Great Dane who looks like Kevin. He’s a mix of regal and the biggest derp ever. His new thing (we say he’s still in his velociraptor stage-he’s a rescue and we guess he’s around 2), is looking for weak spots in our fence and then escaping. Which immediately freaks him out, and then he desperately tries to get back into our yard. He’s afraid of our 17 year old cat who rules our house. Danes are the best.
LOL
Not to be dramatic, but I would die for Kevin and his pug bro.
Why on earth do you call this breed Great Dane? It’s a German Dogge (Deutsche Dogge), this breed is from Germany.
Look that up on the AKC website. They decide all the breed standards in the US. Maybe there’s an explanation there?
They have a pug and a great Dane? Too funny. And of course the cat rules them all!
Great Danes are such goofs. People get scared of them because they are so large but really they have the sweetest nature.
My dream dog!!Danes are the best combo of goofball and sweet…not to mention gorgeous! I just applied to a Dane rescue to adopt one!
When I was a young child, a neighbor’s Great Dane used to knock me over with a wag of his tail. Same dog bit & broke my mother’s forearm through her heavy winter coat. The neighbor was away for a day & had asked my mother to feed “Thor,” which is when he bit her. The coat saved her arm.
There’s no 100% universal breed-related canine temperament. My German Shepherd was a wuss who tolerated our toddler plopping down to sit on him when he was lying on the floor, turning his ears inside out, and playing with his toes. The one time I had a prowler while hubs was out-of-town, our 137 lb GS hid under the baby’s crib. A friend’s cocker spaniel bit my brother’s face – 13 stitches worth. He was getting out of the car at the friend’s house.
I love it.
We have an Irish Wolfhound, who is not that far behind adorable Kevin in the big n tall stakes. She is afraid of- vacuum cleaners, the food processor, loud cars, and…. Chihuahuas. She (at 80kg) hides behind me ( her 48 kg mum) if any of these terrifying objects are observed ❤️😊