Smokey, who lives in Prince George's County, Md., may move slow, but he is chasing after the record books. The lovable dog is 24 years old -- 168 in human years.
Harry Williams Jr. was driving in North Carolina in 1987 when he found Smokey wandering on the side of the highway. Williams, who wasn't looking for a pet at the time, scooped him up and tried to give the labrador-chow-rhodesian ridgeback mutt away.
No one wanted Smokey, but Williams must have given the homeless dog a great life -- rarely does a dog live so long.
“Smokey has been a blessing to me in my life," Williams said. "There’s no question about that -- in reference to spirit, in reference to commitment.”
There’s a chance Smokey could be the oldest living dog, but because he was a stray, there is no birth certificate to back up his age. The Guinness Book of World Records requires such proof.
The oldest dog in history lived to be 29.
