Hercules, World's Biggest Dog
Emailed image of a gargantuan dog named Hercules, purportedly the Guinness Record holder for World's Biggest Dog.
Description: Emailed image
Circulating since: April 2007
Status: Fake / False
Email example contributed by Shelby B., April 10, 2007:
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Hercules: The World's Biggest Dog Ever According to Guinness World Records Hercules was recently awarded the honorable distinction of Worlds Biggest Dog by Guinness World Records. Hercules is an English Mastiff and has a 38 inch neck and weighs 282 pounds. With "paws the size of softballs" (reports the Boston Herald), the three-year-old monster is far larger and heavier than his breed's standard 200lb. limit. Hercules owner Mr. Flynn says that Hercules weight is natural and not induced by a bizarre diet: "I fed him normal food and he just grew".... and grew. and grew.
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Analysis: Thanks to some clever Photoshop manipulation, the dog pictured above (which actually appears to be a Neapolitan mastiff, not an English mastiff as claimed) looks roughly twice its natural size.
It is true that back in 2001, Joe Flynn, the owner of a 282-pound English mastiff named Hercules (see photo), was told by the Guinness World Records folks that his was the world's "heaviest" dog at the time.
This is not that animal.
Update #1: Though I remain 100% convinced that the above image is a hoax, I feel obliged to acknowledge that some folks who've contacted me believe the size of the dog is plausible. I don't see how that can be, given that Neapolitan mastiffs top out at around 29 inches tall at the shoulder and 165 pounds in weight, according to breeders. Maybe the people and the horse in the photo are abnormally small. Maybe the snapshot was taken in an alternate universe. In any case, I find it interesting that neither the photographer nor the owner of the behemoth canine has surfaced to publicly validate its authenticity.
Update #2: World's Largest (Tallest) Dog... for Real, This Time - A harlequin great Dane named Gibson is the current Guinness World Record holder.
Spot the Fakes - Take the Urban Legends Photo Quiz! Image #1: Captured on film: amazing "hands of God" cloud formation during a winter storm.
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Sources and further reading:
Neapolitan Mastiff Information
Dog Breed Info CenterEnglish Mastiff Information
Dog Breed Info CenterLegend of World's Largest Dog Lives On
Salem News, 13 March 2008World's Largest Dog Weighs 284
CNN Saturday Morning News (transcript), 9 June 2001New Record for Largest Dog in the World?
DogsInTheNews.com, 9 June 2001Hercules Puts Bite on Title as World's Largest Dog
Boston Herald, 8 June 2001
Last updated: 04/08/08
