Many dog owners enjoy the occasional kiss from their pet.
But one pooch’s smooches are so slobbery that they could leave you needing a towel, or even a quick shower.
Zoey, a three-year-old Labrador/German Shepherd mix from Metairie, Louisiana, has claimed the Guinness World Record for dog with the longest tongue.
Her tongue measures a whopping five inches (12.7cm) long, making it longer than a can of Coke.
The new record comes just three months after an English Setter called Bisbee broke the record with a tongue measuring 3.74 inches (9.49cm).
Zoey, a three-year-old Labrador/German Shepherd mix from Metairie, Louisiana, has claimed the Guinness World Record for dog with the longest tongue
Owners Sadie and Drew Williams explained that Zoey’s tongue has stuck out of her mouth from a young age.
‘We got Zoey when she was only six weeks old and in the first ever picture we have of her, she has her tongue sticking out,’ Sadie said.
‘We thought surely she’d grow into it but she obviously didn’t.
‘She still has an enormous tongue compared to her body.’
Her huge tongue is particularly noticeable after Zoey has been outside and panting, Drew added.
‘It would be slobbering all over the place,’ he said.
‘So sometime last year we took her to the vet and measured her tongue.’
To confirm the record, Sadie’s tongue was measured from the tip of her snout to the tip of her tongue.
This revealed a length of five inches (12.7cm) – slightly longer than a can of Coke, which measures 4.8 inches (12.2cm) long.
Zoey loves showing off her record-breaking tongue, although her fans have been left needing a deep clean after approaching her.
‘Every now and then while we’re out taking her on a walk, people will come up to her and want to pet her,’ Drew said.
To confirm the record, Sadie’s tongue was measured from the tip of her snout to the tip of her tongue. This revealed a length of five inches (12.7cm) – slightly longer than a can of Coke, which measures 4.8 inches (12.2cm) long
Zoey loves showing off her record-breaking tongue, although her fans have been left needing a deep clean after approaching her
‘We’ll warn them ahead of time “Hey, she’s friendly but she might slobber on you” and every now and then she will, and they’ll have a big slobber mark on their black pants.’
Besides lapping up food and water, or kissing its owner, the tongue serves as an essential heat regulator for dogs.
When dogs exercise, their tongues becomes larger and due to increased blood flow usually hang out of the mouth, so when a dog pants, it’s actually cooling the dog’s entire body.
The dog’s quick shallow breaths cause moisture on the tongue to evaporate thus cooling the tongue that in turn cools the blood flow through the tongue and the respiratory system.
Her huge tongue is particularly noticeable after Zoey has been outside and panting, Drew added
Having a longer tongue increases the surface area for this to occur, although sometimes dog tongues become too long to be practical.
Macroglossia is the medical name for the disorder in which the tongue is larger than normal – and can get in the way of feeding and breathing.
Zoey takes the record from a three-year-old English Setter called Bisbee from Tucson, whose tongue measures 3.74 inches (9.49 cm).
Prior to that, the record-holder was Mochi, a St. Bernard from Sioux Falls in South Dakota, who had a 7.3-inch-long tongue.
