The world’s biggest dog may be the stuff of tall tales – more legend than fact

Man?s best friend, assuming some of the dog legends we hear about are true, has some serious explaining to do. From guarding the gates of hell to haunting the mesas of the Old West, dogs have been a part of our lore for thousands of years.

The World’s Biggest Dog

This legend has been roaming the internet more than my 18-year old; you may have seen it yourself. Hercules, the 282 pound English Mastiff making waves on the web since 2007, was purported to be the worlds largest dog, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
 

As you can see, Hercules looks more like a Mac truck than a dog. But owner and Hercules weren?t alone; adding authenticity to the pictures were quotes from the Boston Herald (supposedly) that his paws were ?the size of softballs.?

Apparently you can?t believe everything you see or read. Hercules and his owner pushed the limits of their combined Photoshop acumen and posted the picture, ?proving? Hercules is the worlds largest dog.

Damn Dingos

?The dingo ate my baby!? Seinfeld fans will recall Elaine blurting this out during an early episode in ?91. Sounds pretty far-fetched, but when it comes to dog tales, anything can happen.

It was the summer of 1980 when Lindy Chamberlain and her family decided to camp at Ayers Rock in Australia. Lindy woke up in the middle of the night screaming that a dingo had carried away their infant daughter, Azaria. Not likely according to local police, who subsequently arrested, tried and convicted Lindy of murdering her child.

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Turns out that 7 years, a lot of sleepless nights in prison, and an embarrassed ?oops? later, Lindy didn?t do it after all. She was subsequently set free with $1.3 million of ?kicking around money?, courtesy of the Australian government.

The Ultimate Guard Dog

You can have your worlds biggest dog, Rottweilers, German Shepherds,  Pit Bulls and Dobermans; wimps. There is only one choice for the ultimate guard dog, Cerberus. Cerberus is your standard AKC papered, fire-breathing, multi-headed (three), spirit harassing, people eating guard dog of Hades. Yes, that Hades.

There is, however, one point that must be conceded to the Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Pit Bulls and Dobermans of the world; they are much better at keeping bad guys out.

Cerberus is guarding the gates to make sure no one leaves. Bad doggie.

Hell Dogs of Eldorado Canyon

As the name implies, the canine spirits roaming the Eldorado Canyon in Nevada are not to be taken lightly. Springing from less than ideal surroundings, the Hell Dogs are remnants of the old mining camps that sprung up in the late 1800?s.

Mining, as we all know, is a pretty dangerous business with a lot of shady characters around. So, to ward off any unwanted intruders, and to protect people and property; the miners got themselves large, near-rabid dogs to guard the site.

Apparently, regular Humane Society donors they were not, because dogs were known to have been left chained to a stake, or simply set free to fend for themselves.

And now look, locals and visitors alike in the Eldorado Canyon area are still paying for the way those miners treated the Hell Dogs.